Automatic treadle feeders

Tweetypie

Tweetypie

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Just saw some automatic treadle feeders on ebay and wondered if anyone owns one or has had experience of their hens using them?

I initially thought they looked a great idea, but then doubt set in when I saw on some of the feedback that their hens could not get used to it and with mine being ex batt's, not sure if they would, either.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-7KG-Automatic-Chicken-Feeder-Treadle-Self-Opening-Aluminium-Duck-Food-Poultry/122535426630?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
 
Hmmm. I don't like the look of that. I would expect that if they did step on the treadle then the big flappy lid opening would make them run a mile.

I like this kind of thing. The mice probably can get to it with some effort when its hanging 6 inches off the ground but not easily and I have never found any mouse droppings in the tray (like you might in an open bowl left on the floor.) Last my 5 LF and a bantam about a week when filled.

3kg-Super-poultry-feeder-prime-250.jpg
 
I found the trouble with the kind Rick shows is that the little slots for the food got messed up with bits of Aubiose which mixed with the feed so you can't see how much is in the holes. And at the slightest sign of damp, the feed caked and didn't flow.
 
I already have one of those Rick shows and it's OK, I just thought the treadle one might be good for less spillage and for pellet feed. I give them mash and pellet separately, as I was introducing the pellet, assuming they had not had this before. They do like both types of feed. Agree with Marigold that the mash feed can become clogged in the hanging one.

The treadle contraption does look a bit strange and I am not sure if they would adapt to it, it was just a thought. :-)05

What do you use, Marigold?
 
I have a treadle feeder and love it, it did take a while for the hens to get used to it, and yes they did get a fright at first, but depending on what make you get , it does come with little bolts you can put in so it limits how much the flap opens until they get used to it.
Since I’ve had mine I’ve had no rat holes appearing in the pen as there’s zero wastage and the rats can’t get in, it holds a lot of food, keeps it clean, stops wild birds helping themselves, and I don’t have to take it in at night.
I have a Grandpa’s Feeder, expensive but so well made it’ll outlast me.
 
I have a Grandpa's Feeder as well. It takes two or three weeks to train the hens to use it. You can set the flap to fully open for a week/ten days, and then to half open, so it does move when they step on the treadle, but not too much. Initially, yes, they do get a fright, but it doesn't take them long to get the hang of it, and soon you'll hear them standing on the metal treadle, scratching!
 
I use these too and find that if you leave them open for a week or two with a rock on the treadle they get the hang of how to use it. Mine are inside the sheds so no issues with damp.

However they are not vermin proof. Hordes of starlings go into the sheds, steal the food and poo everywhere. I can only assume that they've learnt that if they sit on the treadle en masse then it opens.
 
Hen-Gen said:
I use these too and find that if you leave them open for a week or two with a rock on the treadle they get the hang of how to use it. Mine are inside the sheds so no issues with damp.

However they are not vermin proof. Hordes of starlings go into the sheds, steal the food and poo everywhere. I can only assume that they've learnt that if they sit on the treadle en masse then it opens.
Click to expand...

Bloomin' pigeons are also heavy enough to open it! And magpies have learned that two of them are heavy enough to do it too. I think they were caught in the act of stealing the grub by the chickens at one stage this week, as there were a lot of magpie feathers in the run, by the exit, as if they almost didn't make their escape! :D I keep thinking that I must check the feeder, and see if there's a way of tightening up the treadle a bit.
 
I must have thick wild birds, haven’t seen any taking food from the feeder, it’s mainly Woodies and Pheasants we have here.
 
That's just the icing on the cake, LadyA. I'm thinking I might have to go back to twice a day feeding rather than ad lib. Easy to put a trough of food in for half an hour before opening the pop-hole but not so sure about how to manage the situation in the evening.
You can scatter a few handfulls of mixed corn on the grass before they go in to sleep because they fall on it like a flock of gannets but try that with layers pellets and they are not enthusiastic.
 
Kippy said:
I must have thick wild birds, haven’t seen any taking food from the feeder, it’s mainly Woodies and Pheasants we have here.
Click to expand...
There's another point. The thickness of animals never ceases to amaze me. A couple of weeks ago I found a couple of lambs had gone in through the pop-hole. But when startled by me going into the shed the thought of exiting by the same method was beyond them. Let's just run around the shed in blind panic!
 
Ahh now I am swinging towards getting one, after hearing the recent comments. I would still use the other for the time being (don't want them to starve).

I don't get the wild birds in the enclosed pen and coop, they tend to go to the back garden where there is a big supply of suet and seed I put out for them. The occasional blackbird goes inside the outer run, but very rarely and is probably looking for worms in the soil area. The hens scare them off anyhow. :D

Thanks again, everyone.
 
Lambs are really stupid; we would have ten get under the fence and run up and down the other side. Then 9 would come back through the same gap but would the tenth follow them? Then left behind, could it find find the gap? So then there would be 9 running up and down one side and one running up and down the other side, all bleating madly. It was usually me who had to climb over the fence and rescue it!
 
Tweetypie said:
Ahh now I am swinging towards getting one, after hearing the recent comments. I would still use the other for the time being (don't want them to starve).

I don't get the wild birds in the enclosed pen and coop, they tend to go to the back garden where there is a big supply of suet and seed I put out for them. The occasional blackbird goes inside the outer run, but very rarely and is probably looking for worms in the soil area. The hens scare them off anyhow. :D

Thanks again, everyone.
Click to expand...

I’m a total convert to them, used the regular plastic feeders for years, hens used to do a great job of scattering the feed all over the place and occasionally knocking it over if there’d been a bit of a stooshie, none of that happens with a good quality treadle.
 
To be fair I don't get any scattered feed from the hang up 'bell' style feeder (impossible to knock over) and I have even removed a few of the fins to give them easier access without so much as they can flick the pellets out (as they will always do given half a chance.) Ive also never had it clog up but then it never gets wet except when a hen occasionally manages, against all odds, to poop in it and clog up that section only (happens about once a month.)
They do kick a bit of Auboise in there sometimes - then eat it along with the pellets.
 
My feeder is in the enclosed, secure run. The hens go in and out during the day. There is a door into their outdoor pen, which is not quite knee high on me, which lets them out. It's that that the bloomin' magpies went through to help themselves. Still, hopefully, judging by the lost feathers, they won't be trying that again! Can't see my greedy hens taking kindly to their food being stolen!

Before I got the grandpas feeder, I had another, cheaper one. The rats quickly learned to operate it, as it was very lightweight.
 
Tweetypie said:
What do you use, Marigold?
Click to expand...

I use this kind, see photos;
The lid lifts off for refilling and the amount of flow of the feed is controlled by an adjustable panel on the inside at the back - you can move it up or down and then it screws into place. The feeder stood up to being snowed under in the winter when snow blew in sideways to the run, although normally it stays dry, being under cover.
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
The original feeder came with an extension to allow you to put more feed in, but I found this was too heavy and destabilised it, so I don't use that bit. As shown, it holds about 5 kilos. The first one I bought has now been going for 4+ years and the only hen who managed to scratch feed out of it was my delinquent pullet Violet, (recently rehomed for other misdemeanours, and it hasn't happened since she departed!)
This is my original post about it, showing the complete feeder.
http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=124&t=9976&p=60691&hilit=Feeders#p60509
 
Ooh your run looks so cosy, Marigold. :-)

I tell you what I decided. The hanging plastic feeder I have, which someone mentioned they made their feed pecking holes wider, is what my OH has done and funnily enough they seem to stand there eating for longer. I have decided not to bother with the treadle as the Grandpa one is way too expensive for two hens.

Just wasted £6 on a specific suet feeder for hens. They are not interested. I crumbled some of it on the floor, but still no joy, so the starlings will probably end up scoffing that!
 
I may have called it a suet block as it looks like the wild bird blocks I put out. Just checked it...it is a forage feeder cake, so no suet in there. It is specifically for chickens. Phew!

https://shop.bhwt.org.uk/products/hentastic-foraging-cake
 
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