What type of bird feeder should i use to keep dove food off the ground?

i have been feeding mourning doves for a year and the local rats and mice have discovered the sunflower seeds and are coming around in larger and larger numbers. doves are ground feeders, but what can i do?What type of bird feeder should i use to keep dove food off the ground?
Changing the type of feeder will likely not change the mouse and rat problem because you will still have seeds that spill to the ground regardless of what type of feeder you use. If you just want to get the birds up off the ground you could try to use a large platform type feeder which is more or less like a square board with a rim all the way around it. the problem is that birds that are accustom to feeding on the ground will still go to the ground either at your house or someone else's. It is almost impossible to bribe a ground feeding bird into a behavior which is not natural to them.





A different option for bird feed would be to use a seed like hulled sunflower where there is less mess falling to the ground because every bit of the seed is eaten. That could help with the mess that is accumulating on the ground, attracting the rodents, but you will most likely notice that they are still hanging around. Quitting the feeding practice for a few months could cut the rodent population down (for awhile)also but don't stop feeding in months when birds have trouble finding food (such as winter)as you will be cutting off a food source that they have been depending on.What type of bird feeder should i use to keep dove food off the ground?
you could use a bird hous and put the seeds in it and put it where only the doves could get to it
Well, you can put up a pedastal.





Problem with doves - they can't balance on a swinging feeder - so I use these to feed smaller birds %26amp; keep the doves off.





So, needs to be a feeder with room for them them to waddle on - mine is about 14 inches across %26amp; has a central recess to hold a bowl of food. It has a support staff, that is a half inch thick steel rod - a bit like a thin square-section rebar.