Below is a photograph of the exact model of bird feeder I have in my garden. I particularly like it because it has two separate compartments and opens at the bottom. The feeder in my garden is wildly popular and a veritable magnet for many of the species that visit. So much so, that I often have a line of birds backed up waiting for their turn to eat at the feeder.
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| Bird Feeder |
Birds really do need a source of high calorie food in extreme winter conditions and cold, rainy seasons. In many non-Western countries, its not possible to purchase suet (rendered beef or pork fat ) or suet cakes, so if you cannot purchase suet or just want to go vegan as much as possible—below is information about how to make your own alternate vegetarian suet cakes for birds visiting your garden.
The key to making bird cake is coconut oil or vegetable shortening, either of which are a substitute for lard when it comes to keeping the ingredients of the bird cake stuck together. Unless you live in a very cold climate, coconut oil is not suitable, as on hot days coconut oil has a low melting temperature however vegetable shortening is perfect for both hot and cold climates.
Coconut oil imparts a very good flavour but its melting temperature is around 76° and any variable to that depends on how pure the oil is. For this reason coconut oil does not work as a binding agent for vegan suet cakes on hot Summer days.
However, vegetable shortening is solidified, hydrogenated vegetable oil and has a melting point of 117° and is almost always in solid form. In cold weather it will become rock hard.
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| Shortening available in India via online |
How to make the Suet Cake
Melt about a half cup of vegetable shortening or coconut oil and stir in any combination of the below. (I personally grind all the ingredients for the bird cake, except dried fruit which I slice into small pieces).
Chopped nuts
Cracked wheat
Crackers
Raw shelled pumpkin or sunflower hearts
Dried fruits
Rolled Oats
Corn meal
Buckwheat groats
Millet
Once everything is mixed up, pour into a greased container forming the mixture into a flat cake. Refrigerate overnight or until firm. Once the cake is firm, place it in the suet feeder. If you don’t have a feeder, you can smear the mixture on tree branches.
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| Ready to go into bird feeder |
