Feeder options

[mslizo]

Hi! I’m wondering if anyone has advice on a DIY feeder that is squirrel proof? I’m constantly finding the feeder empty & a squirrel running away as I approach the coop area...super frustrating!
My goats share the same general fenced-in area too, so I’d like to be sure it’s goat proof too...any ideas? Thx in advance!

 

[DuckGirl77]

Some have had success with mixing cayenne pepper with the food to teach the squirrel not to eat it.
You could also move the feeder to inside the coop to see if he doesn't go in there, or try a different feeder design like a treadle feeder.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Squirrels are tough to stop even with a treadle feeder. You can go through our reviews and find that some have good luck with our feeder stopping squirrels but if you have a forest next door full of squirrels you would have to set the action very stiff and have full sized birds. Make sure you have the narrow and distant treadle too so the tree rat can't get the treadle down and reach the feed at the same time.

I am working on a squirrel proof feeder that locks the door and is impossible to push open without the treadle being depressed. On our regular feeder the spring loaded door and counterweight will stop one or two squirrels and there are few cases where long term there is more than a couple of squirrels in a territory. I haven't got the design perfected and once I do that means a trip overseas to train the workers in the new design and make the jigs and fixtures, then about four months to fill a container load and another six weeks shipping. Not gonna happen this year, not sure when travel will be possible again.

Goat proof feeder? Ain't happening short of putting it in a fenced area that will keep a goat out.

 

[Diesel69er]

I don’t know if this is of any help...but here goes
I found the idea on a PVC gravity feeder for inside my coop
Pretty easy to make with the proper tools and time...lol

 

[Al Gerhart]

The rats thank you for your generosity!

 

[Matzwd]

My husband told me that yesterday morning he found a squirrel stuck in the run fence just yesterday, bottom half in, top half out, and on his back, trying to pull himself through with his little ratty hands (think pull-up). I asked if he disposed of the squirrel, and his reply....."I couldn't do that to the poor little guy. I got my reciprocating saw and cut a wire to free him. He took a couple of steps and turned to look back at me then nodded and took off."

I had been away at my sister's overnight. I told my husband he must have had a feast in there, able to get in and not out. The weird thing is, hubby said , "He was definitely a boy, as his sack o' nuts was keeping him from getting through." Ouch! Then, when I returned home today, here is what I found:

He peed on the lid to the hanging poultry feeder and chewed through it, partially into the rim of the bucket as well. Hopefully he gets stuck in the fence again soon! Just learned of the cayenne pepper, going to Sam's to get a half gallon of it, lol.

 

[rosemarythyme]

My husband told me that yesterday morning he found a squirrel stuck in the run fence just yesterday, bottom half in, top half out, and on his back, trying to pull himself through with his little ratty hands (think pull-up). I asked if he disposed of the squirrel, and his reply....."I couldn't do that to the poor little guy. I got my reciprocating saw and cut a wire to free him. He took a couple of steps and turned to look back at me then nodded and took off."

Your hubby is a softie like mine. We just disposed of a squirrel that was going into the coop to eat feed. Hubby really didn't want to do it and tried to think of all sorts of reasons why we should leave it alone, but the alternative I proposed was that I'd go in and do it (probably with a lot of shrieking and screaming), so after that he agreed to take care of it.

No more squirrel, no more problem.