Prolific Ponders: DIY Suet for Birds for about 35 cents each!

A finished suet cake

I have been buying a lot of pre-made suet cakes lately because January and February are notoriously difficult months for birds in our area. With added snow sticking around for the past week, the birds have become hungrier and I have been reading up on what they need. I had purchased two square feeders that you put the square cakes inside and snap the sides together (cage-type), and Wild Birds Unlimited in Rogers had a sale on a suet feeder with three cakes for $13.99. I bought one and when the birds went crazy for them, I got another one. I quickly discovered just how much they like suet!

Instead of paying $3.99 to $5.99 for suet cakes, I decided to try to make my own and see how much they actually cost me, how difficult they were to make and if the birds really prefer them over store bought cakes. I researched several recipes and although I was skeptical that these would actually stay together, I made my first attempt this morning. After making the first batch, I decided to add some additional ingredients to a second batch and they turned out quite nice. The birds seem to like them even more than the most expensive cakes from the store.

Same recipe with added raisins, cashews and seed.

Here's how much I spent on both batches combined:

Vegetable shortening (lard is an option but it's more expensive; some say use bacon grease but I read online that many birds don't really care for it), large can (still have about half of the can left): $.90
Chunky peanut butter (med. jar - can save by buying a larger jar next time!): $1.25
Quick Oats: $.50 (still have most of the container left which was only $2.79)
Corn Meal (yellow): about $.40 worth
Flour: about $.25 worth

Additionally in the second batch I made I added a handful of raisins and 1/4 c. cashews along with a cup of bird seed - probably cost me about 50 cents more for the second batch). The above batches made 11 cakes, for a cost of about 35 cents each! I am being generous with my cost estimates since I am using only a partial amount of a jar or bag. If I put the nuts, seed and dried fruit or raisins in all the cakes, it would slightly increase the cost but I made about 1/2 with and 1/2 without. They are very easy to make. To make the holes I used a wooden spoon handle and pushed it through after I made a cake. This way, the finished cake after sitting in the fridge to harden would slide onto the metal feeder.

First cake - front feeder. The back two
cakes are from Wild Birds Unlimited.

So, what do the birds think? See for yourself! I watched a female Cardinal inspect the cakes after I added the ones with nuts, seed and fruit. She chose the new cakes over and over again!

How to make your own:

Melt 1 cup chunky peanut butter and 1 cup shortening or lard in a large microwave safe bowl - about 1:30 on high in microwave, stir well and the remaining lumps will melt. Stir in 2 cups of minute oats, 2 cups yellow corn meal (not mix!), 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar (in winter, gives them a calorie boost but you can leave it out in other season). Mix well. It will be crumbly! If desired, add in nuts, seeds, cereal such as Cheerios, raisins or dried fruits but if you are adding a lot of extras, you may have to either add a little extra shortening/peanut butter or cut down on the corn meal/flour - you can adjust as needed but don't make it too wet!

The mixture will be crumbly but you can compact it by hand. Shape it into balls or discs, or press into a square pan and cut it if you have a square cage suet feeder. Also, you can press it into plastic cups. To make it hang on a string, cut a piece of sturdy plastic in a small circle for support, staple it to a string or rope and pack the suet around it. Don't worry if it seems crumbly - it will pack and set up. Place on wax paper and put into the fridge or freezer until set well (overnight in fridge, a few hours in the freezer). If you used a plastic cup, just cut the cup away with scissors. Store any extras in the fridge or freezer wrapped in plastic or a Ziploc bag.