Make a seed catcher?

glad2garden

16 years ago

Anyone ever made a seed catcher? The prices for these are ridiculous. I thought I might try to make one.

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Comments (11)

donald lucius
16 years ago
i have made a variety of them according to which feeder i wanted them on.
the first one i made was on a hopper feeder with a small seed catcher on it and i took an old metal pot cover and drilled small holes in it and bolted it to the base of the feeder. also have a couple of the wire screen feeders that i screwed a couple bases from plant pots onto the bottoms to catch the seed. the latest is a glass hopper with ports and a railing around the bottom for perching. no place to drill holes through the rail so i took picture frame wire and drilled holes in a melmack picnic plate and wired the plate to the bottom of the feeder.
I also drilled holes in the trays i made to drain rain or snow moisture
bandjzmom
16 years ago
You know, I have often had this same thought, and I have spent some time thinking about how to make one myself for cheap. One of the things that came to my mind was the fold up flying discs that are meant to be used like a frisbee for play. See here:http://www.wellpromo.com/upload/upimg76/Flying-Disc-98876.jpg

The thing is that you need holes in it so that the water can drain out. I'm still thinking. :o)
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glad2garden
Original Author
16 years ago
Yes, I'm still thinking too. How about the mesh food covers for picnics? I got one for a couple of bucks. Now to figure out how to hang it to the feeder?
glad2garden
Original Author
16 years ago
dklucius, you're very handy with tools I think! Don't you love coming up with new ideas for stuff?
donald lucius
16 years ago
i was born on a small farm out in the sticks. we had our own orchard and gardens and raised chickens and cows and horses and pigs ducks geese rabitts and canned or dried
everything we could. we hunted and fished and trapped too. we did our own mechanical and household repairs and built our own house and sheds.
I worked many years also at small sawmills and logging and the crew fixed stuff to keep running. I get more satifaction fixing something than i would buying something.
bandjzmom
16 years ago
Well, I am doing some research. Look at what I found on amazon.com for cheap!
http://www.amazon.com/Petco-PETCO-Bird-Seed-Catcher/dp/B003CRAJ8Q

Looks to me like we can walk right in to our local PetCo and snatch one up for $7.99+ tax!
ponderpaul
16 years ago
I no longer use a hanging feeder other than for thistle seed. There was always a mess on the ground around it. A little more attention is needed now but it works extremely well and I have many more birds at the feeder at a given time.

It is not unusual to have perhaps a dozen birds at a time. It is a simple piece of carpet, cut into a circle and used back side up. I move it a little every day so as not to kill the grass. Maybe just move it a couple of feet or across the yard. The birds are quick to find it. They will clean it right down to the fine dust. All of the seed eating species seem to enjoy it.
Cost: labor involved in finding a piece of used carpet and cutting it!
glad2garden
Original Author
16 years ago
That's a good idea. The only problem here would be the neighbor's blasted cat.
donald lucius
16 years ago
we get lots of snow in the winter and sometimes after a storm i do put out an aluminum baking sheet with seed on it. But try to take it up if more snow is forcast. if there are lots of Juncos towhees or Doves feeding mostly on the ground.
ponderpaul
16 years ago
In southern OK, it rarely snows, much less gets cold enough for snow to stick on our concrete patio. So when it does snow I just throw feed on the patio. About all kinds come right in. They are not used to scrounging for chow when there is snow cover.
anna_lisa
16 years ago
I put every day a 14 inch dish that is a bottom of a flower pot and I put sunflower seed in it and bread and corn but I have 4 squirrels and 2 chip monks the birds don't get a chance to get at the food.
Anna