Cats and Chickens Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Treadle feeder advice. We have had our chickens for a week and weighted our treadle feeder so that they would learn that this was where to food comes from. Yesterday I took the weight off the treadle but the chickens are frightened by the movement and noise of the treadle and won't go near it now I have weighed it down again but they are still cautious. Has anyone experienced this problem adb can offer advice? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Welcome to the forum I had the same problem with my girls, however when I put a small amount of corn in the feeder, suddenly their fear disappeared They now all use it with no problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cats and Chickens Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Thanks I can certainly see how that might work I will give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Someone on the Practical Poultry forum had the same problem and a response there said that it took two weeks for the poster's hens to get used to theirs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 That would be right. Mine were a bit nervous if it at first, as it tends to bang when they step off the treadle. They soon get used to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cats and Chickens Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Did you weigh the treadle down at first? Mine weren't bothered when it was weighed down. I'm worried about them getting enough feed and now I've weighed it down again as we have only had them a week I thought too many stresses at once not a good idea.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Can you balance the weight so it is gradually open less each day so they can still see the food but the treadle does a little of the work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Yes, ours go running like bats out of hell if they touch it accidentally. It's been outside for some time, although I stopped weighing down the footplate when the chickies started gobbling the big girls food. Now they are all eating layers, I might take Debs advice and see what happens with the corn. I cleaned it all out this evening because it had got water in the hopper and everything went hard as a rock inside - the slugs loved it though - huge ones and a few earwigs - yuk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Anderson Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 I can’t get my 3 girls to use it! It’s been week and they won’t step on the treadle. I am so bummed! I have tried putting their favorites in there nothing works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 On 10/9/2021 at 11:49 PM, Susan Anderson said: I can’t get my 3 girls to use it! It’s been week and they won’t step on the treadle. I am so bummed! I have tried putting their favorites in there nothing works! Maybe weigh down the treadle first, like the posts above suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 You have to train them in stages over about two weeks. First start with the feeder fully open and no movement on the treadle. Then partially open with a small amount of movement. Then a bit more until the lid is fully closed. They can be a bit noisy in operation so adding some felt pads under the lid and greasing the mechanism will help. You may have to adjust the balance as well, which you can do using self-adhesive weights which you can buy from a tyre fitter and sticking them under the treadle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachel84 Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 Mine took a couple of weeks to learn how to use it but all fine since. Slightly different question - I'm struggling with slugs infiltrating mine and eating all of the chicken food. I pull out handfuls of them and get rid of them but a couple of days later and there are probably 10-20 back in there. Has anyone else had this issue and managed to stop them? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 We have had the same problem @rachel84 and the main problem is that slug slime taints the food and the chickens stop eating. Our slugs are not like those in the UK. They are Orange and can reach 4" long. There is also a grey variety which can get bigger, but it's less of a problem because it usually feeds on small slugs. All we did was put the feeders in at night and fetch them out in the morning. Any slugs found in the area are put in a bag in the bin or squashed. Eventually (over a few months) the numbers drop dramatically, but they never stop coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachel84 Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 Ok thanks @Beantree - the chickens are still eating the food, I must be getting the slugs out quick enough. I'm going to give the feeder another full empty and wash out over the weekend and I might try and seal it up a bit better. Putting the feeder up out of the way is ok in winter but they are up far earlier than I am in summer so I think i will try and find a more permanent solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 Not got chickens any more but our food waste is overrun every year with slugs and we have out front on the paving slabs - slime trails - Yuk - have you tried nematodes - they help to cut down the numbers and I must admit we had none in the treadle feeder we had but loads of earwigs - they are double yuk!! Nematodes are safe with chickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 I have used nematodes this year, and although I still had slugs and snails, I don’t think it were as many as other years. I think they do work better in a specific area than over a large area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...