Grandpa's Feeder is inviting mice

[Orit]

Mice have started coming to my coop/run at night once the chickens are roosting, and they are having a feast around my 2 Grandpa Feeders. I thought the beauty of the feeder was that it is mouse proof. I'm wondering if the feeder is actually dispensing the food correctly. The feed doesn't come down on its own once the chickens have eaten the top layer, even when I have removed the grate. So I always have to reach inside and push it with the scoop so that it comes down and goes up high enough on the other side for the chickens to eat. But, because it's that high (even with the grate in place), they are able to flick away the parts they don't like with their beaks and eat what they do like. So suddenly I have chicken feed all over the ground and the mice have officially received their invitation. Is this just a design defect? Is the feed supposed to continue flowing down as the chickens consume it? Or am I not using the feeder correctly?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I don't use that particular feeder but I have to bring my feeders into the garage every night because otherwise we get rats. It seems like a nice marketing ploy but I don't think anything is mouse proof. Hopefully I'm wrong and someone has advice about your particular feeder.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I always tell folks to read the negative reviews and give them more weight than the positive reviews and the Chinese made Grandpa feeder is no exception. Feed flow is mentioned a lot in the negative reviews on Amazon and the inability of their grid to prevent feed raking.

Way back in 2011 or 2012 when we moved to a sheet metal construction on our feeder we looked at the angle of the Grandpa feeder and the complaints so we did some testing and found that the angle could be increased and still not allow too much feed to pile up so we went as steep as we could to prevent feed bridging. The lack of a feed lip and the fact that the feed tray is open on three sides also leads to the feed raking and is one of the reasons we went with a fully enclosed feed tray even though the material costs more.

But, you need a solution not an "I told you so" so I would try waxing the bottom and the back side of the feed tray (the part that holds the feed back). Any good floor wax in a paste formulation, heck some Pam cooking spray might work but a good wax would be better.

You never want to fill a open tray feeder more than 1/3rd. We have a feeder like that, the MA 2017 which has the same type of feed box and overhead lid for those customers on a tight budget. Same thing there, even though we have a feed lip we recommend no more than one third full to avoid feed raking. And we are careful to make it plain that it is a crap design that we have improved upon but that it is only for those with a very tight budget. Meaning we sell few of them. LOL And that is okay.

You might try cutting a section of chicken wire to lay on top of the feed. That will stop hens from raking. If they are grabbing a mouthful and dropping half of it on the ground, well nothing will stop that. One of the reasons we use a narrow and distant treadle is to have the bird stretched out and a bit uncomfortable so they come, eat, and leave.