Rating  - The little buggers like it
Well, we tried this Perky Pet 209 based on reviews. The deciding factor was attractiveness to hummingbirds. Why that is, I still don't know. I tried two others before this, no hummingbirds and they leaked. I tried the sugar and water mix first, no hummingbirds. Then I tried the red liquid you buy at the store and add water. Hmmm...instant hummingbirds. I will try to switch to just sugar and water because it's cheaper. I know...bait and switch. Quite frankly, I think the people against red dye are kooks. It's nothing compared to what we eat and breath every day. I think the red verses yellow flower people are freaks too. The hummingbirds have no trouble finding the hole in the middle. I think we are all messing with Nature and may be causing more damage than we know. We are humans. That's our MO.
I thought it was interesting that the stuff you buy at the store has a perservative in it too. I'm surprised that know one has complained about that, but it's very practical since sugar and water will spoil.
Ants haven't been a problem yet because we have fire ants on guard. They aren't interested in sweets, but will bite anything that moves. Bees have not been a problem with this feeder, probably because, as advertised, it doesn't leak.
Cleaning hasn't been a problem because I'm replacing nectar twice a week and doing the wash and thorough rinse routine. If that's too much for you, don't get a hummingbird feeder because you are going to get lazy and leave it hanging outside with some real crap in it, probably turn black. I think the dip with a little bleach in the water people know what they are doing. Hey, rinse the feeder out. If you are to lazy to do that, you aren't going to be doing this long anyway.
What do you think restaurants and kitchens are being cleaned with? What's in our drinking water? I know...we'll go buy bottled water...high dollar bottled water because most places source right from the city and mix that with sugar. I know...they purify the water. We'll that's like decaf coffee. What they used to take the caffein out is more dangerous than the caffein. You Nuts out there need to quit driving your cars first. You are killing the little hummingbirds.
Enough of that. So, the little hummingbirds started fighting over this feeder. As is suggested, get another feeder. I got the kind with a wider mouth, easy to clean, bottom comes apart, red fowers. Oh yeah, in all cases, the perches are a good thing. Hummingbirds will sit and guzzle. Same nectar. I thought, we'll maybe they didn't like the new location. They preferred to fight over the PP 209. Come on guys they look very similar. Okay, they had to bend over a little farther. I tried swapping the two feeders. Boy, did that piss them off. It is kind of funny watching them pull up short at the new feeder.
They went on strike for a little while. I gave up and switched the feeders back. Now, they are back to fighting over the PP 209, and all the humminbird watchers are happy. I realize that it may be what they get used to first, but I'm not prepared to wait them out. I went ahead and ordered another Perky Pet 209. I know the little buggers like it.
We have given our kids fast food or pizza on occasion also.
****Okay, it's a few days later and the new Perky Pets 209 has arrived. The status on the hummingbird feeder, the one that I like, but the hummingbirds don't, they are still ignoring it. They don't care about red flowers, easy to clean, none of that. I put just one cup of the same red nectar in the new PP209, took the ignored hummingbird feeder down, and put the PP209 in its place. As soon as the feeder stopped swinging from me hanging it up, instant hummingbirds. Of course, they are fighting over the second feeder, as they are fighting over the first PP209 in the other tree. In a span of ten minutes, I've got more than twice the number of hummingbirds feeding out of both feeders. I had no idea there were that many hummingbirds out there. They still fight, but it is harder to fight over two feeders, and more birds are content to sit and guzzle. More might be better, but I'm not getting six hummingbird feeders like some people. Two is enough. Already if feels like owning both Dairy Queens in a small town in Podunk, USA.
Rating - Perky Pet 30 oz feeder
Size matters. This is the largest feeder I have yet to find. I mix up one cup of sugar in 30 oz of boiled water in a mayonnaise jar (6 at a time, actually) and fill my six feeders every day. They only need to be cleaned thoroughly about every 10 fillings. For that I use a bottle brush I got from a laboratory supply company. Same for base. If you let the feeders go empty for more than a few hours they will get yucky, sticky, and need more frequent cleanings. And, if you don't head off the ants at the pass you will have even a bigger mess. These problems plague all feeders I have ever owned. The 30 oz Perky Pet is the only one I use now. I am told that I have about 120-150 birds feeding on my six feeders. I would say that those people who don't have enough time to properly care for their feeders shouldn't tempt the birds. Who are they doing this for, anyway...the birds or themselves? Hope they don't have babies and then leave their diapers unchanged for two or three days. shame shame, no no
Rating  - Terrible to clean
As hummingbird feeders go, this sits about in the lower middle of the spectrum. It's not the worst design, but you "get what you pay for" without a doubt. Though the glass reservoir is very large and the feeder doesn't leak, that is about all I can say for the positive remarks about this feeder. The perch will become brittle and break after a couple of years in the sun. The flowers will also become brittle and need to be replaced about once a year. The flowers do nothing to keep the rain out because they're only inserts (the capillary effect still allows rain water in). The flowers also DON'T keep the bees or ants out (yellow flowers seem to attract more bees). Then you have the cleaning...
This feeder WILL get moldy. Unless you have an arsenal of brushes that fit through tiny openings, you cannot get the mold out. Sure bleach will kill the mold, but it'll also kill the hummers. The bottom does not disassemble for easy cleaning (try a toothbrush or the rice suggestion from another review). The bottle has a narrow neck - good luck even getting a bottle brush in. Not only that, but the blessing of the large reservoir becomes a curse when your bottle brush can't reach the bottom to scrub.
Yes, this feeder "works," but you'll discover that the problems are not worth the money you saved on this cheap design. Save yourself the hassle and get the Aspects Hummzinger. You will not be disappointed.
Rating - Perkey Pet 209 30 oz hummingbird feeder
This hummingbird feeder is by far the best we have ever used. We use six feeders filled 2 x per day. Needless to say we have a great multitude of piggish hummingbirds. We have been using this feeder for over 12 years. To clean the feeder base of algae, we use a large bucket filled with water mixed with about 1/2 cup of bleach and let it soak overnight. Make certain you rinse very well, let dry and cannot smell any clorine before re-use. We also wash the feeder after the clorine treatment. To retard the algae growth and to discourage bees from being attracted to the feeder, we wash the feeder after every use totally submerged with water and dishwashing soap [dawn]...We allow it to soak overnight and rinse very well [no more bubbles in the base or glass holder]with hot water before use.
Go to the Product Information page
page 7 of 10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Customer Reviews for Perky Pet,209,078978209008,0078978209008,B00004RA8P, |
