Grandpa's Treadle feeder vs. chicken condo feeder

[caweis]

Thanks all for the feedback.

My other issue is that many of the treadle feeders I have found are in the UK or AU. I am in the US. The stores either wont ship or are insanely expensive.

I think I will investigate the trigger happy chicken feeder.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

They all have pretty reasonable US shipping options. Or they did when I looked. Shipping for the Grandpa's was only $15 for the US.

 

[caweis]

Yes, Grandpa's Feeders has a US distributer. I went ahead and ordered one today! Can't beat the 12 month guarantee.

However, the chooketeria is a great deal - it runs $120 us dollars and that includes shipping! Might go that route if I ever need another.

 

[KIWI CHICK]

Not sure if these are of any use now, but here you are
Please excuse the state of the feeders,,,,they have sat outside in all weather for a couple of years now. We are in the middle of a drought so it looks like the chooks have no grass, but they actually have an acre or so to roam over. Unlike other countries there are no racoons/bobcats/bears/snakes as predators here.

 

[Naser]

Thanks all for the feedback.

My other issue is that many of the treadle feeders I have found are in the UK or AU. I am in the US. The stores either wont ship or are insanely expensive.

I think I will investigate the trigger happy chicken feeder.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rat-Proof-C...129?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d755b641

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Quote:
That's the same one I posted in message 6.

 

[Naser]

That's the same one I posted in message 6.

True, I didn't see that

 

[Al Gerhart]

Thanks for posting the link to the eBay listing folks but you can save some money by just Googling to find our main website. eBay charges a pretty hefty fee for selling and the lower the shipping costs to about 60% of what it costs us to ship a feeder to most states so we tack on $15.00 to the selling price on eBay.

Just Google Rat Proof Chicken Feeder, we have been the top Google result for about two years now thanks to our customers posting links for us. Finally got our first shipment of feeders from my Philippines shop a week or so ago so I have about eight tons of feeders. LOL, won't be staying up assembling feeders till ten pm any longer when my cabinet business is busy. We have much cheaper labor over there so we used thicker gauge steel and were able to fold safety seams on two additional lid edges and both top and bottom of the feed tray, and we have a great bunch of very happy workers that are grateful for a job that pays about double the going rate and they get health insurance and social security,something that literally most of them have ever had.

I always warn folks that our feeder is a bit "rustic", for lack of a better word. If you are picky the Grandpa feeders have a wonderful fit and finish and might be a be a better match for you. Not a lot of money in a $65.00 budget to come close to what the more expensive feeders can do but if you want an inexpensive solution to a rat problem the feeder works like a charm. Watch out for the feeders that have the wide plate instead of a narrow treadle, rats can overwhelm that type of feeder. Make sure the door is spring loaded too because those that are not can be simply pushed open by rats,squirrels, and large wild birds. There is a commercial flock called Fifth Crow Farms that installed a couple dozen of our feeders last year and they gave high marks on the feeder.

http://fifthcrowfarm.com/new-grant-funded-chicken-feeders-installed/

What was interesting about that story was how the feeders saved a lot more than 20 pounds of feed a day for the flock owner, it also saved their other vegetable crops that the birds were destroying. They said once the feed was out of reach for the birds, the birds simply abandoned the area for good instead of sticking around for the entire year. Rats will do the same, they will move on to the next coop that doesn't have a rat proof feeder.

We have a new shopping cart too so ordering is a lot easier and it captures your phone number for the shipping label. We use FedEx Ground and they do a great job once we learned to package that dang heavy counterweight so it didn't bang the bottom of the feeder. Haven't had a damaged feeder in many months now (knock on wood!).

Next up is to start a display ad here on BYC as soon as I can afford it. I pumped about 50 K into this project for just over two years before the first container load arrived so I need to sell some feeders before I invest in advertising. Kind of a catch 22 situation.

 

[rides2far]

There is an article in Grit's Guide to Backyard Chickens that shows how to make a treadle. Ironically, right after I bought one from Amazon. $54. It was a bear to put together.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Was the Amazon treadle feeder the wooden one, guillotine style? Lid raises up and down?

If so they have horrible reviews, nearly all of them are negative. I looked at selling on Amazon but they take a huge chunk out of the sale and they are very strict on a lot of stuff including being able to contact a customer outside their system. I heard that a few bad reviews would lead to an account suspension unless and there is that wooden treadle feeder with dozens of bad reviews and it is still up. And yes, some of the reviews said it took two people to assemble.