Ease of Cleaning Feeders

[starlight]

I was wondering if it was possible to make your feeders with a "quick release base" so as to make cleaning of the base much easier? As an example, a company called NaturesFeast has feeders in their "All Seasons" range with a quick release base where, on releasing the base, it quickly and easily comes off making it really much easier to clean. I'm not intending to advertise this other company, it's just for reference to the sort of thing I mean. The idea of such a base sounds awfully appealing and one which I'd hope might make CJ's own feeders even more practical and popular?

Talking of ease of cleaning, I have to say that I find it quite difficult and fiddly removing the perches and ports - mostly as the nut from the bolt falls into whatever remaining or rotten seed (especially after wet weather when it goes mouldy) is left at the bottom when undoing it, and I then have to fiddle about trying to find and save the nut from being binned with the remaining seed... :eek:. Getting the bolt back on is then another matter to contend with ;) ...

[Jenny]

I get a bit frustrated at this too (having vast quantities of wet weather! :( ) but I have found that a tiny amount of vaseline on the screws helps a lot; I also put this around the base - the birds can't get at the very bottom of the feeder - and it makes separating the base from the tube sides easier.

Altho' local bird club folks say this is okay - worth asking others including CJ's opinion on using tiny amounts of vaseline.

[70007]

On a slightly different subject, I bought one of these hopper feeders:-

http://www.birdfood.co.uk/product_details.php?area_id=2&group_id=13&nav_id=37&prd_id=661

but would suggest that some kind of circular screw-on base with an outer lip should be added. The hopper itself is excellent but the birds soon learn that if they start throwing seed around, more appears by gravity.

I have bent the three trays slightly upwards, as too much seed appeared at once and the bending reduces the slope, and prevents seeds spilling over the sides as much as it used to. However, it still does overflow to a certain extent and it would be nice to have something else to catch it before it falls on the ground and begins to germinate.

[Lois]

I also bought a hopper feeder with a large mesh guardian so the blackbirds could feed from it and the pigeons couldn't.

Only have discovered too late that the starlings and squirrels think it's great.
The food ends up everywhere, the one blessing is it's placed on a pathway not the grass and it's great watching the pigeon walk round and round in frustration because he can only pick up the food near the edges.

[Neillo]

I've got a feeding station thingy set into my lawn. Just cut my lawn after a few weeks and found a large spongy, sprouty mat of discarded food and bits. Is there a way of catching all of these before they hit the ground? without affecting the ground feeding birds below. I have an idea but will need to draw it and post it to make sense (should have done that first me thinks!!)