Warning: stop putting suet out once it hits 75 in July

I killed a downy woodpecker's whole summer routine last month in my backyard here in Sacramento because I left the suet cake up through a hot streak and it went rancid and greasy. The birds quit my feeder for 9 days straight after that, and a guy at my local wild bird store said suet spoils fast above 70 so you should swap to a no-melt dough in summer. What do you all run when it gets hot?

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morgan.adam21d ago

How long did it take before you noticed the suet had gone bad, like was it the smell or did you actually see the texture change first? I'm asking because I've got a cake hanging right now and it's been in the low 80s here for three days, but it looks fine to me so far. Did yours get greasy looking or did the birds just bail before you could tell? Also curious if you cleaned the feeder after or just let it air out, since I've heard the leftover grease can soak into the wood and mess with them even after you swap the food.

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