This seems to be a recurring question, so I've decided to make a whole thread devoted to Bluebird Suet recipes, and sticky-tack it for the season. Feel
free to add your own recipe as a reply, but let's keep this thread to recipes instead of questions and discussions.
You can feed these mixtures crumbled up in the same dish and feeder you use for feeding mealworms. Not all birds will accept the suet mix right away - you have to just keep trying, and usually it works best mixing the mealies in with the suet so when they eat the mealies they get a taste of the suet mix. I tried feeding my Blues suet for months before they would eat it - and then it was only when a really bad storm was coming, and they were stoking up. Even now, they prefer the mealies during the nesting season, and will eat the suet better during the cold winter months.
Quote:
Bluebird Nut's Recipe:
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 cups quick cook oats
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup lard
1 cup white or whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
Optional: chopped nuts, raisins, dried fruit, up to 1 cup. Melt lard and peanut butter in microwave, add remaining ingredients. Form into softball-sized balls. Store in freezer until ready to use, then microwave for 15-30 seconds, and crumble into dish or on platform feeder.
I also make a double recipe. I got about sixteen softball-sized balls from my last double batch.
Malinda's Recipe
1 cup Lard
1 cup Crunchy Peanut Butter
1 cup Cornmeal
3 cups Oats ("Quaker" cereal type)
1 cup Sugar (less is ok, but the full cup is great for a winter calorie boost in cold climates) Melt lard and peanut butter together (microwave works fine). Stir until blended. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients, except for the oatmeal. Then, pour-in the melted lard/PB. Next, start adding the oatmeal 3 or so cups at a time. The suet should be thick. You may add extra oats if it is not thick enough. Pour the mixture into a greased pan (or glass pans - no extra greasing needed), cool in refrigerator and cut or spoon into the proper shape for your feeder. If you don't use it up quickly it can be frozen until needed. I also add extra chopped peanuts, chopped raisins, chopped sunflower hearts, and powdered sterilized eggshells.
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup lard or solid Crisco
(melt both for 1 minute in microwave)
Add
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup sugar
2 cups instant regular flavor oatmeal
½ cup sunflower seeds (unshelled)
When stirring this, it should get very thick and
hard to stir. You can form it into suet blocks and
place in suet feeders OR put in a bowl in a blue bird
feeder OR place in flat feeder. Keep refrigerated.
It lasts forever.
BLUEBIRD BANQUET RECIPE:
by Linda Janilla Peterson
Bluebird Banquet is available commercially at The Wild Bird Specialists - Audubon Workshop [if the product does not show up, look under bluebirds on the sidebar]
MIX
1 cup peanut butter
4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached or whole-wheat flour
ADD:
1 cup fine sunflower seed chips
1 cup peanut hearts (or finely ground nuts)
1/2 - 1 cup Zante currants (or raisins cut in halves)
DRIZZLE and STIR IN:
1 cup rendered, melted suet
COOL
You can feed these mixtures crumbled up in the same dish and feeder you use for feeding mealworms. Not all birds will accept the suet mix right away - you have to just keep trying, and usually it works best mixing the mealies in with the suet so when they eat the mealies they get a taste of the suet mix. I tried feeding my Blues suet for months before they would eat it - and then it was only when a really bad storm was coming, and they were stoking up. Even now, they prefer the mealies during the nesting season, and will eat the suet better during the cold winter months.
