Using Suet Cakes With Log Feeders

Continuing with our theme of plugs and logs from last week here's a little life hack for you. I know it doesn't take a genius to figure this one out but if you're not afraid to get a little bit messy, you can take a reguar old suet cake and cut it up and pack it into your favorite log feeder. Simple as that.

Why would I do this?  Maybe you don't want to pay more for plugs...  Maybe you really like the formula of the suet cake you already use, and there isn't a plug version of it available.  Maybe you just want to try something different..

What you need: 

• Suet Cake
• Good Sized Knife
• Cutting Surface (that you don't mind getting greasy)
• Log Feeder
• Gloves

Today I'm chopping up some C&S Woodpecker Treat

Use a good sized knife that's got some weight to it. The woodpecker treat has some larger nut pieces in it so I like to use a fairly sharp chefs knife.

Now we have four roughly plug sized chunks.  I'm using a piece of slate we have on our deck for a cutting board.  If you don't want to get suet everywhere, use a scrap piece of cardboard..   That'll help keep things tidy.

I'm using a Nature's Select Recycled log feeder today, since it's a smaller diameter log, I snapped one of my cake chunks in half.  You just have to eyeball it.  You can roll it in you palms to round off the corners a bit, that'll help it fit in the hole.

Give it a push.

Last week I talked about using a piece of cling wrap to keep your hands clean, that would still work in this situation, but gloves are definitely better in this situation.  I have some 6 MIL nitrile gloves that I use for food prep when I'm doing BBQ brisket, & pulled pork, they work really well.

Remove the excess, usually I'll put whatever's left into the next hole, and then if I have a few chunks left over I'll put them in a suet cage feeder.

As you can see it's a bit more messy than using plugs.  Part of it is that the plug formula is a bit firmer than a cake, and part of it is just fitting a square peg in a round hole.