"The perfect
hummingbird feeder"! ...
and a "higher value" product
made
in the USA!
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How is Tejas Feeder made?... see short YouTube video links here...
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"Hummingbirds like the Tejas best!"...
Sam Chiodo 1914 - 2004
A hummingbird feeder legacy featuring timeless style, the "handcrafted metal" Tejas hummingbird feeder is modeled after the original metal Texas Hill Country hummingbird feeder, and has been produced for over 50 years...
Hill Country Sun (Texas) - May 2017
San Antonio KSAT 12 News - March 2016
San Antonio Express News - September 2014
Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine - April 2002.
Kerrville Daily Times - July 1936
And "if imitation is the finest form of flattery", then we're flattered that the Tejas hummingbird feeder has now been copied by no less than four (4) manufacturers who extrude a plastic version of the Tejas hummingbird feeder!
Seventy (70) years ago an old timer in Kerrville, Tx -- Prentiss Swayze -- took the notion to attach an 'old glass I.V. bottle' to a 'Scotch Tape tin' .... poke holes in the tin... fill the bottle with sugar water, and hang the hummingbird feeder out for the hummers! Prentiss Swayze worked for many years and retired from Kerrville's old U.S. Post Office. He produced this original Texas style hummingbird feeder in his spare time. Trivia... Prentiss Swayze was uncle to actor Patrick Swayze who was fond of Kerrville where he boarded several of his Arabian horses.
Sam Chiodo who lived in the Frio Canyon at Leakey, Tx observed this hummingbird feeder 'contraption', which put an idea in his head. Sam took the idea to his neighbor, Freddie Franks... a local genius with a lathe, and together began to assemble an assortment of "Rube Goldberg" machines to create the Tejas Hummingbird Feeder. Creating the Tejas hummingbird feeder involves a twelve (12) step process... each step utilizing one of the many "Rube Goldberg" machines designed to fashion the Tejas hummingbird feeder. (see above video link)
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"New-Style" screw cover Tejas...read below |
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"1970 Original Tejas" |
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"Tejas Today"
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In 1995 the Lewises (Harriet and Marion) acquired the Tejas Hummingbird Feeder business. It's been said that "You have to have something to retire to"... so acquiring the Tejas hummingbird feeder manufacturing business was a great candidate, and who wouldn't be excited about continuing a tradition like this!
Late 2009 finds the Tejas hummingbird feeder 'tweaked' once again! After many years of searching, a sturdy aluminum metal screw cover component was discovered, to be used in construction of the "new-style" Tejas hummingbird feeder base. Beginning spring 2010 the Tejas hummingbird feeder features a screw cover feeder base, allowing the hummingbird feeder base to be opened for cleaning, and aluminum construction, a remarkable metal for its ability to resist corrosion. A custom made gasket is included with the screw cover hummingbird feeder base to provide a water tight seal between top and bottom halves of the screw cover hummingbird feeder base.
Since acquiring the business, the Tejas hummingbird feeder has been 'tweaked' only a bit, as this handcrafted "metal" feeder has already stood the test of time. In 1999 the Tejas acquired a new baked on 'powder coat' finish and new graphics (label) including hummer food recipe. For sturdiness, a brass grommet was inserted between the closure and hummingbird feeder feeder top for a more secure fit.Summer 2017 finds the Tejas hummingbird feeder 'tweaked' again! A red 'honey bee guard' is supplied with each Tejas hummingbird feeder. Honey bees are 'siphon artists', congregating where bottle containing sugar water solution attaches to hummingbird feeder base. Slipping red 'honey bee guard' on to neck of bottle before attaching to hummingbird feeder base, will shut down this honey bee action. Regarding honey bees and wasps, always hang hummingbird feeder in non-windy location, as wind will cause hummingbird feeder to 'swing', breaking vacuum inside bottle, allowing sugar water solution in bottle to rise to level reachable by honey bees and wasps.
So after 50 plus years, still only a few changes have occurred to the Tejas Hummingbird Feeder... and in a changing world, that's not so bad!
Sam Chiodo passed away Saturday, July 3, 2004 at his home in Kerrville, Texas. He was 90 years old. The street he lived on in Leakey is named Hummingbird Hill Lane in honor of his love for hummingbirds.
