Switched from store-bought suet blocks to making my own tallow cakes last fall

I used to just grab whatever suet block was on sale at the hardware store, but after three starlings destroyed one in under 20 minutes last September I started rendering my own beef fat and mixing in black oil sunflower seeds, and the woodpeckers actually come around now - has anyone else found a homemade recipe that keeps the aggressive birds away?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery_white8d ago

Rendered my own for the first time two winters ago and yeah the difference is night and day. I melt mine down with a little bacon grease left over from breakfast and mix in crushed peanuts instead of sunflower seeds. The starlings still show up but they spend way more time fighting over perches than actually eating, meanwhile the downy woodpeckers just sit there picking at it for twenty minutes straight. A buddy of mine swears by adding a pinch of cayenne pepper, claims the squirrels hate it but the birds don't even notice. I tried it once and honestly couldn't tell if it helped or not, but at least my tallow cakes don't disappear overnight anymore.

bettyroberts9d ago

Oh wait, do you think the starlings just don't like the texture of homemade tallow? I've heard they can be picky about stuff like that. Maybe it's just me but I swear they go for the cheap store blocks because they're softer and easier to tear apart.

kim_johnson519d ago

You'd think after all that time rendering fat I'd have at least gotten a fancy leather apron out of the deal... nope, just a very greasy stovetop and some very confused chickadees.