we feed those to seed eaters, but suet is for insect eaters --
carnivores. they have different digestive tracts that function
differently. to give a mammalian example, the reason we must feed
antibiotics to cattle is that they evolved eating grasses, but we raise
much of our beef cattle on corn. they get digestive tract infections
unless we keep them on doses of antibiotics. some birds, like us,
raccoons, & bears, are well adapted to eating everything. others, like
woodpeckers, are adapted to more specific diets. jck

Hill wrote:

>Black oil sunflower seeds? Doesn't anybody use these in their feeders?
>Corn oil? Lots of birds eat seed high in oil content as ag waste grain,
>roadside weeds, etc.
>
>Randy Hill
>Othello
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Martha Jordan" <swanlady at drizzle.com>
>To: "Tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2004 12:46 PM
>Subject: [Tweeters] veggie suet
>
>
>
>
>>Several people have written off list to ask about what effect vegetable
>>
>>
>base
>
>
>>oils have on birds. First let me say that I feed regular suet made from
>>animal fat.
>> I do not know what the effect of vegetable base oil has on birds
>>digestion or energy needs. I have wondered this myself. Does anyone out
>>there have an answer to this question or know of a resource we can find
>>
>>
>out.
>
>
>> I, appartently like many others, believe that birds need a diet that
>>suits their physiological needs. How we decide to feed ourselves is a
>>seperate matter.
>>
>>Martha Jordan
>>www.swansociety.org
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>Tweeters mailing list
>>Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>>http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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>
>