Treadle feeder problem

[4tenaya]

Hi, I have 6 chicks ages 5 to 7 weeks old. They have had problems with their feeders from the start. Currently, with the Rent-a-Coop treadle feeder wide open they will not eat from it. It's been 2 days in the coop with the treadle feeder. They jump up on it and have no problem standing on the open level. The problem is they won't stick their heads in to peck the food. Previous to this feeder, they would not peck hard enough to have a basic plastic round feeder drop the starter feed. I'm at a loss. I've had two other flocks that never had these problems. See attached pics.

Thank you!

 

[NetherLeeFarm]

I don't have your feeder but I have the Grandfather treadle, and those might be a little young for a treadle feeder. I've used it on chicks this age but it's been more accidental - for example, the chicks learned to run onto the feeder and grab some bites while an adult hen was using it. I tend to not move my girls fully onto the treadle feeder until they're about 10-12 weeks old.

Do you have the cover propped open to train them? If not, they may be afraid of it coming down on them so they're hesitant to stick their head in?

I'm not familiar with the other type of feeder that you have tried. I can train my chicks to a nipple waterer very young, but it may take a bit more force and gumption to activate an automatic feeder. However, if you've not had another flock that's struggled to do so, I'm not sure what could be going on here.

Real pictures of your chicks with the feeder may help us share advice.

Edited to add: Oh and welcome to BYC!

 

[Al Gerhart]

They are a bit young to use a guillotine style feeder like the Rent a coop feeder but if their weight is enough to raise the lid, it is just the fear of that overhead lid that is stopping them.

And I don't blame them. Imagine your front door hung sideways and you having to step on a treadle and lean in under the door to eat. You might pause at that ....

Maybe they have experienced the lid dropping when one of them jumps off, might take two or three to raise the lid and they just don't trust the feeder.

If it were me, I'd use a different feeder or let them eat with the larger birds when they can until they are big enough to operate on their own. Blocking open one of those guillotine style feeders is always a bad idea as it teaches the flock that the lid isn't supposed to move when they step on the treadle. And three week of open feeder when most people bought the contraption trying to solve a rodent problem.

The real purpose of a three week open feeder training period is to get you past the 30 day Amazon return period. After three weeks you remove the training bolt, find out your flock refuses to use the feeder, and you might mess with it a few more weeks before becoming frustrated and trying to return it. Most people are so nice, they blame themselves, and the 30 day return window is past.

Don't buy these old design feeders. Twice the cost, half the feeder, made in China, good luck ever finding parts once they need them.