New Bird Feeder, um, I mean Cage, no, Feeder!

So I went yard-saling last weekend...again (becoming addicted!!) and found a slew of great items to recycle! One of them was this bird cage. Nothing fancy, nothing old (you can find this same kind in the pet stores) but I thought I could do something neat with it. See the big old wrought iron one beside it? Wow!!! I'm thrilled with that find and can't wait to re-purpose it! But that will be another post. :)

Had some red & yellow Rustoleum Painter's Touch spray paint, so I painted the top...

 The dogs just had to investigate, aren't they adorable!!

...and the bottom...

...and decided it looked pretty neat!! And decided to put it on one of the shepherd's hooks in the bird garden. I have some of the chicken scratch feed in it (Larry bought the wrong kind, we need layer feed, and we can't use it so we figured some wild-life will like it!)

 Just noticed I forgot to put the perches back in...have to do that tomorrow.

I spray painted some steel wire yellow to match the cage and secured the door and 'food holder doors' open so the wild-life can get in & out with ease. 

Haven't seen any bird in it, figure they must feel too 'caged in' so they use the regular feeders. BUT, the chipmunks love it!! Saw one this morning peeking his head up every once in a while. They probably feel safe from the cats in the cage. I'm so happy they feel at home in this feeder!

And the great thing, the chickens love to scratch around the feeders...they devour all the seed that falls, which is wonderful!! We don't get a lot of weeds growing under the feeders.

Pebbles under the feeder loving the seeds the birds drop

Update:
Even though I had drainage holes in the bottom, when it rained the feed became soggy & clumped together. So now I only use it for the peanuts, and yes, the blue jays love it! They go inside to get their treats...never thought I'd see that!

Garden Visitors

I love the birds. My first pet was a budgie called Mickey. I have always had bird feeders on my property, different ones for different feed to attract different birds. You can see my post on the hummingbirds here. And I love having homes for the birds so I have assorted bird houses around as well. I am lucky to get lots of varieties of our feathered friends visiting. I will sit quietly near the feeding stations with my camera hoping to catch a bird or two enjoying the feast I offer. And of course, the chipmunks always enjoy the buffet. Unfortunately, I don't get the squirrels because we have chickens, and squirrels just don't like chickens! (guaranteed you will not have your fall bulbs dug up if you top them with hen manure a couple times a year!!)

So I am sharing a few pictures of visitors I had the other evening. I was disappointed because the cardinal picture didn't turn out and every time he came around there was too much activity going on, meaning he didn't stick around. One day soon...I promise I will have the perfect picture of one of my favourite birds. :)

 Blue Jay

They love the peanuts I put out for them!!

 Yellow Finch

These pretty fellows seem to prefer the black oil sunflowers over the niger seed!? 

Wren

You can see her peeking out the 'door'. She makes her home in this old bird house every year. (at least I like to think it is her coming back each year, or maybe it is her daughters returning home to raise their young?) :)

 Chipmunk...he loves the peanuts...heck, he loves it all!!

I love the birds...and my most relaxing time is sitting in my garden with my camera trying to catch all the activity in my own backyard.