To TREADLE or not to TREADLE, that is the question.

[Kiwibird]

Mine were adorable, but not smart!

 

[ChickenWaterer]

I tried an all metal treadle feeder but ended up not using it in the end. They do work, but there are some compromises.... It takes the chickens a while to get used to it and some chickens are always skittish about using it because when they get off the peddle it makes clanging sound. Rats still can get into the feeder because rats travel in packs and while one rat isn't heavy enough to open the feeder, several rats are. So are raccoons, possums and other critters. In the end, I found it was just easier to put the feeder into a metal trash can at night.

 

[etvixen]

I'm glad this thread is up right now. This has been my exact question since returning from a weekend away. As I'm easing into my chicken keeping I'm finding I want to be able to free feed and free range my birds, but the doves here are just out of control and it sounds like more than one could pile onto a treadle step and get it to open. The rats working together is also great to know. And I'm not thrilled about the noise it sounds like they will make since their yard is close to my bedroom/office window. I'm thinking I will start with a trigger feeder, since it's so low investment. I hope the answer is really that simple! Anyone know how high a Norwegian roof rat can reach?

 

[Al Gerhart]

Nice thread and yeah, chicken stuckage is a thing.

Treadle feeders are for full sized birds. End of story. Dangerous for chicks and the tiny feathered friends.
Bantams, I can modify one of our feeders for bantams but it isn't a good idea. You defeat rats by having a big difference in weight and reach, bantams don't have enough of either weight or reach so by setting a treadle close to the feed and lightening the action you are just making it easier for the rats to mob.

And yes, packs of rats will mob most treadle feeders or quickly learn to just push the door open. We solved that back in 2011 by creating a treadle that was pushed way back, adding a counterweight to the treadle, and by adding a spring loaded door. With the narrow treadle set way back any rat that sat on the treadle along with six of his buddies wouldn't get to eat so as soon as the door opens they will rush forward and the door will close. The spring and counterweight add enough resistance to three or four rats just pushing their way into the feeder. However, there have been two reports of rats overwhelming the feeder by sheer numbers but in both cases the flock owners had a hopper full of dead rats the next morning. In both cases the flock owner reported that the rats refused to come back to that feeder even after being disinfected with Chlorox. Both cases were organic farms, commercial size flocks, with thousands of rats. Eventually the rats went elsewhere, in one case they mobbed over thirty feeders before they gave up but never would they mob a feeder twice.

We have an old joke in Oklahoma "Farm animals are never safe around moving equipment or Oklahoma State Senators." Any sort of mechanical feeder comes with a small risk for the smaller birds in a mixed flock. I recommend buying the soft close door option, and once again we are the only feeder manufacturer that even offers a soft close door as well as a spring loaded counter-weighted door. Why? They are expensive to manufacture, less profit. More difficult to assemble at the customer's end and during manufacturing.

But, in the end, a treadle feeder will pay for itself many times over just in feed savings. If you purchase a feeder lip extender there are very few birds that can rake feed out due to the height of the feeder lip extension and the fact that you have the bird stretched out with its feet holding down the treadle.

Avoid the plastic feeders with the sliding doors that jamb and all plastic feeders will be chewed into in short order except the ones using the plumbing elbows, why chew through plastic when a rat can just jump in and eat the feed? Avoid the feeders that have a door that opens over the chicken's head. We make one called the MA2017, that stands for Marie Antoinette. And yeah, they will clock the birds in the head and trap the dumb ones. Despite the name we sell a few because they are cheap, under $40, but take our advice and just wait another month and buy a decent swinging in type door feeder.

And do your research! Google treadle feeders or rat proof feeders. Never trust the reviews found on shopping carts, we have one and the seller can remove the negative reviews although we don't for the simple fact that too many of our reviews are five star reviews. There are independent reviews online but some of the reviews found on chicken blogs also have links back to the product which means they are getting a cut from Google or the seller when people click on the link and buy. We don't pay Google for ads nor do we use affiliate programs, the half dozen reviews found online for our feeders are there because the user liked our product, not because they make money directing people to shopping carts.

And lastly, a treadle feeder is going to need some assembly. Five minutes if you are handy on our feeder. It is also going to take some tweaking and periodic adjustment to keep the mechanism in good order, things like replacing the spring occasionally or adjusting a door. You also need to secure treadle feeders to a wall or post to prevent them from tipping over. And follow the directions for installation and training to the very letter. No using logic, using instinct works, getting them hungry works. Feeder sitting on patio blocks including the treadle when it bottoms out, solidly attached so it isn't rocking and rolling. Then lock the birds in till one learns to use the feeder, usually a few hours after the birds are hungry. The soft close really helps in training, reduces the noise and the slow closing door is less scary. But birds MUST be hungry in order to be trained.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I'm glad this thread is up right now. This has been my exact question since returning from a weekend away. As I'm easing into my chicken keeping I'm finding I want to be able to free feed and free range my birds, but the doves here are just out of control and it sounds like more than one could pile onto a treadle step and get it to open. The rats working together is also great to know. And I'm not thrilled about the noise it sounds like they will make since their yard is close to my bedroom/office window. I'm thinking I will start with a trigger feeder, since it's so low investment. I hope the answer is really that simple! Anyone know how high a Norwegian roof rat can reach?

Both rats and wild birds will quickly learn to jump up to hit that trigger feeder or just wait till one of your birds uses the feeder. Piling on the treadle step is exactly why we put our treadle so far back and keep it narrow. The only thing that will defeat our feeder is a forest full of hungry squirrels but you should be able to fence out a squirrel, not as easy to fence out a rat or mouse. As for the sound, get the soft close option and then glue a chunk of styrofoam to the back of the door. We have a video up on our video section that shows how to do that along with videos showing how to train, assemble, even repair the feeders. Do a forum search for rat proof chicken feeder and you will find a review by Howard E. that covers our feeder warts and all. Another review is out on the internet by a guy going by Lazy DIY or something to that effect and there is a guy that runs a review site for feeders that covers most of the commercially available feeders. He kicks us in the shins for our packaging (styrofoam) but other than that he treated us fairly.

 

[etvixen]

Both rats and wild birds will quickly learn to jump up to hit that trigger feeder or just wait till one of your birds uses the feeder. Piling on the treadle step is exactly why we put our treadle so far back and keep it narrow. The only thing that will defeat our feeder is a forest full of hungry squirrels but you should be able to fence out a squirrel, not as easy to fence out a rat or mouse. As for the sound, get the soft close option and then glue a chunk of styrofoam to the back of the door. We have a video up on our video section that shows how to do that along with videos showing how to train, assemble, even repair the feeders. Do a forum search for rat proof chicken feeder and you will find a review by Howard E. that covers our feeder warts and all. Another review is out on the internet by a guy going by Lazy DIY or something to that effect and there is a guy that runs a review site for feeders that covers most of the commercially available feeders. He kicks us in the shins for our packaging (styrofoam) but other than that he treated us fairly.

Thank you! I'm definitely a fan from afar with this feeder. Having just gotten into chickens against my partner's better judgment, I'm finding I need to spread out my purchases and really prioritize. Priority One is securing the perimeter, but since I loathe the dove swarms so much, this is definitely on my wish list.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Thank you! I'm definitely a fan from afar with this feeder. Having just gotten into chickens against my partner's better judgment, I'm finding I need to spread out my purchases and really prioritize. Priority One is securing the perimeter, but since I loathe the dove swarms so much, this is definitely on my wish list.

Here is the thing, spending the amount of money to fence out birds is going to cost more than a good feeder. Sometimes it is impossible with a free range flock like this once case. Yeah, that is our feeder. They bought more feeders a few years ago so we definitely solved their problem. https://fifthcrowfarm.com/new-grant-funded-chicken-feeders-installed/

 

[etvixen]

Here is the thing, spending the amount of money to fence out birds is going to cost more than a good feeder. Sometimes it is impossible with a free range flock like this once case. Yeah, that is our feeder. They bought more feeders a few years ago so we definitely solved their problem. https://fifthcrowfarm.com/new-grant-funded-chicken-feeders-installed/

Definitely not fencing out any birds! And none of prey to worry about. We sometimes have loose dogs in the neighborhood and keeping them out is item one. I'll definitely pass along the endorsement of these to the DH though. Maybe it will make my birthday list.

 

[Naser]

I use treadle feeders and a trigger happy chicken feeder, both work fine
The trigger happy chicken feeder in the video is positioned so low