Best Tube Bird Feeder Reviews

In my thirty years of birding, this is the first feeder that has beaten our previously undefeated squirrels. It really works! However, if you are buying this feeder for entertainment, forget it. What happens is the squirrels will each get on it ONCE! They will proceed to be thrown off and that is it....they will not try it again, because they know the result. If you really are hoping to see more, you might try having the battery alternate in off/on mode so the squirrels will be confused, but I doubt they will come back.

This feeder works great! Squirrels do a nice backflip off when they get zapped. They don't get on again. So far it has also kept the opossums and raccoons off as well.I tried one of those lithium batteries in it and it did not work well. I'd stick with alkaline. I haven't had to replace them too often. About every 4-6 months I put in a new one just to be on the safe side.This model is very large. I love being able to dump in this much sunflower seed and then not have to fill the feeder for a few weeks. I have it mounted on a pole and it works great there. The bottom tray is just big enough for cardinals and sometimes a mourning dove to land. Smaller perching birds have no problem on it.Just remember to flip the switch to off before you try to fill it ;) It will give you a nice strong zap that you can feel from your finger to your shoulder.I've had this now for about 4 years and it's weathered quite well being outside year round. If it stopped working tomorrow I would buy another one. It saves me a ton in the seed I used to waste on those squirrels. It saves me the frustration of finding my feeders ravaged by raccoons who used to leave them strewn across the yard.I love this feeder.

I was hesitant to spend so much money on a bird feeder, but I was losing the battle against the squirrels (no offense... I think they're cute and they have a place in nature, just not in my birdfeeder-- which is where they always managed to get). I tried everything: squirrel shields, providing them their own food elsewhere in the yard, even greasing the pole with baby oil (which was funny but never lasted-- they'd keep at it and soon were able to grip onto it again). So, I bought this feeder about a year and a half ago, and NOT ONCE has a squirrel been able to get into the feeder. The design makes it physically impossible for them. I love this feeder and am finally able to enjoy the birds again. I recommend using a seed with primarily large seeds, like sunflower. Avoid the mixes with those tiny little seeds, because they tends to clog up the drainage holes. One weird thing that I noticed about this feeder: bluejays don't seem to like it. They don't come very much anymore. I used to get tons of them :(

I delayed purchasing this item for awhile because the price seemed like a lot for a bird feeder. I'm really glad I finally splurged because I will easily recover the entire cost in saved bird seed just this winter.I put ours outside the bedroom window and in the morning we can lie in bed and watch all the different varieties of birds take turns having breakfast. The larger Blue Jays and Grackles still get fed, but I have the spring set so that the ports close down partially for them and they can no longer PIG out on our expensive seed. It's also fun watching the squirrels try repeatedly to get at the seed...but they never do.The kids really enjoy being so close to the feeder that the birds can watch them too! They think the Chickadees are cute because they have to stand on tip toes to get at the seed and they look like little kids trying to reach the cookie jar. The youngest calls Titmice "Mohawk birds" because of their funky top feathers. She is also doing a science project identifying all the different varieties that we get at the feeder.This is a very thoughtfully designed product that is well worth the price.

I have been battling the squirrels with limited success for years. Either the feeders didn't stop the squirrels at all or they were so dang ugly I didn't want them in my yard. The squirrels even ate a few of the "squirrel proof" feeder I tried. I'm pretty cheap, but the Droll Yankee Co. seems to have a good reputation so I wasn't too reluctant to part with the bucks for this feeder. My first impression was that it is a lot larger than I expected and seemed to be sturdier than most feeders. I plugged it in and let it charge overnight (it charges like a power screwdriver), filled it with black-oil sunflower and hung it in my favorite bird feeder tree the next morning. My Carolina-chickadees and Cardinals were feeding within thirty minutes, Mr.Squirrel made his first attempt after about an hour. There is really no way I can describe what followed. Let's just say I have some really freaked out squirrels around my house.I have had the feeder up for over a month, the squirrels have been forced to feed from the spilled seed on the ground and the feeder is still operating from the original charge.This feeder is is worth every penny and then some. I wish I could give it more than five stars.

I've had this since the summer and had couple but they couldn't figure out how to get to the seed...have left it out and still no birds. Also seed in tray still gets wet in rain and then they don't want it. Have cleaned out the tray and put fresh seed but they have given up on it. Very disappointed for the price!

So, I've had this feeder for a year and at first I loved it. The squirrels tried everything and couldn't get to the seed. Then, one particularly industrious squirrel figured it out. He grips the seed holes, hangs upside down (as in the picture) and then proceeds to chow down. I'm going to try the battery operated feeder next....or maybe a bb gun :).It's a great feeder other than the squirrel issue. Bigger birds (bigger than say, a cardinal) can't feed on it, so the smaller birds love visiting.

First, this "18 inch feeder" is actually 33 inches from top to bottom - waaaay to tall to fit in the space under the porch eaves where our current feeder hands. Second, the claim "No screws to mess with" - then how exactly do we open the battery doors? The one we received has 3 screws there, tiny, odd-sized screws no less. Third, "Take out of the box, hang in your yard" - ours came in 4 pieces, were we supposed to dangle them all from the hook or what?Getting the thing open to add seed is a headache - you have push, bend, slide then pull to get the lid open. Our current feeder you just slide the lid up the cable, pour in seed and slide the lid down.This thing is poorly designed from start to finish, and will be promptly returned from whence it came.

I purchased the Duncraft Safe Haven bird feeder a couple of months ago and I have been very pleased with it. I had earlier purchased a plastic squirrel hood and a long pole from which to hang it from a tree branch. This combination has worked extremely well. The birds love it, with the small ones going inside and the larger birds hanging from the cage and leaning forward to reach the seeds. Now and then a squirrel manages to make the acrobatic set of moves to get themselves onto the cage, but the fully metal construction seems to be sturdy enough to survive the experience, and about the only seeds the squirrel can get are those that the birds had dropped into the bottom tray. Not much of a reward for their work, and they eventually admit defeat and drop off. It is big enough to only need to be filled about once a week, which is much more practical than the smaller feeders which seem to need almost daily attention.