Rat Proof Feeder - Review

[Soon2BChixMom]

I am currently looking into this feeder, since you replied recently to this thread, I imagine it is still working well? Any problems that you have noticed since the review? I currently do not have any issues, but want to nip it in the bud. I am actually looking at one for my ducks since they drop food on the ground and don't clean up after themselves.

 

[Howard E]

Still no issues with the feeder. Continues work as before. I never did have rats, but did have mice and this feeder solved that problem. It eliminated the waste feed issue entirely.

You might talk to the builder about using it with ducks. I assume it would work the same. The only issue I can think of might be the treadle bar might need to be a bit larger.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

They make a treadle just for ducks now. You have to pay extra though, but it would be worth it not to have to alter it myself.

 

[Al Gerhart]

No one ever mentions roosters. Do they have any trouble with their size or their combs?
Also am I understanding correctly that this must be under cover or it will rust quickly?
Thanks!

Even galvanized sheet metal will rust eventually but what gets to the metal much faster than moisture is alkaline ground like in the desert or ammonia in the chicken poop. The rust will start where the steel is folded or from corrosives splashed up by rain. A chicken coop is a tough environment for metals so try to keep the feeder up on a patio block like the OP did in this review and the feeder will last for many years.

Roosters, my rooster never had a problem but after selling around 8000 of these feeders you are bound to get an occasional email about a bird injuring its comb. But it is rare and look at he reviews on that pretty green plastic feeder on Amazon, several mentions of bloody combs, feed jamming the feeder, and parts falling off. When in doubt refer back to our saying here in Oklahoma: Barnyard animals are never completely safe around moving machinery and Oklahoma State Senators. You take far more chances of dead birds having rats around than a minuscule chance they will get hurt in a treadle feeder. Life ain't safe and it ain't fair.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Know what I love about this thread? The civility and humility demonstrated by both the reviewer and company.

Easy to do when the criticism is fair. Like I said, I love this review, warts and all. We don't make a pretty feeder, it takes some assembly, it isn't for the OCD types, and you have to spend some time tweaking to get the best use out of the feeder so having a review like this is wonderful.

And I'll bend over backward to help a customer in need as long as they are nice. The ones that act like their throat had been cut, children killed, and their dog raped because they didn't read the instructions much less follow them don't get much help till they calm down.

 

[crowcreek]

I have had the feeder for several weeks now and love it. The Rooster doesn’t have a problem. I am using so much less Feed it is amazing. The feeder has already paid for itself!

 

[All Ball]

Easy to do when the criticism is fair. Like I said, I love this review, warts and all. We don't make a pretty feeder, it takes some assembly, it isn't for the OCD types, and you have to spend some time tweaking to get the best use out of the feeder so having a review like this is wonderful.

And I'll bend over backward to help a customer in need as long as they are nice. The ones that act like their throat had been cut, children killed, and their dog raped because they didn't read the instructions much less follow them don't get much help till they calm down.

I didn't find that to be the case. I contacted you when the lid landed on one of my chicken's heads the first time they figured it out, seeking solutions, and you responded defensively by blaming me for putting it together incorrectly. I do not send shrill, emotional emails. I am a person who always thoroughly reads and follows instructions, but you assumed I had not. It's nice that your product works for a lot of folks, but it did not work for my chickens and I did not expect the personal attack from the product representative - I guess I remember the old days when customer service was the norm. One can sense from your comment above, i.e. "act like their throat has been cut, children killed" that perhaps you may misinterpret the intent of customer emails and make assumptions about the sender that are not quite correct.

 

[Al Gerhart]

And you probably did put it together wrong or installed it wrong. I love it when people reach out asking for help but like I said, when they are overly emotional or dramatic to the nth degree, you figure out pretty quick that ain't no one making them happy and they aren't likely to listen to a word you say. Not saying you were this way, just stating a general fact about dealing with retail customers. I have no idea who you are or what the details of your email was for the record. But yeah, you get more flies with sugar than vinegar in most cases.

When a bird gets clocked it is nearly ALWAYS because the customer has installed the feeder wrong or assembled it wrong. The birds aren't comfortable using the feeder from the front and they try to reach around from the side, then another bird steps off... well nothing can prevent that from happening but setting the birds up to fail by not following the instructions is just frustrating.

I had a customer write in about this very issue last week, new customer. I asked for a picture and sure enough the feeder was mounted up off the ground on patio blocks which is great but they didn't think to put patio blocks under the treadle. So the poor birds were trying to balance on the treadle with both feet about three inches off the ground. Of course they weren't wanting to stand on the treadle and were going in from the side. I pointed that out and a couple of other things and voila, no more problems for the customer or his birds. Birds will use one foot on the treadle and one on the ground and balance just fine when the feeder is installed and assembled correctly.

A month or so ago I had another customer that wrote a review saying her birds couldn't be trained to use the feeder. I emailed her and asked for pictures as always and sure enough, same issue but the feeder was mounted up off the ground, not even sitting on blocks. Plus, they had installed the nylon locking nuts to the point where the nylon insert touched the bolt end and stopped. Left a good inch of bolt for the treadle to slide back and forth on, on both sides and the dang counterweight too. She also complained that the bolts were too long..... that the counterweight kept swinging down.....and that the instructions were too long. AKA, I never read the instructions....

I get it, not everyone has seen a lock nut in their life if they aren't the handy type which is why we put on our sales page warnings about the feeder needing assembled and a person needs some basic skills or find someone to help. So I wrote back explaining that the instructions stated to tighten the lock nuts all the way down, then back off 1/8 of a turn so the treadle was held in place and how to fix the other problems caused by not reading the instructions. All of this was after a scathing review that was posted.

I have been very clear on what our feeder is and what it isn't. It is not for the clueless, you will need some skills or find some help that has skills to put the treadle on, a five minute job with a cresent wrench and some pliers to fold over the treadle link. It is a feeder that needs tinkering with on occasion if the counterweight starts hitting the side of the feeder you have to bend the treadle bar out a bit for it to clear. Springs break and need replaced, so do the wire links and when they are installed EVERYONE needs to watch the video showing how to do it correctly so the part will last a long time.

There are plenty of feeders out there that are pretty, very well made, come in a prettier box, cost more, have great customer service, but that also do not work. There is a certain kind of customer that probably needs to buy from one of those companies.

Our feeder is kind of ugly, takes a few skills to assemble, has a cranky customer service department when the customer won't listen (that would be me), but it does solve the rat problems IF the customer will read the instructions and follow them or at least watch the videos and assemble and install accordingly.

 

[Ecsnyder]

Do you feel the soft close is necessary? I have heard stories of the lid coming down too fast.

 

[Al Gerhart]

The soft close helps in training I think especially with nervous breeds of chickens. It does slow the close of the door if you are willing to tinker with it and get the spring adjusted just right. That helps with the smaller birds that might be eating while standing in front of the treadle, another second to pull its head out of the way. It quiets the feeder down a lot but some folks say they prefer to hear the door being used so they know all is well in the chicken coop. Just don't use it with bantams unless you do have some larger chickens so you can keep the spring pressure keeping the door closed stiff. It takes a lot of spring pressure to close the door against the soft close cylinder so trying to use a duck step and tweak a feeder for bantams and using the soft close is pretty tricky to pull off. I would say a minimum of two pounds needed on the spring to overcome the soft close cylinder and bantams don't weigh that much.

Are they necessary? I don't think so and tell people to go with the standard feeder unless they have to keep the noise down or have all normal size birds. The birds will learn once they get hungry even if it is noisy.

The door swings in, not down. The downward swinging lids are common on the Chinese made feeders like the Grandpa feeder, the clones of that feeder, and the little aluminum box feeders. Called guillotine style feeders for obvious reasons. That is a huge design flaw in my opinion because it scares the birds, has to be set so light that rodents can just push the lid up, and it means weeks long training with every rodent and wild bird around learning where the feed is stored.