Opinions wanted on treadle feeders

[AnnieSantiago]

You tube is your friend. Also, the best way to keep a secret is don't tell anyone.

The squirrels around my place drop from lead poisoning. Durndest thing. They shouldn't ingest lead. And they are made of protein.



If you need an alibi, we never had this conversation.

I wonder what kind of lead squirrels like to eat? (just so I can be SURE not to keep any in the back yard?)

 

[RUNuts]

Funny that you mention it. They were eating the lead flashing off the house and making leaks. Then they started on the pelletized form of lead. I'd recommend the pellets. The crumbles weren't as effective. <wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know-what-I-mean?>

Say no more!

 

[texsuze]

My opinion on pedal (treadle) feeders, after a year of using them: squirrels were the first to learn how to use them, cottontail bunnies were the next to learn how. I've had squirrels get caught twice inside the feed hopper All of my hens eventually learned how to use the pedal, except my 6 year old BAs (now age 7). The feed still gets 'billed' out, still spills, and wild birds still access the spilled feed.

I now have hanging feeders back in the runs, and one pedal feeder in the barn during free-range time; that feeder goes into the feed room at night.

The bunnies still arrive each morning when I let my girls out of the run to free range, and all the generations of bunnies have learned to use the pedal feeder. So... there is good and not so good about using these feeders. Your mileage may vary...

 

[Naser]

I have 2 treadle feeders, I enforced the flaps with springs by making holes and attaching the springs, it also helps if you keep the feeders in a place and put a curtain of landscape fabric in a way the hens have to go through the curtain to get access to the food, but animals who already tasted the food will go through the fabric as well, may be you have to get rid of those first, the fabric curtain will also stop crows getting into nest boxes, but the ones who tasted the eggs will go through them, also there is triggerhappy chicken feeders, cheap and they work, the only catch is birds will learn to wait for hens to trigger and then get whatever strays away or leftover, after a few weeks you have to raise them as high as possible so hens have to "stretch on their toes" to reach them. "to prevent larger birds from triggering them" I hang 110 litre dust bins

 

[Naser]

The funniest thing I have ever seen with triggerhappy feeder is: during the harsh winter months a robin learned how to use them by flying and hitting them while flying, that will dispense pellets for him.