Anyone Use This Automatic Treadle Chicken Feeder?

[homesteader824]

I've been looking at better ways to feed my chickens to reduce waste. I've found this treadle feeder for less than $30 online. I'm a little suspicious when some are cheaper than others, and this one looks like the picture is photo-shopped. Does this look like it would be worth getting?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Chicken-...8975&wl11=online&wl12=987139160&wl13=&veh=sem

 

[imnukensc]

Wonder what happens to the chicken eating from the side when the chicken eating from the front steps off the treadle.

 

[homesteader824]

It would get hit in the head, or stuck in there. Hadn't thought of that, thanks. Seems like I read somewhere about side guards; maybe that would prevent it.

 

[dregnery]

I have a similar model, and it does very well. I find that there is less wasted food than the gravity PVC feeder I constructed. However, I there is one thing you need to be aware of. If you have chicks, I recommend that you elevate the feeder, I used 6" cinder blocks, so that any babies are not crushed when the mothers step on the plate. I found one of my < week old chicks under the feeder and suspect that it was underneath the feeder when the mother stepped on the plate and was killed. Since placing my feeder on blocks, I have not had any problems.

 

[Wise Woman]

I have the Grandpa's Feeder treadle feeders and they do have side guards but are about 3 times as expensive as this one. Also, my chickens get feed spilled under the feeder every day. Not sure it is really saving me anything that way. They also make a racket every time they open and shut. Very annoying to me.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

I know this is kinda late for you Wise Woman, but Grandpa does offer half off on returns... You just have to call the customer service number from the website and ask if they have any available. Both of the returns I ordered arrived in perfect condition. Even the shipping boxes were perfect! And, if I remember correctly, the shipping was free!

 

[Al Gerhart]

I make a model to compete with that Chinese aluminum feeder. Called the MA 2017, Marie Antoinette, our ad tag line is if your birds can't live like royalty they can at least die like royalty.

Ours cost a bit more because I thought we needed to fix the problems inherent with the design. The wide treadle of course, too close, too easy to overwhelm with a few rats, too close so it allows the rats to stand on the treadle and eat once enough are on the treadle. Aluminum will be chewed through once the lid was heavy enough to actually keep the rats out, which is fine as a rat can just push the Chinese models open to eat. No need to chew a hole. Then the small screws holding the treadle linkage together do tend to fall off. Check the Amazon reviews, very common last I checked. The treadle is flimsy, a small child can bend them by hand and after a few weeks the medium and larger breeds will have the treadles bowed and bent and bottoming out. The birds will rake feed out like mad so the sellers recommend filling the feeder to one quarter to one third capacity.

The fix was to use galvanized steel instead of aluminum, a heavy steel flat bar treadle, narrow treadle step back far enough to stop rats from using the treadle, 1/4" bolts with lock nuts instead of the tiny screws that hold the treadle links together, and a solid 3/4" thick wood step that even a human can step on without damaging the feeder. Then I extended the length of the lid in front so that there is enough weight that a mouse couldn't push the lid open. We added a front lip to cut down on billing feed but we also recommend filling the feeder to one quarter to one third capacity. You aren't gonna get a good feeder that saves feed for $39.00, better to save up and buy a good small feeder for $21.00 more in my opinion.


Downside to our fix, that light aluminum lid isn't likely to kill a full sized chicken if it hits them on the head. If a person had emotional support chickens, then I wouldn't recommend our MA 20017 at all. We have a saying in Oklahoma, livestock is never 100% safe around moving equipment or Oklahoma State Senators. The risk is small but there is a risk with all of these guillotine style feeders but there is also a market for a cheap feeder.

 

[muffiemae]

Please tell me the sources of the galvanized treadle feeders that people recommend on this thread. I have only 5 hens. I live in Panama and will need to ship the item to me here. Thank you.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Go to the website www.grandpasfeeders.com to ask if they ship to Panama or just buy it from Amazon.

 

[Wise Woman]

Personally I wouldn't waste my money. I have been using two of these for over a year now and frankly, they don't save much if anything. The chickens still fling their food out and each week I have to remove the feeders and clean up the mess underneath them. Food also collects in the sides of the feed and gets wasted. I am seriously considering selling these and going with something like this.

https://blog.mypetchicken.com/2015/10/05/diy-no-waste-feeder/

I think this is probably the only style of feeder that is going to stop the wasting of feed.