I'm tired of cleaning my bird feeder after it rains and throwing away seed so it will not get moldy. I've seen feeders with covers but I don't want to buy another feeder to end up throwing it away. Does anyone have a good birdfeeder that keeps the seeds dry? Thanks!
I wouldn't say my feeder is good, but they work OK. I use the cheap cedar wood ones with wire hangers and plastic see throughs for seed from Walmart. I haven't had a problem with wet seed, but then the squirrels will empty them every other day if the birds don't. They aren't too big, fill easy and go in the sink for weekly bleaching/cleaning. The fill part has plastic slides so you can see the seed. I've had 8 of them for about 5 years. I'm sure there are better ones out there but these blend into the background nicely.
Mine don't usually stay filled long enough to cause problems one reason is our rain is sometimes almost non-existent. Plus I don't fill them if rain is in the forecast since the birds won't be around during the rain anyway.
Toni...I have never heard that...they birds won't be around because of the rain..it doesn't make a difference here. I have many different types of feeders. Even if you buy a cover the rain manages to get into the feeders. Otherwise the snow blows in it and then the sun comes out and it melts and you have wet food. Sure they say they are weatherproof but I haven't found one yet. After it rains here, I put everything on the tray feeder after a day or two. It always is gone right away and then I clean my feeders or put a fresh feeder out. I have extras so I can put one out and have time to clean the other. They should be washed and then I spray a solution of one part bleach to 10 parts of water and RINSE them once a month. I keep the same solution by my sink to clean up in the winter when I have to clean the feeders inside. I have a sink in the garage for in the nicer weather. It is so important for the birds health and the spread of disease for you to clean them the right way. What a terrible thing if all the birds got sick from dirty feeders...please clean and sanitize them monthly. Did you ever think of putting a roof over your feeders? If it rained hard and blew the rain underneath they would still get wet but it might help a lot...but no matter if they get wet or not...the feeders should be cleaned monthly ...If you do notice a disease in some of your birds, quit feeding and sanitize all the feeders for a while.
Sherry, I think that during most of the year rain is so scarce around here that it scares the birds away when it does happen Really, tho, I don't know why it is but on rainy days the birds are nowhere to be seen or heard...as soon as it stops they are back in full force tho.
You could buy a big wide plastic bowl drill a hole in the bottom and invert it over the feeder. Don't have it so low that it covers the whole feeder, just the top third to maybe half. This will also help keep squirrels from raiding it. Do you have the feeder near trees and bushes that the birds can hide in while they wait their turn at the feeder? You will get more birds if they feel safer in the area. Also having a water source near will attract more birds.
