Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Chucky Mama]

I have had a treadle feeder for about 2 months now. I bought it to try and stop the ever growing pigeon population eating all of my chicken food and also as a rat precaution. The girls have now go the hang of using it but I am finding mountains of food appearing beneath the plate that they tread on to open it. This is more noticeable since I have switched from a mixed corn/pellets/dried type feed to pellets. Also it doesn't take much to just push the flap open, I can imagine a rat managing it quite easily (the dog does ). Am I doing something wrong? I am wondering whether to go back to the old grubs.

[Egluntyne]

It doesn't sound right CM.

 

I have one, and there is very little mess.

 

My only complaint is the vast quantities of poo which accumulate on the treadle, (not the fault of the treadle feeder!) which I s"Ooops, word censored!"e off and fling into the hedge every couple of days as it adds to the weight on the treadle, and makes it open with a very light touch.

[Space Chick]

I would say that you have a girl that is managing to throw some out. One of my ex batts can throw pellets out of the feeder

 

I agree with Egluntyne that they do poo on the tread, it is a cleaning nightmare

[Redwing]

If you have recently changed your feed it is possible that one of them is throwing food out as SC suggests

 

If I swap the food here the chickens often scoop it out lookng for the 'real' food which they are sre is underneath

 

I put a sck chicken in the house on a different food yesterday because I didnt want to go out in the snow to get their normal stuff, big mistake, came down this morning to the pot on the floor of the cage and food all over the kitchen

[Patricia W]

I discovered that the reason I was getting loads of food thrown around was because one of my had an over-grown beak. It was the only way the poor thing could get hold of the pellets!

 

Might be worth checking.

 

Tricia

[Chucky Mama]

Thanks that all makes sense. I do have one with a wonky beak and the pellets may be harder for her to pick up. That combined with another girl who is real piggy who may well be searching for the remains of the tastier food may be causing the mess. I will continue to clear up and hope that it improves. I may just go back to the yummier food with was less messy. Changed it because of the poor weather to try to make sure they were getting enough energy to keep warm.

[Redwing]

Wouldnt the other diet higher in grain be better in this weather?

 

I think a higher grain diet is recommended in cold weather, hopefully I have that right!

[Chucky Mama]

I think that you are right. I was in a right 2 and 8 about which to give and so there is a bit of a mixture which is why they are probably making such a mess. My worry is that they are all day free rangers who are still laying daily and I know that they are going to be missing out on natural grit etc from free ranging with this weather. I worried that a diet so high in grain would be great if they were not laying but as they are I thought that pellets would ensure they had enough nutrients for that. So, I have ended up with a mix plus some warm porridge with fruit, veg and mealworm - and a mess under the treadle

[Redwing]

That makes sense, mine arent laying so its a bit different I suppose

 

[Chucky Mama]

That makes sense, mine arent laying so its a bit different I suppose

 

 

I almost wish mine would stop, I love getting the eggs but feel a bit guilty about them laying in this horrible weather - silly I know but I do say a big thank you to them every day

[Valkyrie]

Mine hate the treadle - it's a nasty metal thing out to get them - see them run when it bangs. In spite of putting a rock on the treadle for them to get used to it and raisins inside to encourage them it's still a no-no. I do love wasting money on my birds.

[Chucky Mama]

Mine hate the treadle - it's a nasty metal thing out to get them - see them run when it bangs. In spite of putting a rock on the treadle for them to get used to it and raisins inside to encourage them it's still a no-no. I do love wasting money on my birds.

 

 

Mine took a month pretty much to get used to it. Now they make a right old racket jumping on an off it and it doesn't worry them. The one I have is quite a squeeze for 4 to try an get around though and is quite low down. The jury is still out here as to whether it is an good addition or now

[Valkyrie]

The one I have is rather large - OK for one big fat bird (who's too much of a wuss) to use at a time because it goes upwards rather than widthways - it takes a lot of food and when we had our heavy summer rain (in spite of it being in a sheltered spot) the rain splashed up and dribbled down into the bottom part - nicely making the feed mouldy - although the feed at the top was nice and dry. I was told that if it didn't work with my girls I could send it back, but I persevered and the time limit ran out. On the plus side the pigeons can't get at the food either.

[Chicken Shirl]

Mine hate the treadle - it's a nasty metal thing out to get them - see them run when it bangs. In spite of putting a rock on the treadle for them to get used to it and raisins inside to encourage them it's still a no-no. I do love wasting money on my birds.

 

Ditto! Koojie, mine hated it, the noise scared the life out of them, and when we put a rock on it to keep it open they pulled all the food out onto the ground. What a mess they made