Rat Proof Chicken Feeder

[seminolewind]

I have a "rat proof" pen and coop. So I do leave feed . But my feeder is in the coop, and the doors are closed at night. I do find the best is to leave the feeder in the coop, or, set it on some hardware cloth, get a metal can that fits over it, and put a rock on top at night. Or lock the treadle at night. The more food the rats can get to, the bigger the population.

 

[meadrian]

This is very exciting!!!! Thanks for all your work on this, Al. I've already been letting other chicken owners know about this. Also, thanks for hearing what some of our needs are and working iwth us!!!

 

[seminolewind]

However, I love this feeder and may have to have one!

 

[galanie]

I commend you, Al, for making this and making it available. Not everyone has the skills and/or time to make one of these, and the only other source is a metal thing that is not as good in my opinion.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Meadrian,

I do custom cabinets for a living so listening to needs and finding solution that fits a budget is what I do. I figured if I was needing a solution to the rat problem, then others would too.

I'm uploading a new video or two to Youtube with my "girls" testing out the small feeder. I switched the treadle back around, made it taller so it holds more feed and has more headroom for the birds once the rain cover is in place. Watching the girls use it this afternoon I found that the treadle plate needs to be much longer, I scaled it down from the big feeder and rather than automatically stepping on the tread, the girls tend to stretch their necks.

In the last video, the rooster finally figured it out! I was of the opinion he was making us guys look bad! But he was quite proud of his accomplishment and called the hens over to share.

So I will rework the treadle tomorrow, add some length to it.

 

[gale65]

Well I am definitely interested in an outdoor one. That is a great price!

 

[meadrian]

This is really exciting. I'm really looking forward to seeing the YouTube videos! And I, for one am VERY glad you're a cabinet maker. I really do think you've got something here. Again, thanks so much for your work on this, Al.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Okay, I tried to post last night but something happened and the post didn't make it through so I'll post the new details.

Here is a new video of the original large rat proof feeder. The hens have been using it for less than a week and they have it down pat. I jambed the treadle the night before after dark so their breakfast was late meaning some highly motivated hens for the video.

Here is the latest version of the smaller feeder:

That is the first time use inside the coop for this version. They were a bit hesitant as the previous prototype wasn't opening well due to the reversed treadle design that I tried.

The new smaller feeder is 8" x 15" x 18.25" tall. The feed compartment is 6.25" x 6.25" x 17" tall and holds around 8 pounds of laying pellets, about 1 1/2 gallons. I went back to the original treadle design to have more resistance to a rat trying to push his way in to get the feed. The weight is at 11 pounds due to the double counterweight I had to use for smooth operation since the scaling down of the feeder caused the treadle to gain too much leverage over the swinging door. For training, you can pull one of the counterweights out to make the treadle more sensitive and less rat proof till the birds get used to the feeder, then you can ajust both counterweights forward if you want to fine tune it. Right now it is set at 1 1/4 pounds set on the end of the treadle to open It has a sheet metal back, bottom, and partial front (one peice) and a sheet metal lid. With the smaller foot print and lesser weight, this feeder will have to be secured somehow because when it has little food in it, it tends to move a bit when the hens step on it. A small wire to tie it to the side of the coop, put a single wood screw through the back stretcher into the side of the coop or ark, attatch it to a larger wooden base, or drive a small stake in the ground to fasten it to. It might be fine if you pushed it down hard into the litter and kept it full of feed. Then again, this was designed for the small arks or chicken tractors so it will likely be fastened to the wall. Here is the latest picture:




Here is a rain shed that I made for the smaller feeder, I finally figured out that to keep the design simple and robust, the rain shed needed to be separate. I used old coreplast campaign signs for the prototype. White coreplast will be used for the final prototype and eventual product. It has a plywood block in back to weight it down some but if installed outdoors, either a wire wicket needs to be used to pin it down for stormy weather or it needs fastened to the fence or coop wall. Then you just slide the feeder out to refill. If both feeder and rain shed need to be fastened to the wall or fence, let me know and I'll make a shed with a flip top so the feeder can be filled easily.






Here is a rain shed that I built for the original large rat proof chicken feeder:



They will be ready for sale next week. I still haven't heard back from backyardschickens.com on ad rates so I'll have to run them through the Buy and Sell formum till I work the advertising out.

Thanks again for all the encouragement and feedback.

 

[meadrian]

This looks really great, Al! Thanks! I'd like to put my order in for 2 right now, if that's OK. Very, very exciting. This means I don't have to go back and forth morning and night bringing feeders in. The pictures and videos really help, too. Do your birds get royalties?

 

[Al Gerhart]

Okay, let me check with the fine folks at this website so they are getting some ad revenue from this.

Royalties for the hens? I can buy em off cheap with treats!