Green Meadow Houses & Feeders of Shipshewana, IN

Green Meadow Houses and Feeders
Eco-Friendly Polywood
John & Annabelle Hochstetler
ph:(260) 768-7863
fax: (260) 768-7861
0725N 840W
Shipshewana, IN 46565

Green Meadow is a small Amish family-owned manufacturer of birdhouses, bird feeders, and related products, located in the large Amish settlement in northern Indiana.  Below, owner John Hochstetler shares the story of his business and their products. 

Greetings from above, the one who takes care of all our needs.  My name is John Hochstetler and married to Annabelle (Mast) on June 3, 1976.  I grew up in LaGrange County, Indiana.  We have 4 children, 3 boys and 1 daughter.  They are all married and we have 15 grandchildren.  I worked at a trailer factory from 1974-2008.  I also at one time raised ducks for 17 years for Maple Leaf Farms.

 How did you get started in bird houses and feeders?

In 2008 the economy was slow and work slowed down, then I got laid off.  So one day I decided to go with my neighbor to a trade show.  We built tables with poly-wood tops (poly is made of recycled milk jugs) that didn’t sell too good.  In the year 2010 my boss at work asked me to build him a bird feeder out of poly wood.  So I did, and I took it to a flea market and I sold 8 that day.  So we went to more trade shows and picked up more dealers and business started growing.  Now we have dealers all over the U.S. and Canada.

What products do you build and what are typical prices?

We have around 40 different feeders and houses.  Poly material will not fade in the sun and we have all colors.  Prices range anywhere from $22-69.  Some of our bigger feeders are $160.  These hold around 12 pounds of seed.

One of our best sellers are Oriole feeders where we put jelly in cups for Orioles. Also Peanut Butter feeders are good and the birds attracted to those are titmice. Woodpeckers and nuthatches all love peanut butter too.  Bat houses are very good sellers also.  We have 20 colony and 40 colony sizes.

We also do some custom work, but then we charge some extra because this takes more time.  We do our business on our 4-acre home we have.  We sell a lot in our home town of Shipshewana.  In summer we have a lot of tourists go through.

How are home and family important to your business?

Our 2 oldest sons have helped us out a lot in the shop as part time workers and we put in many hours.  But now we have 2 other part time workers helping and things are going pretty good.  Our boys have helped out a lot and encouraged me to keep on building.

I enjoy home business.  But it has its pros and cons too.  We have enjoyed meeting a lot of new people and visits and friends we’ve made.

– John Hochstetler

John’s business info.  Orders may be placed by phone and by fax.

Green Meadow Houses and Feeders
Eco-Friendly Polywood
John & Annabelle Hochstetler
ph:(260) 768-7863
fax: (260) 768-7861
0725N 840W
Shipshewana, IN 46565

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