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Glad the feeder did its job on the wild birds. Make sure the spring is in good shape and set stiff enough so that you KNOW the rats aren't getting in the feeder. There have been several upgrades over the years, moving the spring to the door and using two springs was a major one and you can...

Grandma always said that the best mouser is a momma cat feeding babies. Then what do you do with the babies? In the end you pay for a treadle feeder whether you have one or not. But cleaning up the paths the rodents use to eliminate any cover or concealment helps the cat and other natural...

That is the third leg of the three processes to eliminate rodents. Sanitation, which I covered, exclusion, which is a Fort Knox coop, and elimination, the traps and poisons. The reason that process is last is because if you did clean out a population a new batch would immediately move into the...

Make sure there are no rodents hanging around for the chicken feed. Rodents leave a trail of urine and some raptors can see it using UV vision receptors in their eyes. It is a florescent trail leading right to your coop.

The only sure way of dealing with rodents is to simply stop feeding them. Bulk feed in metal barrels, a treadle feeder with a spring loaded door to prevent them from just pushing the door open (read the negative reviews!), and clean up any pathway the rodents use to get from their burrows to the...

You need a treadle feeder. Look over the negative reviews first, those will be the ones with an actual rodent problem. The key is a narrow and distant treadle and a spring loaded door so the rodents don't just push the door open. Traps never work long term. The rodents figure them out and...

You need a treadle feeder. Not all are rodent proof but most will handle tiny sparrows. Once you stop feeding them they will be forced to leave to forage for natural food.

Drought conditions might cause a build up in Johnson grass, called prussic acid poisoning. Sometimes the leaves turn reddish. Like the other poster said though, chickens will taste the difference and are unlikely to eat when it is harmful. Keep it mowed, they will eat the young shoots.

You have a uniform feed so they aren't searching for treats. Adding at least a 1/2" lip around the edges might help. Take a pipe cap, cut out the center leaving a lip all around, bob's your uncle.

But which feeder failed? Did it have a spring loaded door? If so, did you ask for help or how to increase the spring tension?

You said that you tried treadle feeders, but what kind or brand? For a treadle feeder to stop a rat or a squirrel it needs a spring to pre load the door and that allows to increase the tension on the door. As long as you have mostly full size birds a treadle feeder ought to stop squirrels...

That was a great reply on the topic.

Chicken wire is just twisted together. A medium size dog can rip right through it as well as larger predators like coons and coyotes.

Careful mixing feed if you are using any sort of gravity feeder or even treadle feeders. The hens might prefer the taste of one feed over another and start raking feed. We have a solution for our feeder but most treadle feeders do not . That said, it is better to not mix feed types to avoid...

The size of even adult quail rules out treadle feeders. In my opinion you will need to go to the second method of rodent prevention, exclude the rodents from the coop by building a very tight coop and run.

Pam cooking spray or better, some hard floor wax or car wax. Put it on before buffing most of it off. Makes the feed flow faster and makes cleaning much easier.

What brand of feeder do you have? Early on we left small gaps thinking that the dust would somewhat shake out but eventually added a small rectangular brace with an angled end to close the gaps and make the feeder stronger. Eventually Howard E. suggested a french cleat system as we were...

If you use no feeder there are some costs and risks and if you use feeders there is some costs and risks. Choose your poison.

It sounds like a port feeder, the PVC waste drain pipe and bucket style. But yes, nearly all port feeders AND treadle feeders are NOT for chicks and poults. They are for full grown chickens. That said, if you have a treadle feeder, even a poorly designed one, will keep rodent populations...

Got some pictures of the feeder? Especially the throat of the feeder where the most restriction is located. Might measure the throat opening too. Cooking spray, Pam is a U.S. brand. Or some sort of hard wax like car wax or floor wax. Give the empty feed hopper a good coating. Not the...