Grandpa's Treadle feeder vs. chicken condo feeder

[rides2far]

My husband definitely said some potty words. Once we got it together, though, I think it's going to work just fine. We WON'T buy another one, though.

 

[Al Gerhart]

LOL, potty words. That helps lubricate stuff that isn't working or won't go together...sometimes.

Next step is throwing it on the ground and stomping on it. That is always helpful.

Next step is going back to the store to buy a replacement.

 

[Shepherdesscmh]

Has anyone had a problem with these treadle feeders injuring chickens that try to feed from the side? The Grandpa's feeder has a piece that blocks access from the side, but none of the others do. I would think a wooden lid heavy enough to counterweight a hen standing on the treadle would come down pretty hard on a chicken's head.

 

[KIWI CHICK]

I have several chooketerias. The hens do sneak in the side to feed, but if the hen standing on the treadle gets off, there is enough time for them to jump out of the way. Never had an injury yet

 

[Shepherdesscmh]

Does anyone know if the chooketerias will work for geese?

 

[Sylvester017]

We purchased two Chicken Condos tall chicken feeders from K9 Kennels (Cove Products mfg) in Utah and they were shipped with our Chicken Condos DIY assembly Barn Coop - $119 each feeder (shipping free when ordered with the Barn Coop). The feeders arrived fully assembled.

We chose these feeders over the Grandpa's treadle feeder because we didn't like the lift-up lid on the Grandpa's - if a chicken steps off the treadle peddle another chicken can get it's head banged on when the lid comes down. There are also many wooden feeders with the Grandpa's design with the lift-up lids that we didn't care for. With the Chicken Condos feeder the opening pushes inward so that if a chicken steps off the peddle the front closes forward instead of working like a guillontine falling down on another unsuspecting chicken's head. Chickens are spooky enough so we didn't want them scaring themselves or each other with lids that could come crashing down.

Chicken Condos are made of a galvanized metal and we keep our feed/water areas under canopies so sun and rain don't deteriorate our products. It's just something we choose to do. We place our Chicken Condos feeders on paver stones for stability and to raise them off the dirt and the Brite Tap nipple valve waterers are raised on cinderblocks and shelves. We don't need tall capcity feeders so we don't fill them all the way - only about a day or two's feed supply for 4 hens. It would be nice to have a smaller feeder but then the mechanism construction wouldn't allow for the bin to open inward if it measured any smaller. There were a few tall treadle feeders online and some were cheaper DIY but we are construction-challenged and preferred to get our feeders already fully-assembled and we didn't want a guillotine or lift-up lid style but wanted the kind that had a door that pushed inward when the treadle was stepped on.

We were so tired of wild birds stealing our organic chicken feed and pooping in the open waterers so that's why we got the Chicken Condos treadle feeders and Brite Tap Rubbermaid valve waterers. Some large wild yellow birds can't dirty the water bowls anymore and tried to get drinks out of the hummingbird feeders but can't get their fat beaks into the hummingbird holes - so no more yellow bird thieves! The feeders are way overboard capacity for 4 hens but it was our solution to keep out wild bird pilferers. The 2-gallon Brite Tap jugs have been wonderful keeping the water insulated cool while keeping out poop, mud, and debris out of a clean covered jug - and the wild birds can't reach the nipple valves the way the Brite Tap is designed!

 

[Shepherdesscmh]

We love the Brite Tap waterers, too, although one of ours continually drips ever-so-slightly....but that's a small price to pay to keep the water clean.

Still looking for anyone who may have used a treadle feeder with geese? The makers of the Grandpa's Feeders say they can be use with ducks/geese, but I want to hear some testimonials before I purchase. Seems any bird with a long neck might be in more danger of getting caught in the lid than a chicken. Anyone?

 

[Sylvester017]

We love the Brite Tap waterers, too, although one of ours continually drips ever-so-slightly....but that's a small price to pay to keep the water clean.

Still looking for anyone who may have used a treadle feeder with geese? The makers of the Grandpa's Feeders say they can be use with ducks/geese, but I want to hear some testimonials before I purchase. Seems any bird with a long neck might be in more danger of getting caught in the lid than a chicken. Anyone?

Mark at chickenwaterers.com was so nice to help me transition our older hens to use the Brite Tap nipple valves. I ordered 3 Brite Tap Rubbermaid packages and one of the Brite Taps had the nipple valve inserted at an angle causing one of the Brite Taps valves to leak - I told him it was a quality control issue because you could tell with the naked eye that the valve was not inserted straight. When I told him about the issue he sent us a new valve and gasket with instructions online on how to remove and insert the valves to correct the leak. You might want to contact him and see if they can send you a new valve or you can re-insert your current leaky valve so it goes in straight. Anyway like you say we LUV our Brite Taps and only need to fill them halfway and there's clean cool water in the jugs sometimes up to 2 weeks before I clean them out. We don't fill with tap water because our minerals are too crusty so we use bottled water to fill the jugs and there's no mineral buildup or slime - they are the greatest!

I don't care for the Grandpa's treadle feeder. It wasn't the price that was the problem. For us the issue was having a lid that could come crashing down on a chicken's neck if the other chicken stepped off the treadle peddle. We went with the Chicken Condos (Cove Products K9 Kennels in Utah) treadle feeder where the front pushed in at the front and closed forward at the front rather than being a lid that could drop on a chicken's head. It also already comes fully assembled and made out of galvanized steel - we're no good at construction and like things already assembled. Hope someone can help you with their ducks/geese experience. All these treadle feeders seem flimsy and lightweight but once filled with feed they are more stable and we use paver stones to raise ours off the soil.

 

[newbiechix]

I'm really wanting to know, what do you think of the Barn Coop you got from chickencondos? I'm considering one of their coops, but am interested in real-world experience with them (they seem almost too good to be true).

 

[newbiechix]

We purchased two Chicken Condos tall chicken feeders from K9 Kennels (Cove Products mfg) in Utah and they were shipped with our Chicken Condos DIY assembly Barn Coop - $119 each feeder (shipping free when ordered with the Barn Coop). The feeders arrived fully assembled.

I'm really wanting to know about your experience with the Barn Coop from chickencondos.com and how it's holding up. Can you share your experience?