I had just your standard metal hanging feeder that was open all the way around and they would rake the feed out with their heads, even when I switched to pellets they were doing the same thing, I looked on Amazon and they had two piece plastic hanging feeders that had little sections all the way around so I got one of them to see how it would work. Now the feed waste is zero, I never see food on the ground again, plus it comes apart for cleaning. It was a worth wile investment.