Grandpas feeder help

[E Buschjost]

What do you use for weights for lighter chickens and where do you place them? When do you remove them? I have the large feeder and my 6 week old chickens aren’t quite heavy enough yet to operate the treadle alone. We are on week 2 of training so they’re able to use it now but next week we close it completely.

 

[Chookchicken]

I’d recommend keeping it in the setting it is on until they are at least 2.5 months old. The risk with is that they’ll get their necks stuck in it. I’ve had a few incidents of the plate falling on sparrows head and killing them (this is just an example of what can happen to chicks). Before closing it all together I would make sure ALL your chicks weigh enough. If one doesn’t weigh enough to push it down it holds a serious risk of it falling on the chicks head/neck and killing it. I’d also make sure they’re big enough that they won’t fit in the grandpa feeder. It holds the risk of it falling in their heads. I’m just warning you that there is a risk. The other option is taking it out all together. We did that with my grandpa feeder because we had a very little chick, she also had a leg deformity and couldn’t use the grandpa feeder. After she passed we put it back in and it only took my chickens a few days to get back into the rhythm of it.