FINCHforum

Have any of you here ever used this style feeder? I was wondering if any of you might know how long it would stay full between fillings for 4 birds. I'm currently using a feed dish which I have to fill every day and am looking for a way to make it easier on my birdsitters in the future.

I really like the seed hoppers I have...they hold a lot!

You can take a look here to see what they look like:

http://www.justbirdstuff.com/search.php?mode=search

FeatherHarp wrote:I really like the seed hoppers I have...they hold a lot!

You can take a look here to see what they look like:

http://www.justbirdstuff.com/search.php?mode=search

Yea I would love those, but my cage is homemade and I used hardware cloth so attaching the seed hopper to it wouldn't work too well as far as I know. Any tips on attaching seed hoppers to hardware cloth?

C A...I hang my hoppers inside my cage...there are two little plastic hooks on the back side. I should think they would hook onto the hardware cloth?

Maybe somebody else can help determine this?

Most of my breeding cages are made of wire mesh 1/2x1, and the doors are too large for the seed hoppers to hang on the outside, plus they swing open to the side, instead of sliding up. So I hang the hoppers on the inside of the cage with the two hooks.

For 4 birds, the seed hopper would probably hold about a week's worth of seed, you'd have to monitor it to be sure, but the catch tray has to be emptied more often, every 3-4 days, but it sure would make it easier for your birdsitter.

Thanks for the info I didn't notice the seed hoppers had hooks on them in their photos. That is how my feed cups are mounted also, so it sounds like they will work great. I've been wanting them since I bought my birds to keep seed hulls from flying everywhere!

As for the silo waterers, has anyone had good/bad experiences w/ them?

I don't know anything about the brand, but I use plastic tube-style waterers that hang on the outside of the cage, the kind that have a little lip or trough that sticks thru the bars into the cage. The only problem I have had with them is sometimes I will have one leak, and suddenly there is very little water in the tube. Sometimes, I think I just haven't fastened the bottom part on tight enough.

I have heard others mention that the tube waterers can get just as filled with bacteria as an open dish so you have to still clean them everyday so I don't know what the advantage would be for one over the other!

Hopefully somebody can shed more light on that issue!

I've been saying I am going to get the seed hoppers, they seem to keep the area clean. I never really thought about any tall or silo type feeders for a finch. Just because they always seem to flock and eat around the same time. I think the only thing they would be good for is so you dont refill the cup each day.

FeatherHarp wrote:I have heard others mention that the tube waterers can get just as filled with bacteria as an open dish so you have to still clean them everyday so I don't know what the advantage would be for one over the other!

Hopefully somebody can shed more light on that issue!

I was wondering about that too. The only time I would consider leaving their water for more than a day would be if I went out of town for a few days for holidays and such. It might just be too risky though.

C A....there is something you can put in the water to keep it from becoming bacteria soup. One brand name is Saniclens...it prevents the algae, fungus and bacteria from building up if you can't change the water for a few days...that sure would give me peace of mind!

Thanks for the tip! I definitely will be using that one !

I normally change the water every day. I bought enough tube waterers that I have two for each cage, so I can swap out each day. However, if I am going to be gone, I use something like Saniclens and it really does help. Between that and the seed hoppers, I don't worry about being gone a few days.