Bird Suet Feeder for Birds That Like to Feed Upside Down

by john pedersen in Outside > Birding

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Bird Suet Feeder for Birds That Like to Feed Upside Down

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While looking for a bird suet feeder I came across a wooden one in a hardware store, the price was $25 which I thought was quite a bit. So I looked at the simple construction of it and decided that I could make one.

Some of the type of birds that would like this kind of feeder: Chickadees, Nut Hatches, Downy Wood Peckers.

Supplies

A cedar board, some hardware cloth, 5 - #6 1 inch long wood screws, 5 washers, 3 eye hooks, some steel picture hanging wire, gorilla glue and a suet block. Hand saw.

Plans

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I measured the suet block to get the minimum inside dimensions that I would need for the holder. I drew up the plans from that.

Cutting the Pieces

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I cut out the pieces using a hand saw, The feeder pieces took less than 20 inches of the board that I had.

Construction

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I glued the sides to the roof first. Next I glued the back on. Then the front brace was glued on.

Construction Continued

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I cut the hardware cloth to fit on the feeder with overlap on the sides. Then I formed the hardware cloth to fit over the feeder.

The hardware cloth was fastened at the back with 3 screws and washers. Pilot holes were drilled for the screws.

Two more screws were used to fasten the hardware cloth to the front of the feeder.

Three eye screws were screwed to the top, two at the front and one at the back.

The wire was attached to the eye screws in a tripod arrangement. Where the wires were brought together I made a loop for hanging it up.

Filling the Feeder

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Take out the two front screws, remove the suet block from the package. Bend the hardware cloth up a bit. Place the block in the feeder and refasten the hardware cloth in place ( front of the feeder ) with the two screws and washers.

Using the Feeder

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Hang the feeder up from a tree branch or a hook under the eaves of your house.

I had a wooden bird, model for the use of the feeder, the real birds wouldn't sign a release.

I estimate the cost was about $5 Cdn.