treadle/(Grandpas) feeder help— not progressing

[45lk9p459gm-w]

I have a Grandpa's and haven't had any problems with the birds, a leghorn mix, using it. When I put the Grandpa's into service I removed all other feed/feeders and let the birds figure it out. They were a little standoffish at first but decided it wasn't that bad when they got hungry enough. Now they play on it .....

 

[Al Gerhart]

I have never had a silky but they do seem to be more skittish than most birds.

The problem with these Chinese made Grandpa feeders is the training requirements needed with a guillotine style overhead door. We sell a similar type, M.A. 2017, and we tell customers NOT to block the lid open because when you do you are teaching the birds that the lid isn't supposed to move when they step on the treadle. Then of course they are much harder to train than an inward swinging door so the birds pretty much have to go without feed for hours if not days before they become bold enough to risk this scary contraption.

But, Silkies are so light and small, a normal treadle feeder especially a rat proof feeder would have to be so light as to be much less rat proof. If you don't already have rats, buying a duck step with the treadle feeder and tweaking the spring and the weight of the treadle might work. I would block the sides of the treadle with concrete blocks or milk jugs filled with water or sand to prevent the birds from approaching from the side.

I would also order the soft close version so that the tiny birds have a shot at getting their head out if they are feeding beside another bird and not standing on the treadle. From the video they seem to have a very fast reaction response but as we say in Oklahoma, farm animals are never safe around moving equipment and Oklahoma State Senators.

I keep seeing this problem with silkies and feeders popping up. I wonder if a feeder with a very, very, slow closing door would be a solution? Keep the weight required stiff so that some full size birds would be needed to operate the feeder, keep the spring loaded door to prevent rats or squirrels from just pushing the door open, but slow that door down, way way down, to make it safe for the smaller birds.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

There is no way a silkie would be able to use the rat proof feeder. I have one and my polish pullet cannot use it. She has to rely on others to use it. Or rely on me to provide supplemental feed. The ones I got said made in Singapore. Assembled in the US doesn't make it a USA made product.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Sorry Phillipines. But, that's not made in the US. I bought mine in January 2020.

 

[Al Gerhart]

A small feeder? Yes, Philippines made. Large and extra large? All Philippines made and likely will be in the future as they are slower sellers.

Not the medium feeder, U.S. made.

 

[Kyatesw]

Grandpa's feeder is based out of New Zealand so I wouldn't expect it to be US made. No non-US company is going to manufacture in the US unless their market is so huge that it doesn't make sense to do otherwise.

It's worth noting that every treadle feeder is a knock-off of Grandpa's feeder, it's too bad they didn't patent it.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Before someone asks, here are the shipping records for the Grandpa feeder. Looks like their Chinese supplier hasn't shipped anything to them since late summer 2020. Prior to that they were shipping 20' containers from the item count. I can get around 1800 of our feeders into a 40' high capacity box, they are shipping 1200 to 900 at a time.

I would bet good money that they are not marking the country of origin on the feeders or the boxes since they are very shy about mentioning where they have their products made. I need to take the time to research where the knock off grandpa feeders are coming from, probably the same company or a competitor close by or maybe an ex employee. We follow the law, our Philippines feeders are proudly marked with a sticker and on the box itself. Very dishonest and illegal to import Chinese made products into the U.S. without labeling them as such.

As for me, as soon as the Philippines re opens we will be getting ready to ship a container load once the shipping rates get back to normal. We are already producing parts. Might have to assemble here in the U.S. if the container prices don't get back to normal, they are triple what it was in 2019 when I shipped the last container if I remember right. I can fit over 5,000 feeders per container in parts, only 1800 assembled in boxes, that will help but then the labor to assemble and box is half the labor in a feeder. Till then, U.S. made medium feeders are available, might keep the U.S. made feeders available at higher prices if I can still get the sheet metal at a reasonable cost. Right now galvanized sheet metal is triple the cost it was in 2020, making very little on the medium feeder, under $10.00 after all costs.

https://import.report/company/Fowl-Play

 

[Al Gerhart]

Grandpa's feeder is based out of New Zealand so I wouldn't expect it to be US made. No non-US company is going to manufacture in the US unless their market is so huge that it doesn't make sense to do otherwise.

It's worth noting that every treadle feeder is a knock-off of Grandpa's feeder, it's too bad they didn't patent it.

It is Chinese made though, not New Zealand made, there are newspaper articles stating that and of course the shipping records linked to above. To not disclose the country of origin is both immoral and illegal in the U.S., though I have not seen one of their boxes so maybe they do warn people after they have bought the feeder. I think that is the minimum legal standard, to mark the box and the product with the point of origin. We chose not to do that and state that we made the feeders in the Philippines from the first batch imported and sold.

They couldn't patent the design, the same feeder first appeared back in the late 1900's and it is a poor design at that. From an engineering point of view it is clumsy, inefficient, difficult to manufacture, prone to breakage, and dangerous to the chickens. They do have excellent fit and finish and excellent marketing. But for many years it was all there was available so we ought to thank them for that. Sadly they have refused to update the design since twenty years ago, made the mistake of having them made in China so it was just a matter of time before the design was knocked off, and now they are paying the consequences.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

How would another manufacturer know the shipping records of a competitor?

I have the medium ratproof feeder. It was not made in the US.

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

I have never had a silky but they do seem to be more skittish than most birds.

The problem with these Chinese made Grandpa feeders is the training requirements needed with a guillotine style overhead door. We sell a similar type, M.A. 2017, and we tell customers NOT to block the lid open because when you do you are teaching the birds that the lid isn't supposed to move when they step on the treadle. Then of course they are much harder to train than an inward swinging door so the birds pretty much have to go without feed for hours if not days before they become bold enough to risk this scary contraption.

Grandpa's feeder isn't made in China ......

If you follow directions the lid does move a little when a bird steps on the treadle so they get used to the movement when it is positioned in either the full open or half open positions. .....

Had no problems with the birds learning how to use it .....

I have almost zero feed wast with this feeder ....

It is easy to load ......

I did look at one of yours and found it to be too bulky. Don't know how well yours works because I've never tried one.

Don't know anything about a silky either ....