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Gene's Feeding House - Bird Feeder with Water Bowl & Nesting Nook
Gene's Feeding House - Bird Feeder with Water Bowl & Nesting Nook
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Gene's Feeding House - Bird Feeder with Water Bowl & Nesting Nook
Hand-Built in Ishpeming, Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Gene Richardson, seventy-seven. A timber man's son, thirty-one years underground in the iron mines, and thirty-eight winters writing down what came to every house he hung. His father left the dead trees standing. Gene builds what had to replace them.
94 left · final run · no restockAll those years I thought it was about the seed. Seed isn't the job. A bird doesn't stay for a meal. He stays for a place.
— Gene Richardson, Ishpeming, Michigan
What arrives at your door
Why one gets used, and a big-box feeder hangs empty all winter
A dead pine used to give a backyard bird everything in one spot: a hollow to sleep in, food in the bark, rainwater in the crook of a branch. Most modern yards split those up, or offer none of them at all. This house puts all three back under one roof, so a chickadee that loses about ten percent of his body weight on a cold night can win it back without crossing the whole yard. "Seed isn't the job. He stays for a place."
Seed sits in an open stainless steel bowl, in full view. Birds find food with their eyes, not their noses. America fed its birds from open dishes for most of its history, and the tube feeder only arrived in 1969. Of the 98 most common feeder birds, 88 will use an open dish or platform. "Your grandmother had it right. Put it where he can see it."
Fresh water sits right beside the seed. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service says a source of water may double the number of bird species in your yard, and robins and bluebirds that never touch a seed feeder will come for a drink. "Some of the best birds in your yard were never coming for seed. They'll come for this."
Behind the bowls and under the roof sits a dry compartment, walled on three sides: somewhere to duck out of the wind, sit out a storm, roost through a cold night and build come spring. The whole house is just 6.3 × 5.5 × 6.7 inches. "A big box is a cold box. He's after a nook that fits him."
Both stainless bowls lift straight out. Rinse, refill, drop them back in: ten seconds at the kitchen sink. Wildlife agencies recommend cleaning feeders and water every couple of weeks, and steel is far easier to keep clean than wood. "If it's a chore, you'll quit doing it. And then he'll quit coming."
Cut, planed and fitted by Gene himself in the hunting cabin his father built in 1952, with a block plane and a handsaw instead of a production line. No plastic tube, no wire cage, no app, no subscription. Once the last shelves in that cabin are clear, there is no second batch.
"People assume backyard birds live in birdhouses. Mostly they don't. They live in what's left of the old yard: dead trees, hedgerows, brush piles, a ditch that holds water. Nearly every one of those places is temporary. The dead tree gets cut 'for safety,' the brush pile goes out on pickup day, the ditch gets filled in for lawn. Meanwhile the typical feeder hides its seed in a tube, hangs across the lawn from any water, and offers no shelter at all. A good feeding station fixes that, but only if three things are right: food a bird can see, clean water right beside it, and somewhere dry to get out of the weather. Get those right and you've given them a place that is still there in March."
Dr. Karen Mitchell, Avian Ecologist
Lake Superior Songbird Survey
Perfect for
Quality you can check yourself
- Seasoned pine, darkened by woodstove smoke in Gene's cabin. No plastic, no wire, no paint. Nothing on it that can chip off into the seed.
- Two lift-out stainless steel bowls: lift one out and look. Most feeders make you scrub old seed out of a tube or a corner.
- A real back room, walled on three sides and under the roof, not a decorative cutout.
- A roof that reaches out over the bowls, so the seed stays drier and the back room stays dry.
- Final run, built by hand: every house made by Gene himself in Ishpeming. Once the shelves are clear, there is no restock and no successor.
Back
Money-Back Guarantee, No Deadline
Nothing about a bird happens quickly, so the guarantee isn't tied to a clock. Hang it up and live with it. If the house isn't everything you hoped (the wood, the roof, the bowls, the weight of the thing), send it back for a full refund. One email is all it takes, and US shipping is free.
A note on handmade variation and wild visitors: Every house is cut and fitted by hand from natural timber, so grain, color and small marks vary from one to the next. That is the mark of real handwork, not a fault. And birds are wild. Hung properly, on a trunk at eye level, in sight of the kitchen window and near some shrubs or trees, a house is usually found within a few days to a few weeks, but the timing belongs to the birds, not to us. Two things make far more difference than anything else, and both are free: hang it either within about three feet of a window or well out in the yard, with decals on the glass, and for the first few days scatter a handful of seed on the ground underneath so it gets noticed. Fill one bowl with black-oil sunflower seed, never bread or cheap filler mix, and keep fresh water in the other, changed every day or two (in freezing weather, every morning). Nothing made of wood is squirrel-proof; small portions in the morning help. Late September into October is the best time of year to hang one. If birds nest in the back room, leave it alone until the young have flown, then clean it out in late summer.
Product details
| Material | Seasoned northern pine, darkened by woodstove smoke in Gene's cabin |
| Finish | Natural smoke-brown wood grain, no paint, plastic or wire |
| Set contents | 1 feeding house with back room & long roof · 2 lift-out stainless steel bowls · hanging hook · siting card |
| Dimensions (outer) | 6.3 × 5.5 × 6.7 in (16 × 14 × 17.1 cm) |
| Bowls | Two removable stainless steel bowls side by side on the front tray: one for seed, one for water |
| Back room | Sheltered rear compartment under the roof, walled on three sides, for roosting and nesting |
| Roof | Single sloped roof reaching out over the bowls |
| Mounting | Hangs on a tree trunk or post with the included hook, at eye level and in sight of a window |
| Suits | Chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, finches, wrens and cardinals at the seed; robins and bluebirds at the water |
| Color | Dark smoke brown |
| Siting | On a trunk near shrubs or trees, within about 3 ft of a window or well out in the yard, with decals on the glass |
| Care | Rinse the bowls every couple of weeks; change the water every day or two. Clean the back room once a year, after nesting season. |
| Made | Hand-built by Gene Richardson in Ishpeming, Michigan |
| Availability | Final run, 94 only, no restock · 4.9 ★ from 1,186 reviews |
The Final Sale
The Final Sale
Message from the Artist:
After years of making things by hand, our workshop is closing. These are the last pieces we'll ever ship. Every item on this page was made slowly, carefully, and with more love than any factory could replicate. Nothing rushed. Nothing outsourced. Just real craft from real hands.
We're proud of every single one. We hope they find good homes.
When they're gone, they're gone — and so are we.
Shipping with UPS / USPS
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- Delivery time: 7–14 business days
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Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
My wife and I personally respond to every single email — as fast as we possibly can. Whether you have a question about your order or just want to talk craft, we're here.
You can reach us:
- Mon – Fri: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (CT)
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM (CT)
Email: info@cedarandtinco.com
Can I return my order if I don't like it?
Can I return my order if I don't like it?
Of course. We stand behind everything on Cedar & Tin Co. 100%. If you're not happy, neither are we. Just shoot us an email within 90 days and we'll make it right — no hassle, no headaches.
How are your products made?
How are your products made?
Every single product on Cedar & Tin Co. is 100% handmade — crafted by hand, using only premium quality materials. We're proud to carry on a tradition of craftsmanship that has been passed down through generations.