Can birds have coconut oil? (1 Viewer)

[Sapientia]

Hello!

I would like to make 'suet' for the birds, but I would rather not use actual suet. A few years ago I heard somewhere that you can use coconut oil for suet, and that is what I have done for the past few years. It's become a winter tradition. However, I just did some more research and it appears that suet is the only safe fat for birds. When I used coconut oil, the birds loved it and it was easy to make. I use pure, unrefined coconut oil. I also know that coconut oil has a low melting point, but I only put out 'suet' in winter when it's in the 30s-40s F°, so that's not a problem.

Several places online say that coconut oil is fine for suet, but this disagrees heartily: Killing Songbirds with Fats: Feed the Right Fats, Safely! I'm not sure what to believe. I do know for certain that if coconut oil is harmful to birds, I won't risk putting it out.

Here are the rest of the ingredients for the suet that I make. Do any of these look harmful? Too many websites with recipes on them don't do the proper research for a healthy recipe, I'm afraid. (These ingredients are all-natural, minimally processed, and organic.)

• Coconut oil
• Peanut butter
• Sunflower Seeds
• Some Dried Fruits
• Cornmeal
• Rolled Oats

Also, another question bc I'm not sure which forum category to post it on 😅: how do you change your profile picture? When I click on 'account details' 'profile' or 'preferences' there's no option to.

Thanks for any advice you have!