Hi, Thank you Lisa for recommending sialis.org. They have a LOT of great suet recipes. This is what they say about lard vs. vegetable shortening: "(Beef or Sheep) Suet vs. (Pig) Lard vs. Vegetable Shortening (Crisco, etc.): All work in suet recipes, as long as you adjust the dry ingredients (e.g., flour) to keep the texture crumbly. Vegetable shortening has a longer shelf life. Suet in its raw form should be avoided. Beef suet may turn rancid when temperatures exceed 70 degrees. When melted and clarified, beef suet is called "tallow." Tallow is less likely to go rancid over time; however it is not easily digested by birds because it is high in saturated fats. Some birders are concerned about the health impact of using vegetable shortening. * A nutritionist at the San Diego Zoo indicated that there is no health risk associated specifically with vegetable oil. * Dr. Sean Pampreen, an avian vet in Marlborough, CT, indicated he did not think that vegetable shortening used as a binder in suet (which is only a supplemental food for wild birds) would cause digestive problems, especially since sunflower, millet and peanut are about 45-56% oil. * Bill Whittaker of Four Nature's Keepers says saturated fats (such as in suet) are more difficult/require more energy for birds to digest than unsaturated fats (such as in vegetable shortening). They also found in field tests that after a familiarization period, birds prefer vegetable shortening. * Dr. Kirk Klasing, Professor of Avian Nutrition at UC Davis, said that very high amounts of fatty acids are difficult to emulsify by the bile, lowering digestibility. Adding a source of unsaturated fats, such as vegetable oil or lard, improves digestibility (e.g., 80% tallow, 20% vegetable oil or lard is a good combination - you can adjust the proportions to give the melting point desired). Peanut butter also works to increase digestibility of tallow because it is high in unsaturated fats. He was not aware of any evidence for a laxative effect of vegetable oil. Like tallow, vegetable shortening is solid at room temperatures. However, the hydrogenation used to make shortening results in lots of trans fatty acids. Though we don't know for sure, it is likely that the trans fatty acids are less healthy than "natural" cis fatty acids (unhydrogenated oils). In chickens, high levels of trans fatty acids deplete antioxidants in the tissues. It would be best to avoid high levels of vegetable shortening. * Crisco does make a zero-trans-fat shortening (in a green container.) * Another alternative is soybean shortening without additives, at as low a melting temperature (less saturation) as you can use to make an acceptable food. In terms of protein content, suet has about 0.4 grams of protein/oz. in it; lard and vegetable shortening have none. Both suet and vegetable shortening have about the same amount of calories and fat content. Beef suet has more saturated fat which may be harder to digest. JL Peterson found bluebirds preferred recipes made with suet. A friend reported bluebirds in her area preferred Crisco-based suets. Crisco does offer a zero-trans fat product. If you're concerned about using either of these ingredients, you can replace them with extra peanut butter until the mixture reaches the desired consistency." So, I will definitely be using vegetable shortening, I'm going to see if they have an organic version at the health food store. It just doesn't feel right to me to help out some animals by feeding them other animals. I'm also going to use raw peanuts and seeds instead of commercial peanut butter, like the birds would naturally eat. Cooking food kills all the enzymes which are so necessary for cells to be able to use the nutrients in the food. Here's the page where I got this info: http://www.sialis.org/suet.htm#crisco Best wishes, fellow bird lovers! April Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis info on crisco/vegetarian suet

Hi Donna, here is the basic recipe I've come up with, which is a variation of many similar recipes on Sialis.org - 2 cups rendered suet (I use "Simply Suet" from Wild Birds Unltd) 2 cups crunchy peanut butter (I use an all natural brand) 4-5 cups of dried ingreds, combo of Oat flour, corn meal, ww or white flour Tidbits like chopped nuts, hulled sunflower seeds, currants, etc. Dried, sterilized, ground eggshells (optional, don't use these every time) Melt suet in microwave until liquid (it gets hot!). Add PB which melts in the hot suet. Add dried ingredients and tidbits, mixing well. This makes approx. 5 pint sized containers. As it cools, it becomes stiffer and more difficult to stir. At room temp, you can test the final consistency. If it's too sticky, soften in micro and stir in a bit more flour. If it's too "dry", drizzle a spoonful or 2 of vegetable oil and mix, which will make it stickier. The ideal texture is similar to Play-doh - I can squeeze it into balls and stuff the holes on the suet log, and also break it apart into pea-sized nuggets which can be spread in a tray. The Bluebirds prefer the nuggets in the tray, but they will also perch and cling to the log to eat the suet mixture. They are spoiled because if they're hanging out there I will make a special trip out to spread some nuggets. They are the only birds that get special feedings. :) There are now 7 (possibly more) Bluebirds that visit daily as I've seen 5 females at one time and at least 2 males, one of which is banded and one is not. Once in awhile there is a day they are AWOL, such as an unusually warm and balmy and I think they go off to find insects. Many other birds LOVE this stuff too, including Titmice, Chickadees, all the Woodpeckers, Red & White Breast Nuthatches, Sparrows, Juncos, Carolina Wrens, Blue Jays, Cat Birds, Cardinals, HOSPs and EUSTs. The only ones that don't eat it are the Finches - Gold finches, House Finches, and Pine Siskins - they eat the BOSS. Sorry this is so lengthy. Here's a pic of the final mixture -

Thanks for the info Ginni. I'm also a pet owner. Not all these items would necessarily be used for suet, nor is this list all inclusive, nonetheless these are additional food items that should never be fed to dogs as they may be toxic and/or fatal: Fish -- If fed exclusively or in high amounts can result in a thiamine (a B vitamin) deficiency leading to loss of appetite, seizures, and in severe cases, death. Cat food - generally too high in protein and fats Raisins / Grapes / Currants - kidney damage Avacado - vomiting and diarrhea Hops - Unknown compound causes panting, increased heart rate, elevated temperature, seizures, and death Mushrooms - Can contain toxins, which may affect multiple systems in the body, cause shock, and result in death. Onions and garlic - Contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia. Cats are more susceptible than dogs. Garlic is less toxic than onions. Nuts, including and especially macadamia Chocolate/coffee/tea/caffeine - toxic to heart and nervous system fat trimmings (Pancreatitis) Human vitamins with iron - Can damage the lining of the digestive system and be toxic to the other organs including the liver and kidneys Milk or dairy products Salt - can lead to elecrolyte imbalances Sugars or artificial sweeteners (hypoglycemia or liver failure) yeast dough Table scraps are not nutritionally balanced. They should never be more than 10% of the diet. Fat should be trimmed from meat; bones should not be fed.

Excuse the typos. Im on my iphone Im in milwaukee and winters i typically get chickadees cardinals downy woodpecker Sparrows (avoid adding Millet to suet) and the occasional Junco. Haven't seen chickadees this year as of yet, possibly Due to warmer winter. Purchased a squirrel proof suet feeder from menards. Saves Me lots of suet, I just give squirrels a spoon of Peanut butter every day as they're hungry too use chunky peanut butter. Lard and white or wheat flour I also add the following ingredients until mix Turns into easy texture to press into 9x18 cake pan, freeze Then cut to size with spatula. Rolled Oats Cream of wheat Wheat germ Corn meal Crushed fritos (Attracts juncos) Crushed cereals Chopped dried fruits - apples cranberries raisins Nuts- sunflower walnut peanut crushed Syrup or molasses or honey or all three Sugar Sometimes I add strained bacon grease w/lard I added millet once and it attracted a lot of sparrows Which tend to chase other birds away so I stopped Using millet. I tried rendering the real suet once and birds Preferred the p-butter suet mix, happy me it's much Easier. Getting a platform feeder will attract a wider variety Of birds. Juncos like to feed closer to the ground So I put suet crumbs in a pie pan on top of my Central air unit near my suet feeder, but they also Visit my hanging feeder that I keep near brush so they Have shelter from predators. I hang suet feeder On shepherds hook outside my window. At our cottage about two hours north With the same suet I get a lot of juncos Chickadees red bellied woodpecker. Downy woodpecker Nuthatch and cardinals. Do a search for Sialis + bird suet and you'll find A number of recipes there. I sort of "wing" it and Add a bunch of ingredients until I get the desired Texture. No pun intended.