How to Make a Bird Feeder From a Tin Can

You can make a working bird feeder from a tin can in under an hour using tools you almost certainly already own. The basic approach is simple: clean the can, smooth any sharp edges, punch or cut feeding holes, add a perch or two, and hang it up. Whether you use a coffee can, a soup can, or an old paint tin, the process is the same, and it genuinely works. Birds will use it. Here is exactly how to do it.

What you need before you start

Keep the materials list short and cheap. Most of this you probably already have in a kitchen drawer or toolbox.

• One clean tin can (a large coffee can, a 28-oz soup can, or an institutional-size food can all work great)
• A hammer and a sturdy nail, or a drill with a 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch bit
• A can opener (the type that cuts a smooth edge rather than a jagged one is ideal)
• Metal file or fine-grit sandpaper (80-120 grit) for smoothing sharp edges
• Strong wire (14 or 16 gauge galvanized wire works well) or a length of paracord for hanging
• A wooden dowel, a pencil, a sturdy stick, or a 1/4-inch wooden skewer for the perch
• Waterproof sealant or exterior spray paint (optional, but it extends the feeder's life outdoors)
• Work gloves (non-negotiable when handling freshly cut metal)

If you want to get fancy, a pair of tin snips makes cutting feeding ports much easier than a nail and hammer. But a hammer and nail genuinely gets the job done for a first build. A larger can gives you more interior volume, which means less frequent refilling and more flexibility in where you place feeding holes.

Safety first: cleaning the can and dealing with sharp edges

This step is not optional. Sharp metal edges can injure birds' feet, and a can that still smells like coffee, tuna, or tomatoes will repel birds before they ever get close. Take 10 minutes here and the rest of the build goes smoothly.

1. Wash the can thoroughly with hot soapy water, rinse it completely, and let it dry. For food-grade cans with strong smells (tuna, pet food), soak in a baking soda solution for 30 minutes before rinsing.
2. Put on work gloves before doing anything else with the can. Even a 'smooth' factory edge can draw blood if you grip it hard.
3. After any cutting, filing, or punching, run a metal file or folded sandpaper around every single edge and hole until you feel no snag when you drag your gloved finger across it.
4. For feeding holes cut with tin snips, fold the cut metal tab inward slightly with pliers before filing, which reduces the sharpness significantly and keeps the opening cleaner.
5. Once smoothed, wipe the inside of the can with a damp cloth to remove any metal dust or filings before adding seed.

If you are using a can that had a lid you can still access (like many coffee cans), you can keep the lid on and remove only the bottom, which gives you a cleaner factory-smooth top edge to hang from and limits the amount of cutting you need to do overall.

Three ways to build a tin can feeder

There is not one single right design here. Pick the version that matches the tools you have and the birds you want to attract.

Option 1: The seed-cup can feeder (easiest, no cutting)

This is the beginner version. Remove the bottom of the can cleanly with a smooth-edge can opener. Punch 4 to 6 small drainage holes (1/8-inch) in the new bottom using a hammer and nail. Hang the can horizontally on its side using wire through holes punched near what is now the top edge. Seed sits in the curved interior and birds land on the rim to feed. It is not glamorous, but it works and takes about 15 minutes to build.

Option 2: Punched-hole feeder (nail and hammer, great for nyjer or small seed)

Keep the can upright or at a slight angle. Use a hammer and a large nail to punch 8 to 12 holes around the lower third of the can, each about 1/4 inch in diameter. These holes let small seeds like nyjer (thistle) or millet trickle out as birds peck at them. If you are specifically learning how to make an oriole bird feeder, you will typically use nectar instead of nyjer to attract orioles nyjer (thistle). Punch two holes near the top rim on opposite sides for your hanging wire. This style works especially well for attracting finches, juncos, and sparrows. Smooth every hole with the file before use.

Option 3: Cut-port feeder (tin snips, best for sunflower seeds and larger birds)

Mark two or three rectangular feeding ports on the side of the can, each roughly 1.5 inches wide and 1 inch tall, spaced evenly around the can. Use tin snips to cut three sides of each rectangle, then bend the resulting tab inward to create a small lip or shelf that helps hold seed. File every cut edge smooth. Punch drainage holes in the bottom. This design holds more seed, accommodates larger birds like chickadees, nuthatches, and cardinals, and looks clean when finished. Allow about 30 to 45 minutes for this version.

Adding perches so birds can actually land and feed

Perches are optional on cup-style feeders (birds land on the rim), but they make a real difference on cut-port and punched-hole designs. A perch gives smaller birds a place to grip while they eat, which is the difference between a feeder birds visit once and one they return to daily.

The simplest perch: use a nail or drill bit to punch two small holes directly below each feeding port, about 1/2 inch apart. Push a wooden dowel, a pencil stub, or a thick skewer straight through both holes so it extends about 2 inches on each side. The can wall grips the dowel, but if you want it more secure, put a small dab of waterproof wood glue or exterior silicone where the dowel meets the metal before it dries. One perch below each feeding port is plenty. Avoid plastic perches, which can become brittle in UV light within a season.

Hanging and positioning the feeder the right way

Where you hang this feeder matters almost as much as how you build it. Two things trip people up most: window collisions and predator access. Both are easy to prevent if you plan the location before you hang anything.

For window safety, place the feeder either within 3 feet of a window or more than 30 feet away from one. At 3 feet or less, birds cannot build up enough speed to cause serious injury if they do hit the glass. At 30 feet or more, they have time to redirect. The danger zone is the middle range of 4 to 30 feet, so avoid hanging a feeder there.

For predator safety, a good rule of thumb is to aim for about 5 feet off the ground, at least 7 feet from any fence or vertical structure a cat or squirrel can climb, and at least 9 feet below any overhanging branch. This spacing makes it genuinely difficult for ground predators to leap up and for squirrels to drop down from above. It is not foolproof, but it dramatically reduces the risk.

For the hanging hardware itself, use galvanized wire (14 or 16 gauge) threaded through holes punched near the top of the can. Twist the wire into a loop with at least three full twists to prevent it from loosening over time. A single strand of thin wire or light twine will corrode, stretch, or snap outdoors within a few weeks, especially in rain and wind. If the feeder is going to swing a lot in the wind, tie a short secondary line from the bottom of the can to a nearby branch or hook to stabilize it. Excess sway spills seed and deters feeding.

Filling the feeder and troubleshooting the most common problems

Use a seed that matches the birds you want. Black-oil sunflower seed is the single best all-around choice because it attracts the widest variety of common backyard birds. Nyjer seed in a punched-hole feeder is excellent for finches specifically. Avoid cheap mixed seed blends that are heavy on milo or red millet because most birds will ignore them and they go rancid quickly in a small metal feeder.

Do not overfill the feeder. A tin can feeder has limited volume, and seed that sits in the bottom of a metal can in warm weather can clump and mold within a few days. Fill it to about two-thirds capacity and plan to refresh it every 3 to 5 days in warm months, or every 7 to 10 days in cold, dry weather.

Birds are not using the feeder yet

Give it 2 to 3 weeks. Birds are cautious about new objects in their territory, and a shiny metal can might spook them at first. If you painted the can, make sure the paint is fully cured and not off-gassing. Placing the feeder near existing shrubs or trees where birds already perch speeds up adoption. You can also scatter a small amount of seed on a flat surface directly below the feeder to draw birds into the area.

Seed is spilling or getting wet

Spillage usually means the feeding ports are too large or the feeder is swinging too much. For cut-port feeders, the inward-bent lip helps retain seed. For punched-hole feeders, you can reduce hole size by tapping the metal back slightly with a nail head. For water intrusion, make sure there are at least 4 drainage holes in the bottom of the can. Standing water ruins seed fast and encourages mold, which is genuinely dangerous to birds.

Squirrels are raiding the feeder

A tin can feeder is light enough that squirrels will absolutely exploit it if given the chance. The 5-7-9 placement rule helps a lot. If squirrels are still getting to it, threading the hanging wire through a section of PVC pipe or an old CD disk (to create a baffle) makes it very difficult for them to grip and shimmy down the wire to reach the feeder.

Keeping the feeder clean and bird-safe long-term

This is the part most first-time feeder builders skip, and it is also the part that causes real harm to birds. A dirty feeder spreads disease. Moldy seed causes respiratory illness in birds. Cleaning takes about 10 minutes once a month and makes a genuine difference.

Once a month, remove any leftover seed, rinse the can thoroughly, then soak or scrub it with a 10% bleach solution (roughly 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water). Let it soak for a few minutes, scrub out any stuck seed or residue, rinse completely with clean water, and then let the feeder air dry fully before you refill it. Refilling a wet feeder seeds the next batch of mold almost immediately, so the dry step is not optional.

Between monthly cleans, shake out old or clumped seed every time you refill. Check the perches for bird droppings and wipe them down with a damp cloth. Inspect the wire or cord for any signs of corrosion or fraying. A tin can will eventually rust if the outer coating is scratched or worn, especially at cut edges. If you see significant rust forming inside the can, retire that feeder and start fresh with a new one. A couple coats of exterior-grade spray paint on the outside at the start (applied before hanging, fully cured before birds use it) will extend the feeder's usable life by a full season or more.

A tin can feeder is a genuinely humble object, but it works. If you want to explore other quick-build feeder styles using recycled materials, mason jars, plastic bottles, and even natural materials like gourds and oranges follow a very similar logic: prepare the container, create access and drainage, add a hanger, and keep it clean. You can adapt the same seed-cup, drainage, and perch ideas to make a bird feeder from a coke bottle. You can use the same general logic to learn how to make a bird feeder from a 2L bottle: prepare the container, create access and drainage, add a hanger, and keep it clean plastic bottles. If you are specifically aiming to make bird feeders out of mason jars, the same ideas for access, drainage, hanging, and cleaning apply mason jar bird feeders. You can apply the same simple logic to learn how to make a bird feeder out of an orange, too. If you want to try a gourd feeder, you can hollow it out, cut feeding openings, add drainage, and hang it so birds can safely access the seed natural materials like gourds. If you are craving a fun seasonal twist, you can also follow a similar approach to make a pumpkin bird feeder from a hollowed pumpkin and simple hanging hardware. If you want a different look, you can also learn how to make a bird feeder out of wine corks using a similar method of creating access points and safe drainage. The tin can version is one of the sturdiest and most weather-resistant of the bunch, which makes it a great first build and an easy one to repeat whenever you want to expand what is available in your backyard.