How I made a HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER

UPDATE! — Apparently the feedback for this video is quite polarized and some folks think this feeder will kill hummingbirds. I used these homemade feeders for several years and the little hummers seemed to love them just fine and kept coming back for more.

Let me address some of the more common concerns:

“SHARP METAL WILL CUT THE BIRDS!!!”
I made sure the holes didn’t have any sharp barbs that would harm the birds' beaks or tongues. If these feeders were hurting their beaks or tongues the hummingbirds would’ve gone to a friendlier food source. Also, no need to worry about the birds cutting their wings on the metal flowers. They are precision pilots and know exactly where they’re flying. And if you are worried about the metal flowers you can make plastic ones...

“METAL SHAVINGS LEFT INSIDE THE FEEDER!!!”
Obviously you should wash it out thoroughly before adding any nectar for the birds. My apologies for not including this step in the video.

“PAINT AND GLUE IS TOXIC!!!”
I took great care to keep any the glue on the outside of the feeder and not in direct contact with the nectar. Cover any holes into the feeder base before spray painting it to avoid getting paint on the inside of the feeder. Paint should degas within 24hrs and shouldn’t pose any serious problems after that.

“YOU CAN'T PROPERLY CLEAN THE FEEDER!!!”
You can easily unscrew the base from the bottle and rinse it out in hot water, vinegar, bleach, whatever makes you feel better. If you don’t like this feeder design then feel free to modify it, or not make it at all.

——————————————————————

How to make a homemade hummingbird feeder!

All you need for this original project is a bottle (with screw-on cap), two aluminum cans, a screwdriver, drill, scissors, and some 5-min epoxy.

Watch this video to see the step-by-step process.

Click this link to see how to make your own hummingbird nectar

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[proudinfidel]

Great idea. The only issue is the base does not come apart for cleaning. So, you will have issues with mold in the base and possibly poisoning the hummers.

[hollykmcd]

I love this but have heard cleaning is so important otherwise our feeders become toxic.

I also worry about sharp edges. So pretty though.

[emcee]

For those concerned about cleaning... Replace the bottom part (two can bottoms) with a modestly sized glass jar (think 6 oz TJ's olive tapenade jar. Glue the bottle top (with hole) to the jar lid) with hole, and everything will come apart for easy and complete cleaning.

[tonywedding]

might be good idea to drill holes for feeders in base before assembling top and bottoms to ensure filings do not remain in base.

[mariebossard]

My concern would be the cleaning of the bottom part since mold and fermented nectar can kill hummingbirds.

[riverjean]

As soon as I watched your video I had to make one for myself and went and got all the stuff together to do it. I love it, it's such a great design and so nice of you to share your brilliance with the rest of us! I just realized how old this post is so you probably won't even see this comment but thank you anyway!

[barryelitchfield]

Great design, and almost no cost per feeder. I just finished Making one and your instructions were excellent. I'll probably make several and hang them around the deck in the back yard and on the front porch. We are in South Texas and we usually look for shade when we go outside between April and October. Thanks for posting this wonderful "how-to" for a hummingbird feeder.

[bcmiller]

Nice idea, now tweak the adhesive and and paint and your onto something. The birds would be better off using silicone for aquariums or some type of food grade adhesive. The problem with this type of epoxy is it's toxic properties (even when cured), specially since they return to the same feeders. Wiki: The primary risk associated with epoxy use is often related to the hardener component and not to the epoxy resin itself. Amine hardeners in particular are generally corrosive, but may also be classed as toxic or carcinogenic/mutagenic.

[robinism]

brilliant! oh and there are simple ways to fix the probs people complain about below. just use your noodle. epoxy isn't toxic once it goes off, right? you can curl the flower edges or even apply a glue to the edges. and drill holes before you close the 2 cans together as someone said below.

[yvonneramos]

Hi, I just wanted to say what a beautiful, creative, and repurposed recycling idea! I am definitely going to try this when I gather all my materials. For the cleaning part of it, I am gonna put the feeders in my dishwasher when it comes to cleaning time so that they will always get disenfected so the birds don't get sick. As for the flowers part, if you notice the hummingbirds...they never land to eat, they continue to fly, so they can't get hurt. But just in case, for those who are more cautious...you can always use plastic flowers on your hummingbird feeder or you can use fabric but they may tatter in the dishwasher. As for the concerns of the paint and the epoxy...I wonder what paint the companies who make those store bought ones use? Just food for thought. So be creative yourself. But to ehullquist, thank you for such a cool idea!

[jj-ubsk]

Out of all the diy feeder videos I've looked at, this is my favorite and most visually appealing... the only thing I'm wondering about though, is the part where the 3 equally distant holes are drilled. If possible, I'm thinking it would be better ( if drilling holes, as opposed to creating holes with a nail ) to drill the holes before attaching and sealing the two end pieces of cans together, as drilling the holes will produce tiny aluminum particles/ shavings, that I'm worried might harm the hummingbirds in some way, such as possible ingestion if the aluminum shavings are small enough to be ingested...
Just want to reiterate that ( i think ) this feeder idea is perfect aesthetically and practically, my only concern was the order in which the steps were taken...
So in conclusion, awesome idea, and beautiful execution of work. I'm going to attempt to make this tomorrow, thank you!!

[carolzangas]

This is the best of all the make it yourself hummingbird feeders I have watched

[zookey]

So beautiful, but I worry about the metal pieces left inside the feeder from the drilling.

[HarryBalsak]

Cool idea, but how do you clean the inside? You have to be able to separate the base parts (easily) to give it a thorough cleaning. A widemouth bottle would have been better so you can use a brush to clean the inside.

[enrichingexchanges]

It is delightful to watch this, and I don't know why. Is it the incredible creativity? The super slick editing of the video? The perfect and yet easy narration? Overall, I think it empowers the person watching it feel that creating stuff is doable. Thank you so much for the video!

[walterwilliams]

im afraid the metal will wear out the hummingbirds beaks from rubbing.. flowers or even plastic flower are softer.

[debbolen]

They look beautiful...how in the world do you clean the feeders when you need to refill?

[darkclouds]

I just finished making one but I drilled the holes in the aluminum can before gluing it together so pieces of aluminum wouldn't fall in the base. Instead of using epoxy I used a glue gun since I already had one and didn't want to buy epoxy. I covered the inside of the lid with tape before spray painting so the nectar wouldn't be absorbing the spray paint. When I made the hanging part I put some colorful beads over the glue to make it a little more attractive for the birds. This was a fun little project. Thank you for the awesome tutorial and I look forward to making many more!

[atraveller]

Its beautiful. But Why the water doesnt leak from holes?

[castiellarabbit]

It’s amazing but are the holes edges soft enough for their beaks? 😱