Backyard Boys Woodworking BBW25S 17-Inch Hopper Feeder with Suet Basket

This is a pretty large feeder. It's well made and looks nice. I actually prefer that there is only one suet cage because then the birds can't go on the back side where I can't see them from the window. The lid does a good job at keeping weather out. However, my reason to bump it down to 4 stars is a minor one (really it should be 4.5 stars): The lid is hinged shut and held down by gravity, making it an easy access for squirrels to open and go inside for mass destruction to the seeds. It is an easy fix; I added a $1.50 hook latch from a home improvement store to keep it shut (see pic). Overall, pretty pleased.

This feeder holds an incredible amount of birdfood--maybe too much. When the squirrels get at it, I can lose a gallon of seed in a single day. The squirrels can also push the flexi-glass partitions, often bending them to near breaking, to get at remaining scraps of seeds. While the feeder is durable, I've already had to staple the boards in a couple places where they cracked from wear and tear. Finally, having a suet block feeder on only one side of the feeder strikes me as a bit strange and unbalanced. Why not put one on each side? Clearly, it's a large feeder, but designed for easy access for critters other than birds.

This would have been a nice feeder but I'll have to have someone reconstruct one side of the perch as it arrived smashed. It looks like this happened in construction as the wood is split. The shipping box was pristine....not smashed or damaged in any way. One side of the feeder is perfectly functional. I'm not apt to go through the tremendous hassle of returning it. But whoever packaged this item didn't notice the severe splitting where one end of the perch connects to the end of the feeder.

The feeder looks good, although the cross dimension was smaller than expected. Construction quality is fair with some wood splitting around staples, although I am left wondering how many Santa Ana winds and pounding sunny days it will take. I did treat the whole feeder to a heavy dose of teak oil to protect the soft cedar from early cracking. May fortune favor the foolish.

This feeder is a bit small for my taste. I feed squirrels along with the birds and the squirrels have just about chewed it to pieces. Beautifully made feeder, but it's not gonna last long in my backyard.

Update: when the feeder is nearing empty, I have had birds squeeze through the bottom of the feeding tray where there is an opening and get stuck inside the feeder. This happens with great regularity. And one recently got its head stuck under the plastic between the wall and the feeder tray. This is a serious design flaw, and I would not recommend purchasing this unit.It's definitely OK, but not of the highest quality. It fits the price point. The pieces are mostly put together with staples and glue, and it is not terribly sturdy. I tried to put a couple screws in to hold it together better and the wood split in one spot already. It is definitely really big, if you are looking for high capacity.

This feeder is holding up to the weather, the birds, and the other animals so far. Its easy to fill & I had no problem mounting it to an existing pole. The seed capacity is bigger than I expected - so I only fill it about 1/4 full because I know sooner or later a squirrel will come & empty the whole thing looking for the tastiest seeds.

I gave this as a gift to my Mom for Christmas. She loves it. She got so many birds all winder long. She liked the suet feeder on the side that attracted Downey woodpeckers and Red bellied woodpeckers. It is nice to be able to see the seed level as well as easily open the top to refill. Great bird feeder at a great price too.