Recent content by Al Gerhart

  1. Al Gerhart

    Daytime rats eating chicken feed. Not allowed to use rodenticide in my area due to owls, Hawks, coyotes and domestic dogs of course.

    Usually the springs are set at around 4 pounds on the treadle which translates to 10 pounds pulling down on the actual door crank but only 1 to 1.5 pounds of direct force if a rat or rats tried to push the door open. Springs are progressive though, the more they are stretched the more pressure...
  2. Al Gerhart

    Daytime rats eating chicken feed. Not allowed to use rodenticide in my area due to owls, Hawks, coyotes and domestic dogs of course.

    Give it a few more days, the rats will begin to starve. They might have a bit of food stored but it will only last a few days. Just keep those door springs as tight as you can and still let the little chicken work the treadle. If you ever see that the door isn't opening, that means the...
  3. Al Gerhart

    Gravity tube feeders

    The feed was insulating the filled portion of the PVC pipe, holding some heat from daylight hours (even if it was not in the sun). As the outside air cooled so did the unfilled upper part of the PVC pipe, the air inside the upper part of the PVC tube cooled below the dew point and the moisture...
  4. Al Gerhart

    Rats

    There is a lot of very valuable advice in this post. Well done!
  5. Al Gerhart

    Feeding chickens in the coop

    Leaving food in a coop doesn't attract rats. Leaving food in the coop in a poor excuse for a chicken feeder does. ;)
  6. Al Gerhart

    Duckweed for poultry- Wolffia globosa or arrhiza

    I tried the duck weed at our farm in the Philippines. Lessons learned: Filipinos do not like strange new ideas. Brown gravy, fine. White gravy, deadly poison from white man trying to kill Filipinos. AKA, they won't use the duckweed. Cashew tree leaves and nuts shells are poisonous and will...
  7. Al Gerhart

    Rhode Island keeps eating and wasting food all day long

    Just do not put the treats in the feeder! More feed raking if you do. Best of luck re homing her. You are a kind person to go to that much trouble.
  8. Al Gerhart

    Rats

    Rats never, ever, stick around unless there is a food source. In the wild they have to hustle non stop or starve and natural predators take out most of them while exposed looking for food. Are you certain they are not getting feed out of the feeder? I see nothing to stop rats and mice from...
  9. Al Gerhart

    Can geese use a treadle feeder?

    No feeder is completely waterproof, as in dunk it in a barrel of water. But used as intended, yes. The majority of our videos from customers were from pre 2015 feeders in a promotion where we offered a refurbish kit of one of the new soft close kits, spare springs, and a wire link spare in...
  10. Al Gerhart

    Rats

    Okay, explain this for me. This is basically a sunlight activated feeder, the door opens during daylight and closes at night. It claims to be pest proof. It isn't. It couldn't be..... nothing in the design makes it remotely pest proof. Return it. Unless, you have a flock of mostly banties...
  11. Al Gerhart

    Rhode Island keeps eating and wasting food all day long

    That sort of pvc elbow feeder has little in the way of protection from feed being billed out. Really though, one chicken, you don't need a treadle feeder. It would never pay for itself with just one chicken. If you had a flock, yes, invest in a treadle feeder with full height walls on both...
  12. Al Gerhart

    Can geese use a treadle feeder?

    The Grandpa Xi feeder has the wide and close in treadle step, not good if you wish to prevent vermin from piling up on the treadle and getting to the feed. This also doesn't leave enough room for a goose or turkey to use their breast to push down the treadle. My feeder has an optional turkey...
  13. Al Gerhart

    Rodents nest in my hen house

    Rats can jump up to three feet, no bucket will hold them. If you want to get rid of rats there is one simple thing to do. Stop feeding them. Bulk feed in a metal barrel with a tight lid. Clean up the pathways to and from the feed so natural predators get some of the rodents. And buy a real...
  14. Al Gerhart

    Adding a Cat to the Coop

    Terrible idea, cats constantly lick their paws, covered in chicken poop if they live in a coop. Expect it to need re worming regularly. The correct way to deal with mice is to control the feed. Just do a forum search using rats and chickens, this topic has been discussed hundreds of time with...
  15. Al Gerhart

    Prepping for winter ugh

    The old 60 watt bulb in a cookie tin works well. Use incandescent lamps of course.
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