All Things Treadle Feeder

[Al Gerhart]

The feeder is on a stone slab and fixed to the wall.
When the chicks were small I would put my hand in to get more feed to flow down, because otherwise the chicks had difficulty reaching the pellets.
I have not observed an issue with there being a lot of feed in the front.
Even though they are scoopers, nobody is spilling feed.
What issues do you anticipate from there being a lot of feed piling up?

Well, if there is no spillage, never mind! But if they ever do start spilling, just choke off the throat with a bit of cardboard so there is less feed piling up at the bottom.

Thanks for all the feedback on the feeder.

 

[RoyalChick]

Well, if there is no spillage, never mind! But if they ever do start spilling, just choke off the throat with a bit of cardboard so there is less feed piling up at the bottom.

Thanks for all the feedback on the feeder.

I keep meaning to write an article about my rat eradication journey but never seem to find the time. Maybe over the holiday. It would cover your feeder (including some installation tips, and even a design tweak suggestions!), but also the rat contraceptives, dry ice etc.

I will probably stop manually releasing feed down into the front soon. I am just a bit anxious for my tiny one - and want to make sure she gets enough food. She seems healthy enough but is still a bit hit or miss on the treadle and it is still quite a stretch for her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I keep meaning to write an article about my rat eradication journey but never seem to find the time. Maybe over the holiday. It would cover your feeder (including some installation tips, and even a design tweak suggestions!), but also the rat contraceptives, dry ice etc.

I don't want to derail the thread; it's a very good discussion about treadle feeders and rodents too.

I would love for you to write an article with the information you've mentioned. I think it would benefit us all. When you write it, post a link too! I sometimes miss new articles when published.

 

[coopncottage]

I came to ask the same question. I've got a small flock using the Grandpa's feeder and it has been great. Our mouse population has all but disappeared. But now I want to add 5-6 more chickens, and will probably just get them as chicks. They'll be in the brooder until it warms up, and we'll integrate them slowly, but I'm wondering if we need to go through the 3-week training process again. Do they figure it out faster when big girls are using it? I dread the thought of an open feeder in the run again -- the mice were so gross.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Keep the chicks far away from any treadle feeder until they hit two to three pounds. Small ones will get trapped. They will learn to eat when an adult eats, no need to go back to a blocked open feeder.

 

[Anon112]

I came to ask the same question. I've got a small flock using the Grandpa's feeder and it has been great. Our mouse population has all but disappeared. But now I want to add 5-6 more chickens, and will probably just get them as chicks. They'll be in the brooder until it warms up, and we'll integrate them slowly, but I'm wondering if we need to go through the 3-week training process again. Do they figure it out faster when big girls are using it? I dread the thought of an open feeder in the run again -- the mice were so gross.

Mine learned really fast from watching the older chickens. And one of my roosters---papa Monroe---was very nice about holding it open for the little ones when they first started using it.

I definitely agree with making sure they aren't around the treadle feeder until they are heavy enough to open the treadle on their own. I had one very close call with a chick who got her leg stuck in the feeder before I knew better.

 

[NetherLeeFarm]

The rats, sadly, have been able to tunnel into the run. (I have an apron, but there are vulnerable points at my corner posts, and the rats dug under the posts, SIGH). They cannot access the feed (the run has a treadle feeder, and they can't get into the nursery), and so have started eating the oyster shell.

I realize this is an older thread and you may have resolved all your issues, but we had this exact same thing happen years ago. We dug out around the posts where they were tunneling in and filled those areas with concrete. Nary a rat since (knock on wood!).

Just make sure you're not trapping rats inside, which we did with one and had to clean out the entire coop to find it. It was happy as can be with it's newly secured habitat since it had the entire coop and feed all to itself lol.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I realize this is an older thread and you may have resolved all your issues, but we had this exact same thing happen years ago. We dug out around the posts where they were tunneling in and filled those areas with concrete. Nary a rat since (knock on wood!).

Just make sure you're not trapping rats inside, which we did with one and had to clean out the entire coop to find it. It was happy as can be with it's newly secured habitat since it had the entire coop and feed all to itself lol.

That is the other method that works every time; building a Fort Knox tight coop.

That said, it is the more expensive method in material, time, and money as it must be maintained. The previous thread you responded to had successfully beaten the rats with the ratproof feeder and the rats were eating the oyster shell out of desperation. They cannot survive on oyster shell or chicken poop as the natural habitat will not support a rat colony. At that starvation point is where traps and poison could be of some use as their desperation knows no bounds. But, patience will be of value as the rats are on their way down unless there is another human provided source of food.

So, either build a Fort Knox tight coop or practice the sanitation method; bulk feed in metal drums with tight lids, clean up the pathways the rodents use to travel between the feed and their dens, and purchase a ratproof feeder. Narrow and distant treadle not a wide up close step, inward swinging door for safety and no three week long open training period, and an adjustable spring pre loaded door to prevent the rats from just pushing the door open.

Dealing with rodents is this easy, you just stop feeding them and they leave.

 

[NetherLeeFarm]

The previous thread you responded to had successfully beaten the rats with the ratproof feeder and the rats were eating the oyster shell out of desperation.

Thanks, Al, I did see where she wrote that. I was just offering some advice, if needed, because it was our experience that they kept coming in even after we secured all feed. They could have been looking for scraps and/or any dropped feed, enjoying the warmth and security of the coop, or just out of habit. Who knows! It took us about a month or two to beat them, but we finally did. At least for now lol.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Rodents invade for one of four reasons; food, water, shelter, or nesting materials that can be shredded. If one of those four is present there is very little that will make them stop coming. Irritants like odors, capsaicin, ultra sound, never work. I'd rule out warmth and safety, a burrow beats a chicken coop. Most likely was the food either dropped or they had learned to defeat the Grandpa feeder as is shown in so many of the negative reviews on Amazon.

But you stopped them! Congrats!