Making my own Coconut Halves

I've bought coconut halves from Homebase with mixed success, so decided to see if I could do better making my own.  I gently melted on pack of lard and one pack of suet in a pan then poured in about 3 parts seed, 1 part porridge oats, and a couple of hand fulls of sultanas.  I aimed to have all the liquid fat absorbed by the mix and kept adding ingredients until this happened.  Finally, I scooped the mix into the coconut halves and pressed in firmly.  Finally I popped them into the fridge for half a day to set.

It's not been a roaring success, but they are attracting more birds than the Homebase product did, and I've had a bit of fun making my own product.  I think the home made version was possibly less economical than buying from a shop,  but I'm pleased to have produced a good quality alternative for my garden birds.

The raw ingredients.

Everything mixed together before being mixed with the fat.

The shop bought one is on the left, my home-made one on the right.