Even though we live in the middle of suburbia, we get a wide variety of wildlife. My children love watching the birds from our living room window. At various times of year, you will see doves, gold finches, blue jays, sparrows, cow birds, phoebes, hummingbirds, chickadees, cardinals, and woodpeckers all hanging out on the feeders in our pollinator garden. The favorite is when the woodpecker comes to the feeder. He (we think its a he) is quite large, and he loves the bugs in our maple tree and the nuts in the feeder.
Over the winter, we tried our hand at making homemade birdseed cakes. A single cake would be gone in about two days. When the entire batch was gone, I picked up 2 seed cakes from the local garden center. The birds ignored it! In fact they stopped coming to the yard!
After about a month I threw out what was left and replaced it with the homemade birdseed cakes. The birds returned to the feeder, and all was right with the world again. Since the birds eat these seed cakes faster than the mass produced ones, I like to make a large batch, and then store them in the freezer/fridge until they are ready to go in the cage feeders.
6 cups birdseed 2 cups black oil sunflower seeds 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 2 cups dried fruit/nuts 8 cups melted suet/lard/coconut oil/peanut butter (max of 2 cups of PB)
In a large bowl, mix together the birdseed, sunflower seed, flour, dried fruit and nuts. Next stir in the melted fats and peanut butter. Your birdseed cake mixture will be very sticky at this point. Turn the mixture onto a sheet pan and press it all together.
Once the fat has set, use a knife to cut the birdseed cakes to the size you need, and wrap them in wax paper and store in the fridge or freezer.
After the fat solidifies, cut the birdseed cakes with a knife to the desired size, wrap them in wax paper, and store them in the refrigerator or freezer.
After about a month I threw out what was left and replaced it with the homemade birdseed cakes. The birds returned to the feeder, and all was right with the world again. Since the birds eat these seed cakes faster than the mass produced ones, I like to make a large batch, and then store them in the freezer/fridge until they are ready to go in the cage feeders.
Combine the flour, nuts, sunflower seeds, birdseed, and dried fruit in a big bowl. Next stir in the melted fats and peanut butter. At this point, your birdseed cake mixture will be extremely sticky. Place the mixture onto a sheet pan and compact it thoroughly.
We experimented with creating our own homemade birdseed cakes during the winter. A single cake would be gone in about two days. I purchased two seed cakes from the neighborhood garden center after the entire batch was gone. The birds stopped visiting the yard altogether, ignoring it!
6 cups sunflower seeds, 2 cups black oil, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups dried fruit, and 8 cups melted butter, lard, coconut oil, and peanut butter (with a maximum of 2 cups of peanut butter).
Join me as I walk you through the process of making something that you can probably buy for $1 at the store. Its so much more fun to make it yourself though!.
No Melt Suet Cakes For Birds is a recipe I have with peanuts and berries that the birds LOVE if you’re looking for a low-melt suet recipe that holds up better on warmer days.
And if you can make them in fun shapes, why make them in boring square shapes?
When the birds have finished devouring the cake, I suppose they can take the “rebar” string and use it to build nests.
Regarding Karo syrup: My mother used to use this syrup for things like waffles and pancakes. When I first tasted maple syrup in college, I nearly passed out. It’s ironic that Karo syrup tastes exactly like what I had imagined syrup would.
FAQ
What holds bird seed cakes together?