A cheap feed for the birds that eat the suet blocks is straight suet from the butcher. Just push pieces into your suet cage. Its usually free or perhaps 5 cents. ( photo / image / picture from Kildale's Garden )
Thought I would add this picture from today. The birds really go for the suet from the butchers. ( photo / image / picture from Kildale's Garden )
We're off to the butchers next week so I'll ask if they can give me some suet. If my birds are anything like yours they'll thoroughly enjoy it.
Is this what it's called? I've been buying these cheap chunks of fat from our local Cub store as it's labeled "beef suet", and when I asked the butcher about it he said it's fat from around the kidney of the cow. I tried it and the birds love it! I wonder if it's commonly available in grocery stores- you just have to look in the corners of the frozen weird section or something. That's where I find butcher's suet here. The pileated woodpeckers LOVE it!