Quick Answer: Droll Yankees has built feeders in the USA since 1969, and its flagship Yankee Flipper stands apart from every other squirrel-proof feeder on this site by using a motorized, weight-activated perch that physically spins squirrels off rather than caging or spring-locking them out. It holds 5 lb of seed, ships with a rechargeable battery and charger, and typically costs $150-200 at most retailers. Its sibling, the Yankee Whipper, matches the 5 lb/4-port capacity with four collapsible perches instead of a motor — no battery, no electronics, and the pick several buying guides recommend over the Flipper for lighter red squirrels. The brand also sells simpler, cheaper non-squirrel-proof lines like the Big Top (about $65–$75) and A-6 Ring Pull (about $70–$85) tube feeder. Buy the Flipper or Whipper if you want genuinely different squirrel-deterrent mechanisms; buy the cheaper lines if squirrels aren’t the problem.
Droll Yankees comes up constantly in this site’s other roundups — as a comparison point in Squirrel Buster coverage, as a pick in hanging feeder and finch feeder guides, and as one of nine brands ranked in our best bird feeder brands roundup — but it’s never had its own dedicated review. Here’s what the brand actually sells and whether its signature product justifies the price.
Last updated October 2026: added the Yankee Whipper, the brand’s non-motorized squirrel-proof sibling to the Flipper, and corrected an outdated claim that Droll Yankees’ simpler lines are never squirrel-proof.
Droll Yankees by the numbers
- 56 years making feeders in the USA. Droll Yankees has manufactured feeders domestically since 1969, according to the company, and backs feeder bodies with a lifetime warranty against squirrel damage — the same length of coverage as Brome, but on a company with decades longer track record.
- 5 lb capacity, 4 ports, on both the Flipper and Whipper. The Flipper’s UV-stabilized polycarbonate tube and the Whipper’s collapsible-perch body both hold up to 5 lb of seed, more than the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus’s 5.1 lb-adjacent capacity and well ahead of Roamwild’s 4 lb.
- Perky-Pet’s own site undercuts every other retailer on both models. Perky-Pet, which now handles Droll Yankees’ retail distribution, lists the Flipper and Whipper at $99.99 each on its own site — well below the $150-250 range at Ace Hardware, Stein’s, Chewy, and BestNest, a gap consistent enough across both models that it looks like a stale or promotional listing rather than the going rate.
- The motor has a weight floor the heavier grey squirrel clears but lighter animals don’t. Multiple retailer buying guides note the Flipper’s motorized perch is tuned for grey squirrels and isn’t reliably triggered by red squirrels or chipmunks — the same light-animal gap this site’s own chipmunk-proof bird feeder guide found across every weight-activated mechanism on the market.
Droll Yankees Yankee Flipper Motorized Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder
- Motor-driven, weight-activated perch ring spins under a squirrel's weight to fling it off the feeder.
- 5 lb seed capacity in a 17-inch UV-stabilized polycarbonate tube.
- Ships with rechargeable ni-cad batteries and a charger; lifetime warranty on the feeder body against squirrel damage.
Droll Yankees Yankee Whipper Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder
- Four individual collapsible perches drop under a squirrel's weight instead of a motorized spinning ring — no battery, no electronics, nothing to recharge.
- Same 5 lb capacity and 4-port layout as the Flipper, in midnight blue rather than hunter green.
- Several retailer buying guides recommend the Whipper over the Flipper specifically for red squirrels, which aren't always heavy enough to trigger the Flipper's motor.
Waiting on either one to arrive so you can watch which squirrel tries it first? Try Kindle Unlimited free and pull up a field guide while you wait.
What Droll Yankees does well
The Yankee Flipper solves squirrels that have already beaten spring-loaded feeders. Some squirrels learn to ride out a spring-loaded shroud closing, or figure out the weight threshold on a Brome or Roamwild feeder. A motor that actively spins the perch is a different failure mode entirely — there’s no static position to learn.
The Yankee Whipper gives you squirrel-proofing without the battery. Its four collapsible perches drop under weight with no motor, no rechargeable battery, and no charger to keep track of — the mechanical equivalent of the Flipper’s protection for buyers who specifically object to battery maintenance.
Decades of manufacturing history back the lifetime warranty. A lifetime warranty means more from a company that’s been building the same category of product domestically since 1969 than from a newer entrant, simply because there’s a longer track record of the company honoring it.
The non-motorized lines are simple and easy to clean. The A-6 Ring Pull’s tool-free disassembly and the Big Top’s adjustable dome are aimed at buyers who don’t need (or want to pay for) squirrel-defeating electronics — just a well-built classic tube or hopper feeder.
Made in the USA. For buyers who prioritize domestic manufacturing, Droll Yankees is one of the few feeder brands on this site’s coverage that builds its products in-country rather than importing.
Where Droll Yankees falls short
- The Yankee Flipper is expensive. At $179.99–$199.99, it costs 1.5–4x what comparable squirrel-proof feeders from Brome or Roamwild run, for a mechanism most yards don’t strictly need.
- The Flipper’s battery means maintenance the Whipper doesn’t have. A rechargeable battery has to be recharged or eventually replaced — if that’s a dealbreaker, the Whipper gives the same squirrel-proof branding with nothing to charge.
- No smart-camera tier. Unlike Bird Buddy or Birdfy, Droll Yankees doesn’t offer an AI species-ID camera option anywhere in its lineup, so buyers who want both squirrel-proofing and photo capture need a separate feeder.
- Neither the Flipper nor the Whipper reliably excludes red squirrels or chipmunks. Both mechanisms are tuned for the heavier grey squirrel’s weight; lighter animals can slip under that threshold the same way they beat Brome’s lineup — see our chipmunk-proof bird feeder guide for the mesh-size workaround weight-activated feeders can’t offer. The Big Top and A-6 lines aren’t squirrel-proof at all and need a separate baffle if squirrels are the problem.
How it compares to the alternatives
| Feeder | Best for | Mechanism | Capacity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Droll Yankees Yankee Flipper | Best motorized mechanism | Motorized weight-activated spinning perch | 5 lb | $150-200 (most retailers) |
| Droll Yankees Yankee Whipper | Best non-motorized squirrel-proof | 4 collapsible weight-activated perches | 5 lb | $99.99-$249.99 |
| Brome Squirrel Buster Plus | Best overall squirrel-proofing | Single weight-activated shroud | 5.1 lb | $129.25 |
| Roamwild PestOff 2.0 | Best budget pest-proof | Independent spring-loaded ports | 4 lb | $49.99–$52 |
| Droll Yankees Big Top | Best adjustable dome (non-motorized, not squirrel-proof) | None (adjustable dome cage) | 3 lb | about $65–$75 |
If you specifically want a different squirrel-deterrent mechanism than the shrouds and springs everything else on this list uses, the Yankee Flipper is the pick. If price and simplicity matter more, the Squirrel Buster Plus or PestOff 2.0 both deliver proven squirrel-proofing for less — see our squirrel-proof bird feeder guide and best bird feeder brands roundup for the full field ranked side by side.
Who should buy Droll Yankees
Buy the Yankee Flipper if squirrels have already defeated a spring-loaded or shroud-based feeder in your yard, or if you specifically want a mechanism with no static “learnable” position. Buy the Yankee Whipper if you want that same squirrel-proof branding without a battery to manage, or if red squirrels — not just grey — are the problem. Buy the Big Top or A-6 if you want a simple, well-built, made-in-USA feeder and don’t need squirrel-proofing, or already handle squirrels with a separate pole and baffle.
Skip both the Flipper and Whipper if budget matters more than mechanism — the Squirrel Buster Plus and PestOff 2.0 both cost meaningfully less for comparable squirrel-proofing against the more common grey squirrel.
The bottom line
Droll Yankees earns its long-running reputation with the Yankee Flipper and its non-motorized sibling, the Yankee Whipper: two genuinely different squirrel-proofing mechanisms backed by a company that’s built feeders in the USA since 1969, at a premium price that reflects the hardware rather than brand markup alone. Its simpler Big Top and A-6 lines round out the catalog for buyers who just want a durable, easy-to-clean classic feeder without the squirrel-fighting hardware — but those two aren’t squirrel-proof at all, unlike the Flipper and Whipper. For most yards, cheaper mechanical options like the Squirrel Buster Plus or PestOff 2.0 do the job — but for squirrels that have beaten those, the Flipper or Whipper is the next thing to try, and neither reliably stops the lighter red squirrels or chipmunks that also beat Brome’s lineup. Worth knowing: Droll Yankees is now owned by Perky-Pet, by way of a 2017 acquisition by More Birds that Perky-Pet itself later bought in 2022 — both the Flipper’s and Whipper’s USA-made mechanisms sit inside a much larger corporate catalog of budget feeders, and Perky-Pet’s own site prices both noticeably below every other retailer we checked.