the best suet blocks? (1 Viewer)

[scodger]

Fat balls - alternative use for robins etc

I don't know if other people do this but as well as hanging them up I also
crush them fine and scatter on bird table or wherever - they are them much easier for everything especially birds like robin, dunnock and blackcap. If they are finely crushed the bigger birds don't find it so easy pinching it so quickly. But you will go through more as they are popular if presented like this!

Can tend to be a bit greasy if you do this so put inside a plastic or paper bag first

( if you are seeing Tree Sparrows please let me know here using a simple online form, thanks! http://www.treesparrows.com/sightings.php )

 

[equinoxslw]

I hung up freshly cooked up beffsuet,Pnut Butter,oatmeal, chicken scratch, nd the birds seem to be afraid of the smell. They were set out last night - 25F - I used small cupcake tins for molds

 

[DownyWP]

I hung up freshly cooked up beffsuet,Pnut Butter,oatmeal, chicken scratch, nd the birds seem to be afraid of the smell. They were set out last night - 25F - I used small cupcake tins for molds

I may be wrong but most birds with the exception of Turkey Vultures, do not have a highly developed sense of smell. They are going to need some time to figure out your feeders and perhaps "find" this new food source, have patience and Good Luck to you!

Incidently, you were asking if the newly made suet needs curing time? I set the cakes in the refrigerator until needed. You can also add a cup of flour rather than using oat flour during the summer, it seems to hold it's shape a little better. You have the hot summers in Central Oregon don't you?

 

[Joe1980]

What's with the oatmeal thing? I frequently read about people adding oatmeal to their suet, and even the junky mixed seed has oats in it. I have never had any birds eat oats, and I read in a lot of places that its a junk filler seed. I got some mixed seed last winter that contained the following: Black oil sunflower, white proso millet, cracked corn, milo, oats, and wheat. Only the sunflower, millet, and corn got eaten, and the rest was thrown to the ground or left in the tray feeders. Then I see that people's recipes have oats in them, and am baffled by that. In my suet experience, after a cake has been picked at a bit, they seem to eat ALL the fat, and leave mix-ins. Even peanuts seem to get tossed on the ground when they are in suet.

Also, we eat a lot of hamburger meat here in this house, but nowhere NEAR enough to make suet cakes. How the heck much burger are some of you eating that you can get enough fat to feed birds?!?

 

[DownyWP]

What's with the oatmeal thing? I frequently read about people adding oatmeal to their suet, and even the junky mixed seed has oats in it. I have never had any birds eat oats, and I read in a lot of places that its a junk filler seed.

Yes, in this context, I am using oatmeal as a filler. I grind it up into a flour. I will often also use cornmeal instead of oatmeal, mixed with all purpose flour. This makes the peanut butter easier for the birds to swallow and helps the suet to retain it's shape especially during the summer.

Incidently, I also feed a mixture of Black-oil sunflower seeds, shelled sunflower hearts, peanuts and walnuts - called Chickadee Chew - I have yet to see the peanuts get shoved aside by anybody. So, not sure why your birds toss the peanuts - different strokes I guess...

 

[Jos Stratford]

family isn't wild about me cooking up lard.

Do it when they are out :t:

 

[Penny Clarke]

Try and get a copy of Mark Golley's 'Cooking for Birds'

ISBN 1 84537 258 1 - published in 2006 by New Holland

I picked up a copy the other day in charity shop - tons of home made treats for birds!!!

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

 

[Joe1980]

I have a bird feeding book, and in that book it claims that birds who eat suet want suet, not seeds or other stuff. Birds that eat seed want seed, and not suet, so they stay clear of the messy seeds contained in the suet. When I buy suet cakes, I get the "positively peanut" type, because they don't make just plain suet cakes with no adders. I figured the peanut ones would be more attractive to the birds who eat suet, and they also appeared to contain more fat then filler. What I observe is the fillers (peanuts and such) being dropped onto the tray feeder below, and not eaten by the birds who are visiting the suet feeder. The fallen nuts get scooped up by the blue jays, so they are definately not wasted. Maybe I got the picky birds......

 

[barnstormer]

Try and get a copy of Mark Golley's 'Cooking for Birds'

ISBN 1 84537 258 1 - published in 2006 by New Holland

I picked up a copy the other day in charity shop - tons of home made treats for birds!!!

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

Ordered this book and ultimate bird feeder handbook from amazon, will see what they are like,,,,,,,,

 

[keith clowes]

I get my suet from the local butcher,i melt it down on a gas bbq,outside because off the smell,I mix all types of bird food into a metal bucket because when you melt the suet down it gets very hot,when it goes cold pour some hot water around the outside of the bucket and it comes out and this his how it looks

 

[barnstormer]

I don't seem to be able to get any suet from our local butchers so i have to use beef dripping.

 

[Nature__lover]

home made bird cakes are loved ten times more by the birds!
just soften lard in a pan and mix in currants/raisins/sultanas , grated cheese, peanuts or peanut butter, sunflower hearts etc. then set in a container in the fridge.
Song thrushes and robins love my homemade bird cakes.