I found this suet at a Walmart last night.
Periodically, people email or ask me, "Hey, I've had a suet feeder out, but no bird comes to it. Why won't they come?"
Most of the time, I picture a yard void of trees, but after finding this suet in a popular shopping destination, I wonder if this might be one of the reasons? The above suet cake is LOADED with milo. This is a cheap filler seed that does not attract many birds. If you live out west and get quail--milo is great. In the eastern US only a few birds love it: pheasants, turkey, rock pigeons and brown-headed cowbirds.
This was not the only crap block of suet I found, but this was the worst offender I found on the shelf. It's bad enough that suet cakes are being loaded with cracked corn but milo? Really?
If you are looking for suet, look at it from the back. If the label reads that it is a peanut suet and you see lots of corn...that may be a sign that it's not a good brand. If you see lots of peanut chunks, then that is a good suet. If you see lots of small, yellow round seeds, this is millet and woodpeckers don't care for that either.
I don't know if I can fault the company that makes the above suet. I mean, they wouldn't unless they were making some sort of profit. Is there enough of a profit to be made in a suet cake that is not attractive woodpeckers and ends up sitting in a feeder for along time? Or maybe more people like to feed cowbirds than I realized? I am frustrated because this company does make some pretty good, affordable bird seed mixes. They make regional blends that are good for someone new to bird feeding and they don't know what seed to get. But that suet...that's lame.