Grandpa's Treadle feeder vs. chicken condo feeder

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread!! I just ordered a Feed-O-Matic from Hog Slat, definitely the best prices I could find, and it sounds like they have great customer service. I also really like that they are still made onsite at the company in the Netherlands. I am primarily using it to deter rats/mice. Hopefully my 2 girls can figure out how to use it... They failed my attempt at a nipple watering system ;-) I'll post an update in a few weeks!

BTW, it seems like prices on Grandpa's feeders have come down a good bit since I first looked about a year ago. More competition in the marketplace? Capitalism sometimes works out!!

HenKat said:

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread!! I just ordered a Feed-O-Matic from Hog Slat, definitely the best prices I could find, and it sounds like they have great customer service. I also really like that they are still made onsite at the company in the Netherlands. I am primarily using it to deter rats/mice. Hopefully my 2 girls can figure out how to use it... They failed my attempt at a nipple watering system ;-) I'll post an update in a few weeks!

BTW, it seems like prices on Grandpa's feeders have come down a good bit since I first looked about a year ago. More competition in the marketplace? Capitalism sometimes works out!!

Click to expand...

Good luck!
I've got two of the Feed-O-Matic feeders. They are out in the open and keep the feed dry, and the birds have stopped coming around!

See my post #84 about how I encouraged my chickens to use this. We just took our time over several weeks.

HenKat said:

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread!! I just ordered a Feed-O-Matic from Hog Slat, definitely the best prices I could find, and it sounds like they have great customer service. I also really like that they are still made onsite at the company in the Netherlands. I am primarily using it to deter rats/mice. Hopefully my 2 girls can figure out how to use it... They failed my attempt at a nipple watering system ;-) I'll post an update in a few weeks!

BTW, it seems like prices on Grandpa's feeders have come down a good bit since I first looked about a year ago. More competition in the marketplace? Capitalism sometimes works out!!

Click to expand...

I had to convert from open water dishes to nipple valve waterers to keep out wild bird and chicken poops in the drinking water. I had one Silkie that caught on to the nipple valves on the first day and the last chicken to finally understand how to use the valves took 9 days before she caught on. Meanwhile all other water sources have to be completely gone and only the nipple valves available. Bringing my smartest Silkie to the valves and tapping them throughout the day to make the water drip, she caught on right away - the 2nd Silkie caught on watching her - a week later the stubborn cautious thirsty Ameraucana finally decided it was time to trust the nipple waterer - these are older birds and were not accustomed to nipple waterers. I worried about dehydration while the chickens were catching on to using the nipple valves so I provided fruit and vegetables for moisture. But chickens drink a LOT of water so it was learn the nipple valves or else! Mark at Brite Tap (chickenwaterers.com) was very patient to help me transition to nipple valves but like most things with training chickens it takes time, consistency, and patience:





All my birds have finally decided the Feed-O-Matic is not so scary any more. Since our spooky kooky cautious skittish Ameraucana died the Silkies are not afraid of the treadle feeder now - the Amer would always jump in the air if she stepped on a treadle foot and scared all the others. Today, we caught one Silkie snoozing on the treadle foot and as she was snoozing on it she realized, hey, there's some food in that tray! I have a Feed-O-Matic 10-lb and a 20-lb Chicken Condos treadle feeders. The 10-lb only allows one chicken at a time on the treadle so I suggest either two small Feed-O-Matics or the larger 20-lb that will fit 2 chickens on the treadle. The more feeding stations that are available the less feeding squabbles.

Under the pop-up canopy I have the smallest green Feed-O-Matic next to the taller galvanized ChickenCondos treadle feeder. Having two feeders makes for less chicken squabbles. Now that my chickens have finally succeeded in mastering the treadles and waterers I heartily recommend both to cut down on wild birds!

Well, things are still a little slow-going with the feed-o-matic, but I think we will get there in the end. I am weighing down the treadle with a big rock. They started eating out of it within a couple days (baited with treats!) And within a week I was comfortable to use it as the only food source. When I adjusted the rock to allow some movement however they became very frightened and didn't eat from it for a whole day-- so back to the full open position it went. I managed to position It with just the tiniest bit of movement, and that has been ok over the past week. I think, as lynne and Sylvester noted, that it will just take a very long time... But will be totally worth it in the end!!

HenKat said:

Well, things are still a little slow-going with the feed-o-matic, but I think we will get there in the end. I am weighing down the treadle with a big rock. They started eating out of it within a couple days (baited with treats!) And within a week I was comfortable to use it as the only food source. When I adjusted the rock to allow some movement however they became very frightened and didn't eat from it for a whole day-- so back to the full open position it went. I managed to position It with just the tiniest bit of movement, and that has been ok over the past week. I think, as lynne and Sylvester noted, that it will just take a very long time... But will be totally worth it in the end!!

Click to expand...

It really helped with my chickens (scared of everything!), to use the step wise process.

As you may recall, I used gradually smaller pieces of 2x4, wedged to hold the door flap open.
The first piece was sized so that the flap was 90% open. And that was the hardest step for them to overcome. I gave them 2 weeks!
Then I used about 3 more sizes, each one for about a week. At each step, I made sure all 4 were using the feeder.

(I also padded the door flap along the front base with 1/8" insulation to quiet it down a bit.)

Good luck!

I really like the idea of padding the door flap. Mine is so loud I can hear it in the mornings when the chickens start feeding before I wake up. I think I have a piece of foam rubber that I can use. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

Just to change the topic a little bit, I have 3 dogs, Zeva, a 95 lb American Bulldog, Sammy, 7 lb yorkie poo and Bo, a 12 lb poodle. It's so strange how each of them react to the chickens. Zeva just completely ignores them. The chickens can walk all over her and it's OK. Little Sammy is terrified of them - the chickens are bigger than he is & they want to peck at him. Bo, our problem child, likes to wait until all the chickens are gathered together & then into the middle of them so they can all fly away! Then he waits until they're all back together again so he can do it again. He doesn't chase them; he just wants to see them fly away! I guess we're lucky that we've never had any problems with any of the dogs.

lynnehd said:

It really helped with my chickens (scared of everything!), to use the step wise process.

As you may recall, I used gradually smaller pieces of 2x4, wedged to hold the door flap open. 
The first piece was sized so that the flap was 90% open. And that was the hardest step for them to overcome. I gave them 2 weeks!
Then I used about 3 more sizes, each one for about a week. At each step, I made sure all 4 were using the feeder.

(I also padded the door flap along the front base with 1/8" insulation to quiet it down a bit.)

Good luck!

Click to expand...

jomoncon said:

I really like the idea of padding the door flap. Mine is so loud I can hear it in the mornings when the chickens start feeding before I wake up. I think I have a piece of foam rubber that I can use. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

Just to change the topic a little bit, I have 3 dogs, Zeva, a 95 lb American Bulldog, Sammy, 7 lb yorkie poo and Bo, a 12 lb poodle. It's so strange how each of them react to the chickens. Zeva just completely ignores them. The chickens can walk all over her and it's OK. Little Sammy is terrified of them - the chickens are bigger than he is & they want to peck at him. Bo, our problem child, likes to wait until all the chickens are gathered together & then into the middle of them so they can all fly away! Then he waits until they're all back together again so he can do it again. He doesn't chase them; he just wants to see them fly away! I guess we're lucky that we've never had any problems with any of the dogs.

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Sounds like Bo will have to be kept on a leash outside so your chickens don't get worn out! Poodles are smart, she might learn.

Adorable picture!

I bought a Grandpa's treadle feeder on Ebay for $50 and my chickens are terrified of it. I tried keeping it open all the time at first and then halfway as they suggest and everytime one stepped on it, they all screamed and scattered. Tried for weeks and finally gave up and I'm back to the sparrows eating all their food out of a regular feeder. I feel like I really wasted my money.

I also made a DYI feeder with a pail and dangling hardware that the chickens are supposed to peck at to release the food. Again, no luck. I even bought a laser light to show them where to peck. I was afraid they were going to starve. I hate to say my chickens aren't bright but.... Any suggestions?

Chickie Newbie said:

I bought a Grandpa's treadle feeder on Ebay for $50 and my chickens are terrified of it. I tried keeping it open all the time at first and then halfway as they suggest and everytime one stepped on it, they all screamed and scattered. Tried for weeks and finally gave up and I'm back to the sparrows eating all their food out of a regular feeder. I feel like I really wasted my money.

I also made a DYI feeder with a pail and dangling hardware that the chickens are supposed to peck at to release the food. Again, no luck. I even bought a laser light to show them where to peck. I was afraid they were going to starve. I hate to say my chickens aren't bright but.... Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

I don't have that exact treadle feeder. However, the concept is the same.
I found I needed about 4 sizes of wood to hold the flap open in different stages. I used pieces of 2x4.
The first one held it mostly open, the next one 3/4 open, then 1/2 open, and so on. I used each size for 1-2 weeks until I was sure that they were using it.
So it was very gradual.

I've also heard that you want to remove other sources of food, however, if your chickens are molting, or under some other kind of stress right now, that might not be a good idea.

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely try again with that method. I guess it wasn't gradual enough for them.