Treadle feeder training - 2 hens won’t eat

[My Three Chicks]

I have a Grandpa feeder and a Rent-A-Coop feeder for my flock of 6 hens. I’m on step 2 of training…where the feeders are set to where the top is still mostly open so the chickens get used to the step and lid movement before everything is closed up and they can’t see the feed.

2 of my 6 girls will not use it. Today they did not eat at all. I know part of the issue may be that for about a week I also provided feed separately in their normal feeder a couple of times a day. These girls had been under the weather and molting and I had seen they weren’t eating from the treadle feeder and I needed to make sure they had food and nutrition to recover so I provided them an alternate source. But they are well now so I’m back to only using the treadle feeder as the sole source today. But now I’m worried since they didn’t eat today and went to bed with empty crops

Will they eventually figure it out? How long should I let them go without eating? I’m trying to stay strong and not bring them food separate from their treadle feeder but I’m worried about them. Do some chickens never figure out how to use it? …and we are only on step 2…the top isn’t even closed and they can see their food.

 

[BDutch]

I suppose they will figure it out at some point.

I have a neighbour who has bought a treadle feeder for her new pullets. She showed them how it worked many times the first day and put a stone on the step to open it halfway and watched how they were doing. All 9 pullets seem to have learned within a day or two.

 

[Al Gerhart]

The need to block open the Chinese made feeders like the Grandpa feeder and their clones is one of the reasons the are such a poor design. Blocking the treadle open teaches the hens that the lid isn't supposed to move. Even worse is providing other feed. That taught the hens that if they hold out long enough their human will give in and feed them.

My advice is to remove the treadle feeder for a couple of weeks and then reintroduce it and under no circumstances can you provide other feed or even free range during the training. The hens WILL eat once they get hungry enough. But if you are going to give in again don't bother trying.

Make sure the feeder is rock solid, no wiggle when the hens step on the feeder. If you had one or two using the feeder it would be best to NOT lock the treadle down. Go cold turkey from the get go, teach them that the lid does have to move in order for them to eat.

Good luck. A lot of people get by with those Chinese made feeders, even a poor treadle feeder is better than no treadle feeder!