Perky-Pet® Red Cardinal Wild Bird Feeder - All Questions

Black Oil Sunflower Seed is the most popular bird seed. It is much smaller than the traditional sunflower seed. It is best for those birds with smaller bills, such as the sparrow, junco and goldfinch.

You will need to sterilize your seed to prevent it from germinating. This will not alter the attractiveness or the nutritional value of the seed in any way. Some store-bought seed will already be sterilized and will often state this on the packaging.

Before filling your feeder with fresh seed, it is recommended that the following precautions are taken:

Remove all old seed.
Soak feeder in a light water/bleach solution (9 parts water to 1 part bleach).
Scrub feeder and allow to air dry.

Yes — the Perky-Pet Red Cardinal Wild Bird Feeder can work for safflower seed. Safflower seeds are a good match because they’re large and hardy, and many birds that use this feeder (like cardinals and chickadees) eat safflower seeds.

Great question!

The feeder is designed with mesh openings that allow birds to easily access the seed, while making it much more difficult for squirrels to get to it. Birds can reach in with their beaks and feed naturally, but the smaller openings help limit how much squirrels can grab or pull out.

This design does a great job of reducing squirrel access and seed loss compared to more open-style feeders.

Thank you for contacting us. Regarding your question, to clean it, simply submerge it in warm water and mild soap, then allow it to air dry. Do not place it in the dishwasher.