On 7/18/2014 1:46 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
> I once gave my bro a hummingbird feeder as a gift because I thought it
> was pretty. I had no idea how high maintenance they are. That stopped
> me from getting one for myself. The instructions actually said not to
> make the nectar yourself and only to purchase it or you could sicken the
> birds. And it had to be cleaned and disinfected so frequently that I
> wouldn't bother. I'd be afraid that I'd forget or for some reason be
> unable to clean it and kill the birds./

Nonsense. The sugar water is boiled; there's nothing dangerous about
it. I make a double batch and store half of it in a covered jar in the
fridge. As for cleaning it, I refill the feeder as needed, about once a
week. I just rinse it out with very hot water, then refill it. Easy peasy.

The feeder I have is this one:

http://www.hummzinger.com/excel.htm

It comes with a "recipe" for making the nectar - sugar + boiling water.
Let it cool, then fill the feeder. No big deal.

Oh sure, you can buy all sorts of fancy hummingbird feeders which are
prettier to look at and lot more difficult to clean. The HummZinger is
the best designed hummingbird feeder I've ever had.

http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2b52a933.jpg

Jill