Perky-Pet 398 Patented Deluxe Upside Down Thistle Feeder

 (10 customer reviews)

I've had this feeder for less than a year and I have to replace it. I took it down to clean it and the bottom part that keeps the seed in is broken and will not fit tightly back in. The only cheaply made part of this feeder is that part but it's pretty important!

We've used a similar design before, and it works well. The "upside down" feeding largely ensures only goldfinches will use it, and they tend to fly in and out, without hanging around the backyard deck leaving a mess. Our last feeder lasted over ten years; this will last six months. The greatest defect is the flimsiness of the main tube. It has to hold all the niger seeds; keep the perch bars in place and prevent them from spinning when the birds rotate; hold the bar that the unit hangs from; and securely keep the bottom "v" in place, which keeps the seeds from falling out, yet must occasionally be removed for cleaning. But this tube is such a thin plastic that it will never hold up under the sunlight and weather; its flexibility allows for too much movement of the stationary parts; and it it surely won't be an impediment for other animals. Mine arrived warped, and the small tabs of the "v" would not engage the tube's cutouts. The slightest flexing of the tube caused the "v" to...Read more

It's fun to watch the goldfinches turn upside down to get the seed, while the purple finches are confounded by their inability to get their meal. But the feeder has an inane design. The bottom of the feeder - which has to support about 2 lbs of seed - is a flimsy piece of plastic held in place merely by small, short tabs that insert into slots in the cylindrical body of the feeder. As soon as the feeder deforms at all in the sun, the tabs slip and the bottom falls out. Along with all the seed. It isn't hard to fix by drilling four holes and weaving in thin wire for extra support (thus two stars instead of one), but whoever designed this should be sent back to kindergarten.