How to Use Copper to Make Hummingbird Feeders
Attract hummingbirds to your garden with homemade feeders you can easily make using a mayonnaise jar, copper tubing, copper sheeting and copper wire. Paint the feeder red, a hummingbird's favorite color, and plant colorful flowers nearby to entice the hummers to your garden. Fill the feeder with sugar water, 4 parts water and 1 part sugar, and enjoy these dainty, colorful birds all summer long.
Things You'll Need
- Mayonnaise Jar
- Red Glass Paint & Brush
- Red & Yellow Acrylic Paint & Brush
- Drill and ¼-inch Drill Bit
- 2 8-inch sections of 1/4--inch Soft Copper Tubing
- Roll of Craft Copper
- Sharp Scissors
- Waterproof Adhesive
- 12 Gauge Copper Wire, Wire Cutters & Round Nose Pliers
Instructions
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1
Remove any plastic or paper from the mayonnaise jar and clean the inside and outside of the jar thoroughly.
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2
Paint the jar with red glass paint. Let it dry. Paint the jar lid with red acrylic paint. Let it dry. Drill two holes in the base of the lid, ½-inch apart.
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3
Bend each section of copper tubing into a "U" shape. Soft copper tubing bends easily by hand, but you can also wrap it half way around a small cylindrical shape like a tomato paste can if you prefer a uniform "U".
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4
Cut 6 simple 5 petal flower shapes out of the copper sheeting roll. Find a template online or from a coloring book if necessary. Your flowers should be between 1 ½-inch to 2-inches wide, from petal tip to petal tip. The roll of copper is also soft and easy to work with, but you will need sharp scissors to cut it. Paint both sides of the copper flowers with yellow acrylic paint and let the paint dry.
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5
Drill ¼-inch center holes in two of the copper flowers. Bend the "U" shape copper tubing open slightly so that the "U" has a wider mouth. Insert the tubing into the holes in the jar lid. You only need about 1/8 of an inch on the inside of the jar. Seal around the outside of the lid where the tubing is inserted with waterproof adhesive like clear Liquid Nail. This will seal any leaks and attach the tubing to the lid securely. Let the adhesive dry and attach the lid to the jar.
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6
Cut a 24-inch section of 12 gauge copper wire. Beginning just above the lid, spiral wrap the wire around the jar. Make a hook at the top with round nose pliers so you can hang the hummingbird feeder.
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7
Glue the 4 copper flowers without holes randomly onto the mayonnaise jar with waterproof adhesive. You can also paint flowers in a variety of colors onto the jar if you are so inclined.
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Insert the 2 remaining copper flowers over the ends of the "U" shaped copper tubing so that about 1/8 of an inch protrudes through the center of the flower. Attach the flower to the copper tubing with waterproof adhesive around the base of flower where it meets the tubing.
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Tips & Warnings
Leave your flowers the natural copper color and let them age beautifully.
Wear gloves when cutting the copper sheeting.
Resources
- Photo Credit Stock.xchng
