The Complete Handbook of Bird & Wildlife Feeders
A practical reference for professionals, businesses, and serious enthusiasts covering types, installation, maintenance, and commercial opportunity
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The definitive field guide to choosing, using, and profiting from bird and wildlife feeders.
About this book
From the tube feeder hanging on a suburban deck to the platform feeder in a municipal park, bird and wildlife feeders are a significant investment in time, money, and the health of visiting animals. The Complete Handbook of Bird & Wildlife Feeders is designed for the professional, the business owner, and the serious hobbyist who needs a dependable reference. Written in a neutral, instructional style, this book avoids the superficiality of typical buying guides and instead provides technical detail on materials, construction, seed dynamics, and feeder placement that directly affect success.
Organized into nine practical chapters, the handbook starts by building a fundamental understanding of how feeders work and why they are not all the same. It then moves through a detailed breakdown of feeder types and specifications, offering clear guidance on evaluating a product for longevity and performance. You will find specific recommendations for installation security against pests, daily usage routines, and a comprehensive maintenance and troubleshooting section that covers everything from moldy seed to broken ports.
For those looking beyond personal use, the book includes a dedicated chapter on business opportunities, covering reselling, installation services, private-labeling, and rentals. It concludes with a look at future trends in materials and technology, along with a curated overview of expert resources, an FAQ section, and a glossary of essential terms. This is the single reference you need on your shelf.
Reader Reviews
Kenneth Rodriguez
★★★★★I manage a landscaping company and bought this for our crew's reference library. The chapter on installation is worth the price alone—it settled a long-running argument we had about pole mount height versus squirrel jumping distance. It's not a glamorous read, but it's accurate and thorough. I deducted one star because I wish the troubleshooting chapter had a quick-reference chart; you have to read through lines of text to find the fix for a squirrel-damaged port. Still, it's the best practical book on this subject I've found.
Linda Robinson
★★★★★I'm an avid backyard birder and have a collection of maybe fifteen feeders. I appreciated that this book is more technical than what you find online, but at times it felt like it was written for people doing this as a business, not as a hobby. The section on commercial opportunities (reselling, servicing) was irrelevant to me. Also, some of the advice on seed blends contradicted what I've read in a few birding forums, so I'm not sure that part is fully settled science. The glossary and the chapter on maintenance were solid though. Good to have on hand, just not the authority I hoped it would be.
Jason Perez
★★★★★This is the reference I've been waiting for. I volunteer at a nature center and we get asked all the time about feeder placement and squirrel problems. The book's logic on baffle and pole configurations finally gave me a clear, correct answer instead of a guess. I used the business chapter to help draft a proposal for our gift shop to start selling a curated few feeders, and the margin breakdown was spot on. It's detailed without being dry, and the writing style is direct and clean. Every nature center and serious birdhouse should have a copy.
Lisa Robinson
★★★★★I bought this for my husband, a retired wildlife biologist, and I ended up reading the whole thing myself. We have a big property and a few different feeder types, and I found the chapter on why certain materials crack in winter freezes particularly useful—it explained exactly what happened to our cheap plastic feeder last winter. The maintenance schedule is realistic and easy to follow. It's a solid, practical book that respects your intelligence and doesn't waste your time with fluff. Highly recommend it for anyone who treats feeding birds as a craft rather than a casual hobby.