Issues with trap water drinker and treddle feeder

[emilythestrange]

In my stupid errors I have bought both of these items on eBay. You can see the prices so I thought they weren’t going to be a buy twice item…

the trap drinker worked the first time we used it then when refilled and tried to use again all it does is continuously pour out water from the bottom all over the floor and soak my whole patio.leaving all the chickens wanting to drink dirty puddle water. It pours until it’s empty.

the treddle feeder arrived missing some screws and it just doesn’t work. There’s not enough weight on the lid to make up close up properly (I’ve had a partial refund but really should have had a full one. This was a while ago)

Any tips/ideas guys much appreciated!!!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

I have a similar gravity waterer that my husband just picked up for me. It has to be level to work the best. We have ours sitting on a piece of cement. The rubber seal on the cap must be in there good and the cap has to be on tight. There might be a stopper towards the bottom of the spout to help control the water flow. Just throwing out some ideas.
Not sure about the treadle feeder, but the pic makes it look like they put dog food in there.

 

[emilythestrange]

I have a similar gravity waterer that my husband just picked up for me. It has to be level to work the best. We have ours sitting on a piece of cement. The rubber seal on the cap must be in there good and the cap has to be on tight. There might be a stopper towards the bottom of the spout to help control the water flow. Just throwing out some ideas.
Not sure about the treadle feeder, but the pic makes it look like they put dog food in there.

There is a little rubber stopper and when I’ve put my hands under it I can feel the water coming through and I’ve tried pushing it higher and twisting it and all sorts

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Is it on even ground?

 

[emilythestrange]

It’s on poured concrete and it worked in the same spot the first time.. it doesn’t rock or anything.
Does it need to be filled up 100% with no air in the top and the screw cap on tight

 

[Crazy Maizie]

I dont fill mine up all of the way. I have a different one of course. But, I've had other gravity waterers and they can be finicky.
Is there a manufacturer that you can contact?

 

[Al Gerhart]

Those Chinese made aluminum feeder are notorious for being poor quality, bending quickly, and you cannot fill them up that full or the birds will scratch everything out on the ground. Maybe a quarter full.

They made them small and light enough to ship using the super cheap foreign postage rate, for a buck USPS will deliver a Chinese package anywhere in the U.S. but the same package will cost me $20.00, locking U.S. businesses out of that segment of the market.

We sell a similar model feeder, the M.A. 2017, and we fixed the problems with the lightweight aluminum feeder. 1/8" thick steel for the linkages, 1/4" bolts with lock nuts instead of the tiny machine screws, heavier lid so that the lid doesn't jam open. Sells for a bit less but of course the shipping costs much more than the subsidized Chinese/USPS rate.

Can you fix it by replacing the machine screws with small bolts with lock nuts? Drill through the existing joints, leave them a bit loose but not so loose it jams and bends the flimsy aluminum sheet metal linkages. Tape some weight, perhaps a strip of 1/8" x 3/4" x 16" steel flat bar up under the lid, toward the front.

And next time, don't buy Chinese! These feeders, the Grandpa feeder, and of course the Grandpa clones are all Chinese made. These wholesaled for around $12.00 back around 2016, then as soon as the retailers and distributors filled their warehouses the Chinese started selling them retail through Amazon and Ebay and ruined the market both with competing with their own customers at cut rate prices and horrible reviews left by both sets of customers. If you buy on Ebay just make an offer of about half price and they will still likely accept the order as this is about what they are worth.