I made one about a week ago and the training is proceeding well. My wild bird population visiting the yard has already dropped by 90% or more. Mine is largely waterproof, but I live in the desert so the storms are strong but brief and infrequent. Water could get in under the cover portion. I also elevated the bottom to keep it out of water. I can already see that getting bonked in the head will be a rare, if not non-existent problem. I built two and the second one takes nearly a full second to close. Here is my page with plans to build your own treadle feeder: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=56638-building-a-treadle-feeder