Storms and chickens

[Nic_Peters]

Hi! We are basically feeding the entire neighbourhood of mice and rats and so I'm afraid my Eglu feeders are going to have to be swapped. 

I've been doing research on automatic treadle feeders, 2 types seem to be the main options. Grandpa's Feeders (or similar - its difficult to judge online if they're high quality from a pic) or Eton feeders with the plastic green ramp. 

I have 8 hens to feed but don't necessarily want a huge feeder, just one that works well. What would you guys recommend as the best option? If you have an alternative brand that you've actually bought and used that you think is great, please let me know. 
Thanks a lot!

[Beantree]

We have a couple of Grandpa's Feeders but haven't used them yet. They are certainly good quality, although expensive. I've heard of people buying cheaper versions that turned out to be totally useless, so you get what you pay for.

We also have a Trigger Feeder. Basically you buy the Trigger, which is a 'T' shaped piece if steel and plastic. That goes through a hole in a bucket which is then filled with feed. You have to make a frame to carry the bucket and put the trigger at the right height. When the chickens have finally worked out how to use it they will hit the end and release some pellets; that takes ages. We put a cork on the end of ours and wound lead free solder around the shaft to add more weight, because it used to jamb. Put a rubber mat underneath so the pellets didn't get stamped into the ground. The buckets have to be replaced periodically because the size of the hole is critical and it does wear bigger; just half a millimetre is too much and causes the pellets to keep dropping out. It does work and saved a lot of loss as we had about 50 sparrows taking food.

[grahamrhind]

Nic, I have a version of the " Eton"  feeder you mention - see 

I've had it for several years and I would highly recommend it. The hens had no problem learning to use it, the feed stays dry, it never clogs and all the rats I had have abandoned ship and moved on.  I did have to slightly weight the flap opening, because the rats would work together to produce enough weight on the treadle to open it.  

[Nic_Peters]

Thank you both for replying. I'm going to go to a shop when lockdown is done and have a look and buy. x

[Cats&Chickens]

Silly question sorry but why not just remove feeders at night? 
i use dog bowls, remove at night and never had issue with vermin

[Cat tails]

Because when you have enough rats and mice around, they won’t wait till it’s dark...

[mullethunter]

Also chickens are rarely tidy enough not to fling at least some food around the place (I have mice but, to my knowledge, not rats - I just count myself lucky on this!)

[mullethunter]

Well - that’ll teach me for opening my mouth!! Yesterday afternoon when I was cleaning out the Eglu Go that I temporarily have on the chippings in my WIR until the 2 youngsters are brave enough to move in with the rest of the gang, a very fat rat shot out from underneath it and went rocketing around the run until it managed to squeeze out between the mesh and shoot off across the garden! I looked under the Go and it had made itself a lovely, cosy, dry nest of leaves and feathers on one side, and done all it’s poo’s on the other side - very neat and tidy!

I actually feel mean to have turfed it out, but obviously I have no choice - so now the Go is up on some bricks so there’s no hidey place underneath any more, and I’ll be taking the feeders in every night. I’ll also have to clear out a load of the wood chip from under the feeder as it’s full of pellets that have been chucked out. And we’ll see how we get on.

The most annoying thing is that I’m going to have to stop putting food out for the hedgehog ☹️

[Cat tails]

Well good thing you spotted it when it was still probably only one!