Bird feeder question?

[icehousebob]

I no longer think of the easy universal questions: is there a supreme being?, is there life on other planets?, does Jane Semour dream of me when she closes her eyes?.

No!! Is there such a thing as squirrel-proof bird feeders? Yesterday, there were eleven of them critters in our yard. Right now, there are nine. Earlier, there were chickedees, juncos, sparrows, a mass of Cardinals, and assorted others. The squirrels chased them off.

My bride,(who's much too good for me) just purchased phase three of our attempts at keeping them out. It is made by some outfit called Droll Yankees and its amusing. Its a large tube feeder and on the base is a large ring for birds to sit on. When the weight of a squirrel hits it, a battery powered motor spins the ring and throws the guy off. In two days, none have figured it out, which is one day more than any other feeder. As I wrote this, another squirrel bit the dust; or snow as it is now. Does anyone have any expeience with this feeder and how long it will fool the tree rats?

Next question, since we have so many feeding animals here, what's the difference between regular black oilers and PREMIUM black oilers. My child bride(whom I don't deserve) buys premium while I buy regular, since they're about half the price. Quatity or quality, which is better? (my wife is looking over my shoulder as I write this.)

[Jim Almquist]

I buy all of my seed from L & M and I would guess it is the cheap stuff because I only pay around $13.00 for 50# and none of the birds have filed any complaints SO FAR

I don't know what to tell you on the bird feeder. The rats we have around here get trapped and taken down the road or become fox snacks but we mostly have red squirrels and if you don't keep them in check they will find a way to get in your house or garage.

[wormdunker]

After being amused by the first "Squirrel Buster" feeder I purchased I went out and bought one of each model. The feeders are made by Brome and require no batteries. I have found these to not only be very effective but also provide an awful lot of entertainment. I chose to stay away from others due to batteries etc...but I am sure they are equally amusing. I have had the feeders out for over a year and the squirrels have yet to figure them out. I think I can safely say that the feeders have already paid for themselves with the money I have saved on seed. ONly suggestion, I woudl not buy the smallest one again, it works great but empties too fast.

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[Steve Foss]

Hey Bob, I've only ever used the regular black oil. That's in more than 30 years of feeding birds. Premium seed is supposed to have less waste material and a higher protein/fat content, but I've always been a doubter when it comes to the nutritional claims. I think the "premium" label is really the seed producers' way of getting more money for their product.

[JayinMN]

I agree with Steve. Premium seed is only seed that has been screened better and has less waste material in it. I get my sunflower seed from L&M and it does have a little waste material. The waste is a little bit of sunflower huskes, some corn and a few soybeans mixed in. It is such a small amount that I would rather pay for the tiny bit of waste and get the bulk price. Instead of paying the same for a 10 lb premium bag. I actually like the fact I have a small bit of corn mixed in because the blue jays love it.

[icehousebob]

Thanks for the info, guys. I figured that if the birds were scavenging on their own, they wouldn't be looking for a label on the weeds and buds. As for the feeder, as long as it keeps the squirrels from heck out of the feed, I don't mind charging batteries. Watching them spin off reminds me of the first time I ran a power auger. When it caught on the bottom of the ice, I spun around three times on the glare ice before I let go of the handles. My boys wanted me to do it again, so they could laugh at me some more. I like to think that I'm at least as smart as a squirrel. And I have no idea why my spousal goddess ( who's looking over my shoulder) still allows me to give her my paycheck every two weeks.

[RainyEye]

I've recently purchased a Brome Squirrel Buster, online, and for a cylinder type feeder it is indeed squirrel proof ! They try and try to get to the seeds, but are so far out of luck. They do manage to knock a seed out once in awhile and eat it off the snow, but so far I'm really pleased with it.

[eelpout1]

Steve is correct about the seed quality, premium is just cleaner -less non seed material, it is not worth the price. I have had the best luck with the tube type feeders with the spring loaded cage over them. I also have a baffel on the top of these, which I replace about once a year..after the tree rats chew the tops off and they fall to the ground. I am convinced that the seed and feeder company's secretly run a yearly camp for these little guys....seems they can always find away around any antithieft contraption made. Its not out of necessity that I continually fight to keep the seeds out of thier clutches..its a quest....I have many acorn bearing trees in my back yard, I raked acorns this year till my hands fell off, put them in a pile, for the sqirrels, which , by the way, is still there, even the deer havent touched it yet, like I said its a quest...........

[mplspug]

I love the squirrels and they get along just fine with the birds. In fact I have a mouse in the garage I feed too, but that's me. I buy bulk oil sunflower seeds from FF, so it doesn't get too spendy even letting the squirrels feast. Then I have 3 sock thistle feeders outside the window, along with a tube feeder by the sunflower seeds. Lastly at another station I have safflower seeds. I don't know who said squirrels won't eat safflower, but they are wrong. It's funny how from day to day a species of bird can change it's preferred seed to eat.

[Todd Caswell]

In fact I have a mouse in the garage I feed too,

I guess you never have had a tent or portable ice house that looked like swiss cheeze. I keep traps set year round.

[mplspug]

Of course not because I keep him well fed and built him a nesting box.

[Dotch]

lol! To each their own in the mouse feeding department I guess. Back to the squirrel/feeder/feed discussion, am fortunate here that the fox squirrels have been behaving themselves since I put the acrylic baffle back over the one feeder. They'd started lifting the lid on one feeder and chewing the tube. I need to get another baffle for one other feeder but FF was out the last time I was there. The squirrels still clean up well under the sunflower feeders so it's a win:win situation. These guys prefer sunflower but will eat safflower. I keep the ear corn I pull out of the fields after doing hand yield estimates each fall. The price is right and it's better than tossing the ears back in the field where they tend to rot or add to volunteer corn problems. Truck sorta looks like a corn crib inside until I clean it out but there's always a supply for the rodents to eat. Blue jays like it too as does the red-bellied woodpecker. With FF approximately 16.7 miles from my house, I buy the 40 or 50 lb bags of black oil sunflower seed when they're on sale. They're bagged right up the road at a little town called Meriden just off of US 14 between Waseca and Owatonna. The guranteed protein, fat, etc., analysis listed on the bag is probably pretty close. Start with a plumper, larger seed, removing hulls and other foreign material and the protein and oil %'s will increase, hence the premium price for those claiming to be "premium". Unlike feeding a domestic animal though, birds and other wildlife don't rely solely on what we feed them and it tends to be a relativelly small percentage of their total intake. They might consume more of a lower grade product to meet their needs but it might be hard to detemine just how much. BTW icousebob, I am convinced Sandra Bullock dreams about me.

[icehousebob]

Bird feeder update: after two days of having squirrels slide down the tube or get thrown off the spinning bird rest, the tree rats have stopped trying. Its almost dissapointing. I had fun watching them try to hang on like some poor kid getting flung off the merry-go-round.

The next challenge is the suet feeder. My wife gets all the fat from a butchered hog every year that she renders out, adds peanut butter and seeds and forms into blocks. The squirrels hang on that feeder like a Wisconsinite sucking on a keg of free beer. We also have crows that come to pick up spilled birdfood and one of them(named Crazy Crow) ignores the seed. He walks around, looking up, until he's right beneath the suet. Then he flaps five or six times, flying straight up. When level with the feeder, he spears a big beakful and drops to the ground to eat it. He can do that a dozen times in a row.

So, any ideas on a quirrel-proof suet feeder?