I make my suet mixture using suet or lard. I melt the fat in a glass bowl in the microwave until liquid. Then I add crunchy peanut butter, which melts in the hot fat. Then I add the dried ingredients - corn meal, flour, oats (usually ground in blender), ground eggshells, crushed nuts, a little jam or jelly, etc. The mixture is about 1/2 fat, 1/2 dried ingredients - maybe a little more dried. I aim for a mixture that is the texture of Play-doh - it clumps together easily for the suet log, but also crumbles into pieces that I spread in a tray feeder. I made the suet log over 3 years ago out of an old red Pine log and glued lots of perches and branches. It did not have much bark on it - which is fine, except that over time the log has darkened quite a bit, perhaps because of the oils in the suet mixture. Also, most of the perches and branches have broken and fallen off. This birds don't seem to care. If you put perches on the log, this will enable many more birds to eat more easily. However, this isn't necessarily a good thing because with mine, it enables the Starlings and Blue Jays to hog the suet log, and it encourages House Sparrows. My suet log is pole-mounted with a squirrel/raccoon baffle, so nothing gets onto the log but the birds. Here's what the suet mixture looks like - Some Bluebirds on the suet log a couple years ago. They don't eat that much on the suet log any more, because I usually spread crumbles in a tray for them.

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.

I have an excellent book which someone gave me called "The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher Birdfeeders and bird Gardens" by Robert Burton & Stephen W. Kress, published by the Audubon Society on Thunder Bay Press. (ISBN 1-57145-186-2) Not only does this book have excellent pictures of birds, it has dozens of plans on how to make bird feeders, nesting boxes, bird baths and how to plant a landscape garden to attract birds. There is one whole chapter devoted to bird feeds and what birds they will attract. In addition to the common seeds and suet mixes they have a long list of table scraps that are great for attracting birds. They suggest making a wire cage and put your meat scraps in it, especially the fats that your trim off cooked hams or beef in addition to ham bones, beef marrow bones and even teh leftover turkey bones. A few other things that i found interesting was cooked spaghetti, cooked rice, uncooked pastry dough, baked potatoes with the skin on and stale cheese. Out of curiosity I baked a potato in the microwave, then sliced it in half and put it on my shelf feeder. It was a big hit with all the birds. Another thing that the birds here seem to like is orange peels. I saw a Blue jay pick up and orange peel that was 1/4 of the orange and fly off with it. If anyone is looking for a great how to book on building bird feeders or bird houses or making their own bird feeds I would highly recommend this one, especially if you are making bird feed because I am a bit skeptical of the health concerns for the birds when i read the recommendations of some books, but I don't think the Audubon Society would steer us wrong.

you can kill the mold on the suet cakes but it is a lot of extra work. You have to take the cake out of the holder and put it in a microwave safe bowl or pan and nuke it for 2 to 3 minutes. It will be runny and you have to let it sit till it hardens some and mix in a bit of lard or peanut butter and some mixed bird seed or rolled oats to thicken it. I save the plastic little boxes that fresh raspberrys or blackberrys come in at the grocery store. i fill the bottom half of the box with a homemade suet mix or the mix that i have nuked. place the 1/2 box in your cage feeder and put it out for the birds. you can verify that microwave can kill the mold as there are numerous articles on bing or google. A lot of extra work but it works.