Rat proof feeder options.

[Al Gerhart]

I've been curious about the links in your signature but I'm not going to a http site..... what is it? Are you a stakeholder in this product ? I've read Howard E.'s rodent control white paper which is really good and I'm rat free due to Elimination (my choice: poison,) sanitation (my choice galvanized storage.) Exclusion - My barn is built like a home with cement, hardware cloth in insulated walls, metal roofing. Control: feral cats, dogs, daily clean up and feed storage..... All of this said and done I'm always on the lookout for a rat turd or evidence of them. I have rat ptsd, lol.

http ://ratproofchickenfeeder or http ://ratproofchickenfeeder

Yes, I make them. Started out here on BYC back around 2011. Overran with rats, killing chicks, massive feed bill. Made a wooden treadle feeder that solved a lot of the problems with the Chinese made Grandpa feeder that I couldn't afford. LOL People started asking about selling them and the rest is history. The htttp site redirect to the Https site, just too lazy to change the link.

Glad you found Howard E.'s posts. That man did the best research I've ever seen on controlling rodents.

Sounds like you are very proactive with all three methods of rodent control. Love seeing responsible flock owners.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Sounds like you are very proactive with all three methods of rodent control. Love seeing responsible flock owners.

Thank you! The damage that mice and rats can do goes well beyond the coop. Our house had been abandoned for 2 years before we bought it and we discovered the vermin slowly as all wires to anything outside were eaten.... They killed a new hot tub and my truck wiring (twice, 1400 to fix both times.) They can also chew through very thick outdoor garbage cans. I no longer feed wild birds as I could tell this was a draw as well as any cat food, chicken food. I'm also very careful about what goes in my outdoor compost and garbage is secure in galvanized cans inside my garage. I moved a wood pile far away from my outbuildings too. The problem is gone, war is over, but I know how fast they will be back if given opportunity. This is one issue that you can't cut corners on unless you just be honest that you're ok co-existing with them.

I'll definitely check out the feeder that you made! That's amazing. THANKS!

 

[Al Gerhart]

Oh man, car wiring. My mom has a rural farmsted and had her Hyundai Sante Fe wiring damaged by mice a few years back that cost around the same as you paid. Then she just settled with the insurance company again for another incident of mice, this time they ate nearly all of the wiring in the engine compartment to the point they totaled her car and paid out almost $6,000.00.

Rodents can cause tremendous damage.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Oh man, car wiring. My mom has a rural farmsted and had her Hyundai Sante Fe wiring damaged by mice a few years back that cost around the same as you paid. Then she just settled with the insurance company again for another incident of mice, this time they ate nearly all of the wiring in the engine compartment to the point they totaled her car and paid out almost $6,000.00.

Rodents can cause tremendous damage.

OUCH! That sucks for Mom! What did she do to prevent it from continuing?

"Old reliable" is our garbage hauling truck which we don't drive anywhere else as it has 300k miles, Chevy Silverado. My SUV's are safe in the garage. One of my feral cats lives close to the canopy that old reliable is parked under so that might be why it stopped, but I never say never. It was deer mice in the truck x2. After stripping the carpet down to metal floor and removing the console we found a deer mouse family (deceased.) My husband was so weirded out by deer mice carrying disease that he went to his doctor (who laughed,) and told him no, you don't have hantavirus. But still...... add the doc bill to the damages.... ugh.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Well, it was a blessing in disguise so nothing was done. Mom turns 95 in April and is showing signs of losing some capabilities. She had "bumped" a pick up truck a few months earlier that she didn't tell any of us kids about, found out from a local cop later on. Admits she can't see well. So having her car ruined saved one of us from having to intervene. We were all amazed that none of her doctors hadn't already yanked her license.

We were all happy when the insurance company totaled her car.

 

[GreenHaven]

I've been curious about the links in your signature but I'm not going to a http site..... what is it? Are you a stakeholder in this product ? I've read Howard E.'s rodent control white paper which is really good and I'm rat free due to Elimination (my choice: poison,) sanitation (my choice galvanized storage.) Exclusion - My barn is built like a home with cement, hardware cloth in insulated walls, metal roofing. Control: feral cats, dogs, daily clean up and feed storage..... All of this said and done I'm always on the lookout for a rat turd or evidence of them. I have rat ptsd, lol.

http ://ratproofchickenfeeder or http ://ratproofchickenfeeder

An http site is just a regular site. An https site is a secure site - it you pay for something online you may want to check for that. But I think all basic sites start with http - its just typically left off because it's understood in the software - which is why it may look a bit foreign to you. But I thought I'd explain so you know. (I'm probably way older than you.)

 

[Al Gerhart]

Bingo, same site, different security level but if one doesn't handle payments on the site http is fine. You really just pay an annual fee for a certificate saying you are who you say you are. We use Paypal and Shift 4 Shop to handle all our payments on their website.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

An http site is just a regular site. An https site is a secure site - it you pay for something online you may want to check for that. But I think all basic sites start with http - its just typically left off because it's understood in the software - which is why it may look a bit foreign to you. But I thought I'd explain so you know. (I'm probably way older than you.)

That's cute. I do know this, you'd crack up if I told you my job title. I should have just stated that I don't buy from http sites, It's just one of my security preferences. And.... I just discovered a few months ago there are children on BYC. I have to watch my mouth now....

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Bingo, same site, different security level but if one doesn't handle payments on the site http is fine. You really just pay an annual fee for a certificate saying you are who you say you are. We use Paypal and Shift 4 Shop to handle all our payments on their website.

I know that some sites where the webite itself is http and then when you hit "purchase," that is done https, that's why I was aking you before hitting purchase, what the deal was. Not a problem on my personal computer, but I was on my work network.....

 

[Al Gerhart]

I am pretty sure my sight auto transfers to the https site even if you use the http link which is an old version of the site.