Do you have chickens and rats? Or
chickens and wild birds that are eating more feed than the chickens?
Here is the solution. But before you buy look for the different
versions of our feeder, this is the new design version, there is also a soft close exterior
version. This is the two pack multi packed feeders that can lower the
shipping costs down about 23% over shipping a single feeder or two feeders in separate boxes.
With that said, all of the Medium feeders are exterior models, have
the latest dual spring adjusting system, and are made in the U.S. .
We have a lot of customer
submitted videos too that show the feeders in use, most from
customers with feeders that are two, even three years old.
Be sure and look at the original version, the soft close version, and the exterior soft close version in the Category section. There are also Turkey Steps and Duck Steps available.
Please read the
reviews on the very popular medium feeder by clicking here.The U.S. made feeder's hopper holds 32
pounds of laying pellets or other feed and has a 100%
galvanized sheet metal feed tray and hopper so the feed
flows easily and sanitation is assured.
Generally a laying hen eats around 4 ounces of feed per day,
so one pound of feed should feed four birds one day, 7
pounds per week per four birds, or 3 1/2 weeks per full
hopper of feed for a four hen flock. The feeder is designed and marketed for full size birds. If you have bantams or other than full size birds please read our FAQ section on our
main website. There is a lot of info on that web page including videos.
Approximate assembled size is 18” deep x 14” wide x 18”
tall. The actual feeder hopper is about 11" x 10" x 14" tall, partially rectangular, partially triangular shape where the door has to swing back against the feed hopper. Shipping weight is around 30 pounds with packaging for
two of the medium rat proof treadle chicken feeders.
When you are ready to purchase add the item to your cart and then scroll down to find the PayPal icon to automatically insert your shipping information. You will need to add your daytime phone number for FedEx Ground.
For more information about the feeders
visit our main chicken feeder web page Here is one of the most recent reviews on this product. The lady had rats tunneling under her coop causing structural damage, saved 20% per day in feed costs for 25 hens, and is getting three to four extra eggs per day, which probably meant that the rats were eating that many eggs or were stressing the hens enough to impact egg production.
Headline: Rats are gone!
Barb, Orange, VA
Review:
I ordered 2 feeders. They're easy to assemble and look like
they'll be easy to clean, although none of the birds are hanging out on
top of them.
I attached the wood mounting block to the back of the feeder and screwed
two heavy-duty hooks into the top of the block. The hooks hang on the
inside of the chain link fence that supports the open-air chicken coop.
This causes the feeder to tilt forward a bit, so I'm planning to add a
bumper near the bottom to correct the tilt.
I recommend training the chickens when you can spend a few hours with
them over two days. They were scared of the sound of the door closing
and would run away. I stood in the coop and would catch a hen, place
her on the treadle and let her eat. Then I'd remove her, let the door
close, and place her back on the treadle. I did this repeatedly with
all the brave girls and the not-so-brave girls would watch and then eat
from the sides. When I saw one girl jump on the treadle, I left the
coop. I repeated this the next day to make sure multiple girls were
jumping on the treadle. Make sure there is no other food available
because they won't learn if they're not motivated by hunger.
I'm using finely-ground feed. I haven't had any issues with bridging,
probably because the hens rock the feeder when they jump on the treadle.
I'm feeding 25 birds with 2 feeders and all of them appear to be
getting enough to eat.
I've seen 4 hens eating at the same time, but usually
I see 3.
My coop recently became overrun by rats that dug through heavy clay
under the apron of my coop. I think one or more got caught inside the
coop when the automatic door closed so they spent the night digging out.
The tunnels were causing structural damage because they tunneled under
weight-bearing blocks. Judging by the extensive network of tunnels
radiating 40-50 feet from the coop, there were many rats.
I installed the rat-proof feeders and poison bait stations at the same
time because rats will chew on the chickens' feet if they don't have
anything else to eat. The feeders and bait stations have been in place
for just over two weeks and we've noticed this past week that the tunnel
entrances in the coop aren't active any more and are being filled in by
the chickens scratching the dirt.
We're even getting 3-4 more eggs a
day. I'm assuming the rats were stressing the chickens, which reduces
egg output.
I'm using 20% less feed and getting more eggs, so I'm very happy with
the new feeders!
Rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars