How to Make a Bird Feeder: Complete Guide & 7 Ideas

What Materials Do I Need to Make a Bird Feeder?

Making a bird feeder is quite fun, and the best part is that you can make all the bird feeders in this list by using materials that you already have at home, such as paper, carton, plastic, and more.

The best thing about DIY bird feeders is the fact that you don’t need to spend too much money in order to make one. Besides, it has been proven that bird feeders do not alter birds’ behavior, so you can simply put one on your porch and become a friendly source of food for little birds around.

Pet birds are quite different from wild birds. Perhaps your Bird Starts to Bite You, but in the case of wild birds, it is rare for them to attack. Instead, they will be pretty afraid of you, which is why choosing the right materials for your bird feeder is so important.

 

3 Tips to Make a DIY Bird Feeder

Before you start to craft a bird feeder by yourself, there are three fundamental factors to have in mind. You wouldn’t put a bird feeder inside your garage, would you? Then how would you Get a Bird Out of Garage!

That’s why it’s necessary to know how and where to place a bird feeder outside, so birds actually come to feed from it.

1. Choose the Right Bird Food

What kind of bird is the most common around your home? Are we talking about common birds, pigeons, or hummingbirds? We all know that hummingbirds cannot eat seeds, but other birds can, so it’s necessary to choose the right bird food before you make a bird feeder.

Sunflower seeds, peanuts, and bird seeds are among the best choices of food that you can put inside a bird feeder – most birds will absolutely love them! Fruits are also a good choice, but it depends on the time of the year and other factors.

2. Use Recycled Materials

You don’t need to use fancy items to make a bird feeder at home – just choose recycled materials and you will be good to go.

In fact, you will soon realize that many of the items you have at home right now are more than enough to make a bird feeder. Birds don’t want to go to a “fancy restaurant” – they just want some delicious food!

3. Carefully Pick the Bird Feeder Location

It is important to choose the location of the bird feeder so birds actually come to it. Besides, there’s a common enemy that all bird feeders have: squirrels!

You can learn how to make a squirrel-proof bird feeder here, but ultimately, the most important thing to consider is where you put the feeder. Perhaps hanging it in your garden will be more than enough, but sometimes, it would be necessary to place it on the trunk of a tree instead – it depends.

How to Make a Bird Feeder Step by Step: 7 Ideas

Get your seed types ready, gather some useful materials, and let’s learn how to make a bird feeder with household items! We will give you seven ideas that will help you make the most out of a DIY feeder for birds that both adults and kids can do together.

1. Simple Wooden Bird Feeder

Let’s start with the basics – a simple, classic wooden bird feeder. The idea is to make a classic platform feeder made out of wood. You will need scissors, a ruler, exterior wood glue, a hammer, a little duct tape, and some wood.

1. Create a little square using the wood and use nails to hammer it all together. Remember that it doesn’t need to look beautiful; it just needs to work!;
2. Make sure to leave a few inches of depth so the bird food can fit inside the wooden square. Then, use shoe laces or a little chain and attach it to the feeder so you can hang it;
3. Hang the bird feeder outside. This simple, wooden design works anywhere, so just put some bird food inside it and let birds come to you!

2. Tube-Style Bird Feeder

Have you seen the little tube containers that hamsters use to drink water? Well, the idea is to make a tube-style feeder using plastic, but filled with seeds, of course.

You will need a little more skills for this one, but basically, these are the steps to follow:

1. Get a piece of plastic and craft it as if it were a cylinder. You can use silicone or glue to glue it out;
2. Make sure to get an item that works as a bottle cap for the cylinder. It can be another piece of plastic if you please;
3. Use chains to hang the feeder somewhere. Make sure that if you want it to be squirrel-proof, it must be heavy enough to endure a squirrel’s weight;
4. Make a little hole in the bottom side of the cylinder and fill it with food – birds will come and pass by whenever they have a chance!

3. Empty Bottle Bird Feeder

Making a bird feeder with an empty bottle is as easy as it gets. You can use an empty bottle of soda, wine, juice, or whatever you want.

Just get an empty bottle from the chicken, clean it well, hang it backwards, fill it with food, and it will work efficiently.

If you want it to look more beautiful, add some flowers around it. It is also possible to use a plastic cone – remember that birds don’t care what the feeder looks like, they just need the food inside it!

4. Empty Jar Bird Feeder

Empty jars are a great alternative to empty bottles. You can use an empty plastic jar or Mason Jar if you have one. This is what you have to do:

1. Get the empty jar, clean it well, and put it backwards;
2. Look for something that can be used as a plate – all the food will go inside the jar and slowly go down onto this plate as birds eat. It can be another piece of plastic if you want;
3. Use string or a chain and glue it to the base of the feeder. All in all, this bird feeder works exactly as the one you can make with a bottle.
4. Make sure that the jar is well-glued to the platform – you don’t want it to roll and fall over.

5. Cake Pan or Bowl Bird Feeder

If you have an unused bowl or cake pan, you can simply hang it backwards, and it will work as a bird feeder. This is a frankly lazy design, but hey, the results are the important thing!

Just get the pan, decorate it with a flower, paint (avoid heavy smells), or whatever you want. Then, put peanut butter or seeds inside it, hang it out, and let birds feast with it! Easy, affordable, simple, and really quick to do.

6. Plant Pot Bird Feeder

Now, if you want to put the bird feeder in your garden, and you consider yourself to be quite an “aesthetic geek,” then you will want to match the aura of the feeder with your garden.

1. Look up for plant pots that you don’t use anymore. Also, get some thing that works as a plate or base for the feeder;
2. Open some little holes inside the plant pot and put it backwards upon the base;
3. If possible, try to use only terra cotta – it will look amazing! You can hand this feeder alongside other hanging plants and it will look marvelous.

7. Ice Ornament Bird Feeder

Last but not least, it is also possible to make a bird feeder by using JUST ICE! The process consists of getting some peanuts, seeds, and fruits, and freezing them in a “donut-shaped” container.

The food will freeze and stay inside the ice, and you can simply hang this winter feeder as if it were an ornament. Of course, this only works during the winter months, and there’s the risk for the ice to melt, and no bird eats the food, so it highly depends on you.

Pet Recap: Bird Feeder Ideas and How to Make

As you can see, you don’t need a lot of money nor a lot of time to make a Do It Yourself bird feeder. Also, it is not necessary to follow over-complicated designs – practicality is the best thing to do when it comes to bird feeders!

Now, thanks to these tips, you are ready to use the materials you can find at home to make a bird feeder that the little birds of your neighborhood will absolutely love.

FAQ

How Can I Make a Hummingbird Feeder?

Since hummingbirds do not eat seeds, you need to make a feeder that can withstand liquids and fill it with sugar water only. It is a different process than the one mentioned above, but that’s a story for another day!