Thinking of Making a Suet Cake (1 Viewer)

As the blizzard sets in I realize I have no more suet cakes, and a woodpecker just knocked the last of it into the snow.
I still have a big seed block out there, but thinking of improvising as the peckers prefer the suet.
Haven't found a recipe based on firm coconut oil, but aside from butter, that's all I have on the 'fat' side, plus a large variety of nuts, seeds and grains, and some veggies. Only meat I have is cat food (Evo venison)
Should I try?

Don't see where it would hurt. The seeds and nuts would be welcome for sure.

I have some made from peanut butter, vegetable shortening, cornmeal, peanut, cat food, flour, raisin etc. no strict recipe, just whatever you have on hand. Last year I used suet log and it attracted whole bunch of house sparrows so I took it down. This year I switched to cage with tail prop. Right now I cut one in half and put in cage with half of a commercial cake to see which one woodpeckers and chickadees like better.

A quick google for coconut oil and it seems it's beneficial for birds (and other animals) so if you've got firm stuff that sets properly I'm sure it will be fine. The only thing to watch is when suet/ fat gets soft it can rub on to the birds feathers which can reduce their waterproofing, otherwise you should be good. Peanut butter is normally fine but can be high in salt.

I never made a suet cake but would like to try. Does anyone have a good recipe and steps of how to make one? Thank you, my birds will appreciate it.

Here is something that I make for the birds in the winter time. It's probably not really suet but it's a good use of grease and fat and the birds really love it. If the temperature gets above 70 it melts unfortunately.
Collect the grease and melted fat from frying sausage, hamburger, etc. and put in a glass jar and refrigerate. When you have enough, put in microwave and melt into liquid form. Get some empty tuna cans, the little round ones, pour the grease into the can and mix in some bird seed, millet, etc.
Put the cans in the freezer for a couple of days. When needed, get two pair of pliers, one to hold the can, and "peel" the can off with the other, letting the tuna can size disk of "suet" fall on the ground. Be very careful when peeling the can off, that metal is sharp as a razor. I wear welding gloves.
Put the disk in one of those "clamshell" suet cages. The birds eat it up.

Just a little advice r.e. using fat from cooked meat. Quote from the RSPB:

Fat from cooking is bad for birds. The problem with cooked fat from roasting tins and dishes is that the meat juices have blended with the fat and when allowed to set, this consistency makes it prone to smearing, not good for birds' feathers. It is a breeding ground for bacteria, so potentially bad for birds' health. Salt levels depend on what meat is used and if any salt is added during cooking.

Here is a link to a YT video I found on the Bird Watchers Digest website. http://youtu.be/I9_oOhXNG6A