treadle feeder question

[FrannyLW]

I have the Grandpa feeder. Have used it on and off for 5 years now. Wish I just left it when I first had my chickens using it - was great. Now I need to be using it again due to rats (of course). I have 2 original 5 year olds that know how to use it. "they say" the other chickens will watch and learn. So how long does that take? I have 3 others (2 hens, 1 rooster) that do not understand. I will say its only been 2 days I just feel bad when I go in there and my Weezie stares at me like, "wheres my food?" I see the older ones stepping on the treadle and eating, and she might go and grab the food but they are bullies towards her. I push the treadle for her to show her, she steps on it and eats but then she steps away and doesn't understand.

 

[RojoMarz]

Try putting one on the treadle and sorta holding her while she gets a couple bites. Then move you hands away. She may not stay, but then you can do it again. They need to learn the "she" opens the door and not to wait on you.

 

[bokbokbwark]

I have the same feeder, and just like yours my young birds don't learn from the older ones because the older ones chase them away. So I've always gone through the whole training process again with new birds (one week with the treadle fixed fully down so they're conditioned to go to it, then one week with it partly raised so they get used to it moving). This has never failed. Unfortunately it also trains the squirrels...

 

[My Three Chicks]

I'm dealing with 2 of my 6 girls not using the treadle as well. Have posted about it. 2 of them didn't eat for 2 days. I even only had the treadle in the semi open/close mode and they wouldn't use it. I'm still giving them food on the side. Sigh. And the 2 definitely don't' follow the 4 that use it with no issue!

I contacted the nice folks at Grandpas and here is what they recommended including the video link they sent:

"I'd recommend you start again on level one and stay with it for two weeks. Then do the same with level two.
If you can put the chickens on the treadle separately and give them a sense of how the feeder works. Be reassuring and calm rather than anxious. Chickens are jumpy at the best of times."

 

[FrannyLW]

I have the same feeder, and just like yours my young birds don't learn from the older ones because the older ones chase them away. So I've always gone through the whole training process again with new birds (one week with the treadle fixed fully down so they're conditioned to go to it, then one week with it partly raised so they get used to it moving). This has never failed. Unfortunately it also trains the squirrels...

yea thats why I cannot do this. I have a camera on this so I can see if anyone is learning this, and the rats are having a ball hanging on the treadle. they know the food is in there yet they cannot get it. The birds are so used to seeing them its like family. Yuk.

 

[FrannyLW]

I'm dealing with 2 of my 6 girls not using the treadle as well. Have posted about it. 2 of them didn't eat for 2 days. I even only had the treadle in the semi open/close mode and they wouldn't use it. I'm still giving them food on the side. Sigh. And the 2 definitely don't' follow the 4 that use it with no issue!

I contacted the nice folks at Grandpas and here is what they recommended including the video link they sent:

"I'd recommend you start again on level one and stay with it for two weeks. Then do the same with level two.
If you can put the chickens on the treadle separately and give them a sense of how the feeder works. Be reassuring and calm rather than anxious. Chickens are jumpy at the best of times."

If I did this at training level I would have to stay there and shoo the rats away. They come morning and night. I have a camera so I see them everywhere. They don't even care when I'm there. They think its feeding time for them too.

 

[bokbokbwark]

yea thats why I cannot do this. I have a camera on this so I can see if anyone is learning this, and the rats are having a ball hanging on the treadle. they know the food is in there yet they cannot get it. The birds are so used to seeing them its like family. Yuk.

Could you put the new birds in a small rat-proof enclosure just while you train them? It sounds mean, but they will probably learn faster if they have nothing else to think about.

 

[My Three Chicks]

If I did this at training level I would have to stay there and shoo the rats away. They come morning and night. I have a camera so I see them everywhere. They don't even care when I'm there. They think its feeding time for them too.

So how do you feed the chickens?

 

[FrannyLW]

So how do you feed the chickens?

Like I said I'm only in day 2. the 2 older chickens are eating out of the feeder, and at 4pm they have the run of the yard so they are eating out there.