Rat Proof Chicken Feeder

[Al Gerhart]

Has anyone seen the ad yet? I've had a couple of people that ordered so it must be showing up somewhere..

 

[meadrian]

Is it on BYC? Or your website? I want to order!!!!

 

[gale65]

Can I ask a couple more questions? When you put the feed in, is it all at the bottom of the feeder? If not, how does it not prevent the door from going in? Is there something in there to keep the feed away from the door? Is it slanted on the bottom to keep the feed toward the opening?

I'm definitely wanting to order one sometime.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I have the medium feeder ad running on BYC. I saw the ad a few minutes ago while browsing. Look at the very bottom of the page, you have to scroll down to the cheap seats area. lol

The small feeder isn't in production yet but it will be soon.

Gale65,

the swinging door swings back against the front baffle. The feed compartment is wedge shaped, large at the top, around 10" square or so but it tapers down to maybe two inches by 10" at the botttom with the baffle being raised up one inch or so from the bottom so the feed flows out as the birds eat what is in the front hopper. And yes, the bottom slopes toward the front to keep the feed flowing. I had to add a adjustable baffle on the big feeders to fine tune the opening. I tried some scratch grain in the feeder and the door banging shut kept too much feed coming forward. Now they are adjustable!

Al

 

[gale65]

ok thanks. I keep thinking and thinking about them and trying to picture the innards and couldn't.

All I could see in my mind was feed behind the door, keeping it from swinging in.

 

[@FendiChick]

I'm still wondering if it will work with Bantams. If anyone knows, please let me know. Thanks- will solve a big problem for me!

 

[Al Gerhart]

Yes if you set the treadle at the right setting. Obviously the difference between a rat's weight and a bantam's weight is less than a full size bird. I would guess that it would keep mice out but not rats if set to where a bantam's weight would operate it. It is basically a scale that you can adjust to fit your needs.

I retrofitted the orignal feeders with steel treadle arms today, switched out the plywood treadle plates with new ones made out of solid oak lumber, added bolts to act as pivot pins instead of the original screws, then double nutted the outside to keep it from loosing itself after weeks of use. A little extra work but I wanted the feeders to go out with the improvements that testing showed they needed.

I think we have a solid design that will hold up. Nothing like real world testing with a variety of circumstances to find out though. Time will tell, but if problems pop up I'll figure out a solution and improve the design as needed.

Here is the link if you can't find the ad.

http://thecarpentershop.net/mediumplywoodchickenfeeder.html

 

[Al Gerhart]

Started shipping the medium feeders today. I have a batch of the smaller sized feeder almost done, should be ready to ship next week to those already on the waiting list.

I added a small tin shield that can be added to the front of the feeder in case rats start chewing on it. So far that is the only place that has had any chewing damage. On a positive note, the dogs are killing a lot of rats lately, big ones. I think they are beginning to starve and are venturing out looking for food in the yard and garden where the two dogs can catch them.

 

[meadrian]

That's great news! Let me know how you want payment for two small ones. Really great to hear you have waiting lists. Like others have said on here, you have a great product.

My dog kills rats, too. We don't have many or often. Saw her do it once. What an efficient kill! No sound, no blood, just a fast kill.

Very excited about this !!!

Thanks, Al!

 

[Victoria-nola]

I like this design because the door gently pushes the chicken's head back out of the way. And because Al has priced it nicely so that people can actually afford it. And because he's obviously dedicated to design. The idea of Al harnessing teams of rats to test his designs is delightful.

best wishes!