The lid mechanism that attaches the lid to the feeding tank is difficult to secure correctly, and almost always leaves a gap. For each major rain that we’ve had, I’ve had to flush out the food and clean out the food container.

Poultry feed is expensive and even a modest amount of feed being wasted daily will soon add up over the course of a month, not to mention the associated risk of disease when rats or wild birds are involved. There is only one brand of swing in door feeder that is counter weighted and only one model, the same model actually, that has a spring loaded door so most of these brands of feeder are vulnerable to rats and squirrels pushing the door open.Today they didn't seem at all bothered by the movement and noise, so I decided it would be worth seeing what happened if took it off the training setting... and the result is 5 chooks happily using the feeder This product comes almost fully assembled, just fasten the treadplate on and you’re ready to go. The whole product fits easily into your car for transport. So I closed the lid and left them to it. It literally took 5 seconds before one of them ran over, stepped on the plate and the lid on the feed lifted. One more ran over to join her and then they needed no more introduction…

What had prevented me from getting a treadle style feeder was the cost. Plain and simple. Or the thought that one day I would make one myself. We live on a farm and have a workshop and so I hate buying what I can usually fashion from old bits of metal lying around. I was wrong to wait though, as actually the cost of not getting one was so high with all the food that was being wasted. So I began to see it as more of an investment. Although the feeders do have a tendency to tip over, and they will not keep rodents and other animals out of the feed, you can wall-mount them. The feeders come with 2 training bolts to limit movement and instructions for their use: 2 settings with one week on each setting.It is quite noisy when being used and might frighten your birds initially, but after a while they will get used to it. Wood will need repainting after a couple moths in the sun [It can’t be treated as this could risk contamination of the feed] and it will likely start to rot in under a couple of years. Aluminum sheet metal can be chewed through by rats and mice as it is softer than galvanized steel sheet metal Door Styles The Grandpa feeder is a highly complex machine. The treadle assembly alone has five separate parts and eight fasteners!

I placed a camera in the coop to see what was going on during the night and sure enough it was the rats eating the feed. Plus a crow was filmed inside coop – during the day! An investment or not, money is money and so I’ve put together a list of questions I wanted answering before I bought one and I’ve tried answering them as extensively as possible. You will also save money on feeds as wild birds, mice, rats, and other animals will not be able to access it. Weather changes will also not affect the cost of the feeders.

Rodents like rats and squirrels will try to steal feed that is kept in open feeders. A sealed automatic feeder will help reduce pilfering. This makes the excellent usage of a Grandpa Feeder an incredible introduction for any group of hens. There are feeders that can reduce the opportunities for freeloaders, but I have yet to find one truly pest proof. Squirrels are particularly destructive. They will gnaw through plastic and wood, so metal is the best choice if you are overrun with these little pests. How Do Automatic Feeders Work? The code has been entered incorrectly. Whoops! The codes are case sensitive so enter it exactly as it is written and try again. Erm, well that was easy... I set the feeder up on Sunday morning and the girls are now using it happily on the 'normal' setting.

As with many things the major complaint was that the product did not live up to the manufacturer’s claims. Generally with auto feeders, spillage will be significantly reduced but not completely.

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