Thanks UrbanFarmChix! Yeah, I didn't mention the rats. And the mice. My two (very old) cats recently died and now we're seeing rat droppings for the first time ever. They were taking rodents up to the end. My EEs rarely take a day off. They have been troopers in this heat. Thanks for the suggestion on tools required. I was going to do that but forgot. I'll post the pic today; I'm building a second feeder today with my suggested improvements so the tools will be out and available for photos. Clamps are very helpful, especially if you are doing this yourself. I'm a big fan of clamps, it allows you to place everything just right before making it permanent. However, you could probably get by without them if you had help and a nail gun. I think you could probably use 1/4" plywood. There might be issues with warping and it would be harder to nail, but heck, I'd give it a try if it were already available. (Maybe a real carpenter could offer suggestions here.) I'm thinking about making a third feeder out of completely found materials. I think it could be easy. If you decide to build one and have any issues following my instructions, please feel free to contact me. It's sometimes hard to step back from what you've written to see if it actually makes sense.
