Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this hummingbird feeder for myself, filled it with food and hung it off a small branch on a big tree in my back yard. It is a beautiful feeder. The hummingbirds find it and fly right to it as soon as I fill it (with red feeding solution), and it coordinates with the "cross" windchimes that I also have hanging in the tree.
As soon as I saw how pretty it was hanging in the backyard, and how much the hummers liked it, I ordered four more for frieds of mine who live in the same neighborhood. Among us, we keep the hummers happy and well fed. One friend had been looking for a "cross" themed hummingbird feeder in our stores for over a year when I happened upon this one. Needless to say, she was the recipient of one of the feeder gifts. I did try using a clear sugar solution to feed the birds, but they were not attracted to the feeder until the sugar solution was changed to the red variety. I guess people have been feeding them red sugar water for so long, that they are conditioned to feed only on a solution of that color. Or, perhaps they thought the feeder was empty when I tried a clear solution. I tried it because I read that the clear solution was better for the birds than the red. But, it is only better for them if they will drink it. So, my hummers still get red sugar water.
I have have had the feeder now for a year and my friends have that theirs for almost a year. All of us have had a similar experience with the feeder. It works well for about 9 months, then the rubber stopper which holds the feeding tube in place starts to weaken. We all live in Arizona, so the 110 plus temperatures are probably unkind to this small piece of rubber so that it becomes brittle over a period of time. Mine is brittle but still works well. My stopper still stays firmly in place in the bottle holding the feeding solution. But I can tell, that as time goes by, the stopper will wear more and more and, at some point, will no longer keep the fluid in the feeder.
How long will it be until the stopper fails? I cannot tell for sure. At 9 months, for me and in the cases of my friends, the stopper starts to wear. At 12 months, it is still holding firm, but the signs of weakening are there.
Probably by next summer, or surely by the end of next summer, the stopper will give out. Then, it will be time for a replacement. Would I buy this again? Yes I would. It is so artistically pleasing and so relatively inexpensive, that a 3 year life span seems reasonable. Even a 2 year life span would not be bad.
But I may be dealing with a phenomenon that only occurs because of the intensity of the Arizona heat. In other climates, it may last for 5 or more years. I do not know. We shall have to wait until someone from another location addresses that issue. It may be that a dry rubber stopper is a universal problem, and it may Not be.
So, for the present, I will give this 4 stars because in my experience and that of my friends, the rubber stopper starts to show significant wear at about 9 months. Otherwise, it is a beautiful, functional piece of art and I enjoy it daily. The birds enjoy it even more frequently. Now THAT is a good deal!
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Red Carpet Studios Ltd. Crystal Dreams Yellow Hummingbird Feeder with Blue Cross Decoration
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