Dishwasher-safe hummingbird feeder!!

http://davesgarden.com/products/gp/view/3472/

Very good ima!

Do you have a photo of the feeder or a link to one?

There's a link at the top of the DG review page, and you can order directly from their website. There are hummer blogs and photos on the site that are fun to go through, too.

These feeders are a bit more expensive than the ones I had bought in the past, and I was kinda leery when I bought my first. But they're well worth the extra cost! I now have a dozen so I can swap them out so I always have some clean and some hung out.

The other thing that I noticed that was nice is that you get to chose your petal colors
(port covers). I don't like to use yellow at all so thats another nice feature.

Is the shipping reasonable? I don't like having to sign up on a site and fill out an order to be able to get their shipping costs.

I don't remember being outraged at the shipping, Sheila, and something like that usually sticks in my mind. Let me e-mail them and ask about it. I'll post the response here.

Here's the text of an article about the inventor that appeared in the Charlotte Observer last August. Interesting guy!

Charlotte Observer
Charlotte Observer, The (NC)

August 25, 2007

FEEDING HIS LOVE OF TINY BIRDS
DOCTOR INVENTS FEEDER THAT AIMS TO BE EASY TO CLEAN AND LIMITS SPILLS
IN THE HUMMINGBIRD BUSINESS

Author: DAVID PERLMUTT, Staff Writer

Edition: ONE-THREE
Section: METRO
Page: 1B

Estimated printed pages: 3

Article Text:

Thirty-five years ago, Charlotte radiologist Jay Whelan was mowing his backyard in Louisville, Ky., when something whizzed past his ear.

He thought it was a bumblebee. But then it stopped, and hovered. It backed up, then forward - and flew off.

Thus began Whelan's love affair with the hummingbird.

"It was so small. I was astounded at how it could move like that," said Whelan, now 70 and semi-retired.

"I became captivated by their unique size," he said, sitting recently in his backyard on Kings Drive. "I love anatomy and physiology, and was amazed at how their wing connections allowed them to hover and fly backwards."

Over the years, he tried dozens of feeders. None suited. They leaked. They were hard to clean and grew moldy. They broke or were hard to fill.

"I thought I could build a better mouse trap," he said.

So Dr. Jaybird, as he's known to friends, designed his own.

He came up with Dr. JB's Clean Feeders, available at his Web site, www.drjbs.com. Its hard plastic holds up to the hot sun, fans say. Its three parts are easily dismantled and safe in the dishwasher. Its wide mouth makes it easy to fill.

Whelan has transformed the feeder into a business with his children that he hopes will keep him busy when he fully retires.

The hummingbird world is apparently embracing the feeder.

"It's getting national attention," said state ornithologist Susan Campbell. "People are snapping it up all over the place, not just in Carolinas."

It's not Whelan's first invention.

He grew up poor in Louisville. As a boy, he developed a degenerative hip condition and was treated at a crippled children's hospital. There he got the idea of becoming a doctor. The state sent him to college and then medical school at the University of Louisville.

After he began his radiology practice, he taught for free at the medical school for 17 years to pay back what the state had done for him.

On the side, he was inventing. He designed what is known as the Whelan-Moss T-Tude, a surgical device used after gall bladder surgery to drain bile. He has also developed biopsy catheters.

"I like solving problems," Whelan said. Especially for the hummingbirds that toot around his house summer mornings and evenings.

Bees are their prime enemy. If a feeder leaks nectar - a pint of one part sugar and three parts water - it draws bees.

So Whelan designed a baffle in the bottom of his feeder tray that prevents the nectar from spilling.

His feeders come with different color plastic flowers around the feeding ports. Experts say the birds are mostly attracted to red and yellow flowers. Whelan isn't sure color makes a difference.

Many beaks to feed

His feeders get the ultimate test at Joe and Betty McCoy's house in McConnells in York County, S.C.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds, the most common of 338 species, begin showing up at the McCoys' home in March.

By August, they have several hundred in trees, and lining porch rails and roofs.

Last year, Joe McCoy went through 165 pounds of sugar to feed his birds. So far this year, he's gone through 110 pounds. The last birds will leave in late September. Each day, they empty eight to 10 of Whelan's feeders.

"I love those feeders," McCoy said. "When you got this many birds, you need a good feeder."Hummingbird Festival Today

Reedy Creek Nature Preserve is hosting a hummingbird festival. Expert Bill Hilton of York, S.C., will capture and band ruby-throated hummers. There will be displays, including one with Dr. JB's feeders.

Directions: Take Interstate 85 north to Exit 45-A. Take East W.T. Harris Boulevard to fourth stoplight and turn left on Rocky River Road. Go a half-mile and turn left at the stop light. Just past fire station, turn right into park.

Caption:
1. PHOTOS BY PETER WEINBERGER - PWEINBERGER@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM. Dr. JB's Clean Feeders' hard plastic holds up to the hot sun, fans say. Its three parts are easily dismantled and safe in the dishwasher. Its wide mouth makes it easy to fill. And a baffle in the bottom of the feeder tray prevents nectar from spilling. 2. Jay WhelanPHOTOS: 2

Copyright (c) 2007 The Charlotte Observer
Record Number: 0708250176

Here are the shipping rates for the following quantities of feeders. Keep in mind that there are six to a case, and a price break on feeders at six also ($17.49 instead of $19.49 per feeder)

Shipping costs per quantity of feeders:
1: $7
2: $13
3 to 5: $15
6: $14

Wow he is quite the man! Thanks for posting this ima!

Thanks for letting me know. That isn't too much if you get more than one item. May need to look at some other items on that site. I purchased one last year that was great for cleaning, but it isn't dish washer proof. I did enjoy it though and it has a built-in moat. I ordered it, 5lbs fish food and pond chemical, their s/h was $10.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=9089+10468+7706&pcatid=7706

Until I got these dishwasher-safe ones, I just couldn't keep up with it. I finallly took my old feeders down because I just didn't have time to sterilize them properly, and I was worried that I was actually hurting the birds. I did a Google search for "dishwasher hummingbird feeder" and ended up at their site. I bought six the first time, thinking I would alternate three. But I ended up buying another six so I could have a couple more for myself and give some away. They sent me a nice e-mail the other day, which is why I thought I'd post reviews on DG. Not many products impress me as much as theirs have, and I want to share with my fellow DGers!~~~

Well, you sold me. My DH spends hours cleaning the hb feeders. We have about 6 of them going at a time and they do love to eat.

I haven't told him I am getting these, I hope he will be happy with me. If he likes them I may get more just so we can rotate them through the dishwasher.

Thanks for the heads up on this!!!

Susan
=^..^=

I REALLY DO hope you like them!