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Expand your imagination with me for a moment…
It’s a gorgeous spring day and the blue jays are darting around your yard like a pack of crazed vultures. What are they looking for? And what has made them so excited?
Well, you recently installed a brand-new bird feeder in your backyard and the blue jays absolutely adore it.
But there’s a problem…
The bird feeder is too small for their larger bodies, so they’re having a really hard time getting the delicious bird seeds from the tube feeder because it isn’t the ideal choice for their bigger bodies.
Guess what? It’s time to consider buying a bird feeder specifically designed for larger birds like blue jays, cardinals, hawks, owls, and more.
Today, I’d like to tell you about how I tested 10 bird feeders specifically designed with blue jays in mind when they created them. During my testing, I learned that the JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder is the Best Large Capacity Blue Jay Feeder.
How do I know?
I thoroughly tested and analyzed it using 5 specific critical categories that include:
- Ease of Installation
- Ease of Refilling
- Aesthetics
- Durability & Warranty
- Cleaning & Care
Care to find out how this bird feeder matches up against the others that I reviewed? Continue reading to learn about my thoughts and feelings on the matter.
JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder
- Dimensions: 20″ W X 11″ H X 12.75″ D
- Feeder Type: Hopper Feeder
- Capacity: 2 gallons
- Material: Recycled poly lumber
- Brand: JCs Wildlife
Overall Score:
74
The Bottom Line:
This bird feeder is awesome because it’s huge and it holds 2 gallons of bird seeds, which amazes me to this day. Besides the humongous capacity, they made it with recycled material so it’s environmentally friendly, it’s manufactured by JC’s Wildlife which is a trustworthy brand, and it’s simple to hang from a pole, a tree, or rest the feeder on the ground.What’s Good
- Easy to fill
- Holds ample amounts of bird seed
- Effortlessly drains moisture with perforated tray
- Lightweight and easy to carry
- Durable construction
What’s Bad
- Squirrels can steal nuts and seeds without difficulty
- Plastic perforated tray instead of metal
- More expensive than other blue jay feeders
Our Verdict: JCs Wildlife Poly Hopper Bird Feeder
How do I feel about this bird feeder?
To kick things off, I’d like to say that I’m not the biggest fan of the overall design. Although it’s unique and certainly large enough to attract a wide range of birds, it’s a bit too much on the bulky side for my particular tastes and needs.
I’d much prefer a smaller and less immense hopper feeder, even if it’s going to accommodate fewer blue jays over the long run. You may feel totally differently so keep that in mind.
Next, I found out that installing this bird feeder is the most tedious and has the largest degree of difficulty out of all of the bird feeders that I reviewed today.
What happened? Well, because the bird feeder is so massive, I found it difficult to get it to properly balance correctly when hanging it up by the wire.
And…
It’s possible to mount this on a pole. You can purchase the Universal Pole Kit directly from JCs Wildlife, which you may or may not choose to do. Ultimately, mounting it on the pole requires knowledge and some expertise on the topic which everyone doesn’t possess.
I definitely felt this bird feeder was durable and strong. They made it with rock solid recyclable materials that do not crack, peel, or split.
And it’s also relatively easy to refill. Just remove the tray and add new seeds to it after you wipe it down to keep it clean. Some people have a difficult time replacing and removing the tray because they can’t quite get it to fit right.
Lastly, I believe it’s really easy to clean and care for this poly hopper bird feeder. It’s simply a matter of wiping it down with a damp cloth when it gets dirty, cleaning out the tray regularly, and keeping it in as clean an environment as possible.
Check out our in-depth review of Blue Jay bird feeders where we take a deep dive into different style feeders, provide our assessments, scores, pros & cons, and more…
Our Analysis, Comparisons & Test Results
Think about It…
You’re on the verge of spending your hard-earned money to purchase a top-notch blue jay bird feeder. But you’re having a tough time finding the perfect feeder to meet your needs.
This review will come in very handy for you if you’re in this situation.
I spent 20 weeks testing 10 blue jay bird feeders – 9 others plus this one – and I’m going to share the results of the JCs Wildlife Poly Hopper Bird Feeder test with you today.
At the end of the day, I found out that this bird feeder is the Best Large Capacity Blue Jay Feeder. There isn’t anything better in my estimation.
So, if you’re looking for a large hopper feeder to feed numerous blue jays and other backyard birds, this is unquestionably a great choice.
Ready to discover why? Stick with me and read all my results and analysis below.
Aesthetics
From an Aesthetic standpoint, I definitely didn’t think this was the ugliest bird feeder but it certainly isn’t going to win a contest for being the most attractive anytime soon either.
So, I awarded this bird feeder with a score of 60 out of 100, which believe it or not isn’t the worst score that I gave in this category.
The worst scoring bird feeder was the Amish Poly Hopper Ground Bird Feeder Tray, which only received a 50 out of 100.
When I look at the Amish bird feeder, I basically see a miniature pig trough and nothing more. And as we all know; pig troughs aren’t the prettiest looking or most decorative pieces on the planet by any means.
The JCs Wildlife feeder is better looking for sure, and it tied with 3 other bird feeders as well.
I really like the colors, that’s for certain. I think the blue/gray combination is really attractive.
But…
I actually didn’t like the way the product was designed. I feel the overall design is too large, awkward, and it’s also a little too angular for my taste. I would’ve preferred a more straightforward and less angular hopper feeder if I had the choice.
So, between the weird looking shape and design structure, I decided to knock off 40 points from the overall score.
On a side note, this product also comes in cardinal red/gray, cardinal red/tan, and green/tan.
How the JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder stacks up in the aesthetics ratings:
Ease of Installation
Within the category Ease of Installation, I’m sad to say that I had to place this bird feeder in last place because of its large and somewhat awkward design.
With that said, I only gave it a 60 out of 100. On the other hand, I gave the Amish Poly Ground Bird Feeder Tray a perfect 100 out of 100.
Why such a big difference?
The Amish bird feeder technically doesn’t require any installation whatsoever. It is a large seed tray on four legs. You simply place it wherever you want on your property as long as the surface is flat and that’s the totality of the installation, which really isn’t installation at all.
On the flipside:
The Hopper feeder from JCs Wildlife is definitely a bit more complicated.
You see, this bird feeder is hung up by a wire. You can connect it to a hook, a sturdy tree branch, or a protruding pole.
But it has a very difficult time remaining stable after being hung up via the wire because the bird feeder is so large, awkwardly shaped, and bulky, so it moves around a lot and doesn’t stabilize too well.
A better choice is to purchase the Universal Pole Kit and mount it on a pole so that it remains straight and stabilized. This obviously costs additional money and requires extra labor, which also makes it a bit harder to install than the other bird feeders mentioned in this review.
How the JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder stacks up in the ease of installation ratings:
Durability & Warranty
For the Durability & Warranty category, I also awarded this bird feeder with a highly respectable score. In fact, I almost gave it a perfect score because I awarded it with a 90 out of 100.
The only other feeder to get a better score is the Nature’s Way Cedar Hopper Bird Feeder with Suet, which is made with beautiful cedar wood. If you don’t know this already, cedar is naturally resistant to rotting and insects, which makes it incredibly sturdy, strong, and very durable too.
On the other hand:
The Hopper feeder from JCs Wildlife is also made of strong and sturdy material better known as recycled poly lumber. This recycled material is so effective at keeping the bird feeder safe and sound that the company swears you’ll never have to worry about your feeder fading, splitting, or cracking ever again.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly love the idea of my feeder remaining intact for many years to come.
It also has removable slotted acrylic sides that make it easy for bird seeds to steadily flow within the seed tray. These acrylic sides are quite strong and resistant to outside elements that could potentially harm this bird feeder.
How the JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder stacks up in the durability & warranty ratings:
Ease of Refilling
As far as Ease of Refilling is concerned, I wasn’t as generous with my overall score, although I didn’t give it the worst score out of the group either.
Overall, I gave the JC’s Wildlife Hopper Bird Feeder a score of 70 out of 100, which isn’t the best but it certainly isn’t the worst either.
As with cleaning, I also felt the Pacific Bird & Supply Green Ring Suet Ball Feeder and the Songbird Essentials Whole Peanut Blue Jay Feeder were the worst to refill.
Why?
They are both large round flexible metal loops that basically look like a big slinky. The opening isn’t too large on either of these feeders, so stuffing them with peanuts and suet balls isn’t the easiest thing to accomplish.
I experienced a similar situation with the Poly Hopper Feeder from JCs Wildlife.
On the surface, it looks easy enough…
But I found it slightly difficult to remove the tray, which is where the bird seeds need to go in order to fill the hopper. And it was because of this difficulty that I decided to knock a few points off of the overall score.
This resulted in a 70 out of 100 score, which is about average and nothing to concern yourself over too much.
How the JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder stacks up in the ease of refilling ratings:
Cleaning & Care
In the category Cleaning & Care, I feel that JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder excelled by a wide margin, so I gave it a very generous score of 90 out of 100.
For contrasting purposes, the Pacific Bird & Supply Green Ring Suet Ball Feeder – a wire spiral feeder – received a 70 out of 100 because cleaning the individual wire spirals is a lot more complicated and tedious.
The large poly hopper bird feeder, on the other hand, is made using recycled poly lumber on the exterior. This plastic material is very easy to clean, because you only need a damp cloth that you can use to wipe it down and clean it off.
As far as the bird seed goes…
It’s actually very easy to clean old stale bird seeds as well. There is a removable seed tray at the bottom of the hopper that you can take out at your will.
Remove the seed tray from the bottom of the hopper, shake it out, wipe it down with a damp rag, and then replace it in the bird feeder before adding new seeds.
Cleaning the seed tray will take a mere matter of minutes. And this is pretty much par for the course for the entirety of the bird feeder since cleaning it is so simple.
How the JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder stacks up in the cleaning & care ratings:
JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder FAQs:
Is It Possible To Mount JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder On A Pole?
The immediate answer is a resounding yes.
According to JCs Wildlife, the manufacturer, you can quickly and easily mount it on a pole because there is a pole mounting bracket on the bottom of the bird feeder.
Simply find a pole that matches up with the mounting bracket already in existence, or…
You can purchase the Universal Pole Kit from JCs Wildlife. Obviously, this Pole Kit is sold separately from the large poly hopper bird feeder.
Does JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder Come Fully Assembled Upon Delivery?
Yes, I’m happy to tell you that the hopper is fully assembled. You can begin filling it and hanging it up outside as soon as you remove it from the packaging.
So, there’s no need to worry about difficult assembly if this is a particular problem for you. There is no assembly required except you do have to install it on a pole or hook outside, but this is relatively easy to accomplish so have no fear.
Is JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder Specifically Designed To Circumvent Bacteria Or Mold Buildup?
Absolutely! As a matter of fact, the overall design was created to stop mold or bacteria buildup from wildly growing out of control, which is one of the things I love about this bird feeder.
You see, mold and bacteria buildup can contaminate the bird seeds and other foodstuffs in the hopper and make your favorite blue jays and other backyard birds sick. So, you definitely want to avoid this buildup at all costs.
How does it work?
Well, the manufacturer added tiny drainage holes to the seed tray specifically to prevent excessive water from overwhelming the tray filled with bird seeds and other foods. These small drainage holes will drain out excess water from rain storms or melted snow to keep the seeds dry, which is how they will become resistant to bacteria growth and mold spores.
Our Final Verdict: JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder
Well, it looks like we finally made it to the end of this review. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to read and absorb this information. I hope you found it helpful and informative on your journey to discover the best blue jay bird feeder.
In the end, I revealed that the JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder is the Best Large Capacity Blue Jay Feeder of this type during my dedicated period of testing and analysis.
To put it bluntly, I tested and analyzed a total of 10 blue jay bird feeders – one every 2 weeks – that took me 20 weeks to complete during the trial phase.
Overall, I made some truly amazing discoveries about the JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder that I shared with you today. For a quick rundown of the most important aspects of this feeder, please consider:
- I found this bird feeder mildly striking, although it isn’t my favorite out of the 10 that I tested
- I realized that the shape and size of the bird feeder was a bit large and awkward, which made it somewhat difficult to balance when installing it on a hanging hook or branch
- I can say for certain that it’s durable, because they produced it using recycled poly lumber which doesn’t fade, crack, or split
- I think refilling this feeder is somewhat easy because of the removable seed tray, but it’s not as easy as other feeders that I prefer
- I know that it’s easy to clean with absolute certainty, which is a nice added bonus
Do you still intend to find out more information about other blue jay bird feeders?
You’re definitely in the right place. I recently created a massive detailed review of the 10 blue jay feeders that I referenced in this review. To read my thoughts and feelings about these amazing bird feeders, please visit the following link: My Favorite Blue Jay Bird Feeders
Or to switch things up…
Consider visiting the source directly to read reviews from previous happy or unhappy customers who share their thoughts and feelings about the JCs Wildlife Large Poly Hopper Bird Feeder. And you can find out the current price as well by clicking on the link below.
Amazon Best Rated Products - Last Updated on 2024-04-19. DISCLAIMER: Some or all of the product links on this page are affiliate links. The operator of this website received a small commission if you purchase products through these links, HOWEVER, there is no added cost to you. These commissions help to fund the operation of this BirdInformer.com
