Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Are my hens a bit thick?  (Read 4450 times)

Ghdp

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Conwy
Are my hens a bit thick?
« on: October 13, 2015, 09:41:36 am »
I bought a grandpa feeder but have never progressed beyond 'week 2' of training. The girls will NOT stand on the treddle and lean in from the sides to take the pellets. Any accidental touching of the treddle by one of them sends them all scattering in all directions. It is now four weeks on!!! What should I do? If I leave the lid down they just look lost. How long can I leave them like that? The longest has been two and a half hours and they made no attempt to use it.
I mean while am perfectly trained and pop out morning and evening to open and close it :roflanim:

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2015, 10:03:33 am »
Mine took longer than we expected to get the hang of it. The most clever girl took about 3 weeks and the others used to wait until she stood on it and then they helped themselves.


Its a couple of months down the line now and they have all been using it for a little while and its great. I have 5 girls and I usually refill it somewhere between 1 and 2 weeks. The ducks have got the hang of it too (it wasn't meant for them) so if they have been having a good go I might need to refill once a week.


Persevere and you will get there
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

Ghdp

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Conwy
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2015, 10:05:00 am »
Thanks Bionic. I too have 5 so lets hope one of them leads the way!

Buffy the eggs layer

  • Joined Jun 2010
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2015, 10:16:33 am »
No they are not thick. You could train them to operate it rather than waiting for a trial and error approach?

Ghdp

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Conwy
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2015, 11:30:11 am »
I have tried Buffy. I spent ages most mornings showing them the food, slowly operating the treddle, placing the most placid one on it, sprinkling corn in accessible bits!! Any other suggestions gratefully received !

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2015, 11:48:57 am »
GHDP, I assume you have propped the lid open?
I used some long screws that fit through the holes at the side. After a few days I used that on the lowest setting so that they had to get onto the treadle to get their heads under.
It still took a while but I think once they realised they wern't going to get fed any other way the found out how to do it
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

Ghdp

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Conwy
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2015, 11:58:02 am »
Hi. bionic, yes I did all my insructions said. Week one was a doddle. No problem with getting them on the treddle then! Since then not so good. Do you think going back to a fixed lid would help or not?

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #7 on: October 13, 2015, 12:19:17 pm »
I had them on the fixed lid for about 3 weeks. I just closed it at night when they went to bed and opened it up again the next morning.
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

Buffy the eggs layer

  • Joined Jun 2010
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #8 on: October 13, 2015, 08:43:47 pm »
I dont use this type of feeder myself but my suggestion would be to entice them to step on to the plate with the reward of a treat. you could scatter corn on the plate and on the floor between the plate and the hopper. This way they get used to standing on the plate and finding a treat.


If the rising lid frightens them then tie a string to it. Then, while they are stepping on and off the plate looking for the corn, allow the lid to move slowly up and down without allowing it to move abruptly or make a clattering noise.

Ghdp

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Conwy
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2015, 08:53:33 pm »
Thanks Buffy. Will try those. I will post how I get on :fc:

stufe35

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2015, 09:16:54 pm »
I haven't used this type of feeder, but my guess would be put a stone on the treadle to hold the feeder open, leave it like that for a week or so ,such that they know that's where the food is. Then remove the stone...they will go looking for the food and find it when they step on the treadle ?

If they are startled and don't get hang of it, put stone on at lunch time for a while.

I'm thinking of getting one of these feeders to help reduce likelihood of rats and am interested to see how you get on and or others experiences.

Buffy the eggs layer

  • Joined Jun 2010
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #11 on: October 14, 2015, 09:02:46 am »
I think they are great for preventing vermin but my personal view having watched them used is that they can create ore anxiety and agression around meal times. Having watched demos on youtube they also seem to allow dominant birds to guard the food source.


I use two round hoppers as I find that everyone can get round them at the same time and the lower ranking birds can use the hopper as a shield and eat out of site.


With the training Ghdp you are aiming to encourage the birds to make a conection between aproaching the feeder via the plate in exchange for a reward initially. so for the first stage the food reward dosent have to come  from the hopper. If your birds trust you, you could feed them with a bit of cheese from your had. They use sight and smell to find food but also learn to respond to sounds. So if the food is not visible and the smell isnt strong enough then they wont be that keen to get to it.


There are lots of ways that you could encourage them but it does depend on your birds and the relationship that you have with them. Calling them to the hopper and slowly opening it for them to eat and closing it when they have eaten, opening it again etc. using cheese, corn, grapes, worms or anything else that they go crazy for will make them much more interested in exploring it than covered up pellets.


If its the guillotine style clatter of the dropping lid that put them off then they are not thick...they are sensible. perhaps you can prop it so it dosent fully close and then their is always a tantalizing gimps of food to encourage them.


Chickens also learn from watching you and each other so if you have a confident, friendly bird train her and she will teach the others. Leaving the lid up teaches them that the tray contains food, when you shut it they will revisit and peck around hungrily. Eventually they will stand on the plate and the food will be exposed but this is as a result a much longer process.


My birds free range so if getting the food was too difficult they would leave it and eat grass instead. If they got hungry enough they would all come and find me and pwork for corn. Thats what they do when the turkeys snaffle all the pellets.  But if I introduce something new I always do it with treats and they pick it up very quickly.

Ghdp

  • Joined Aug 2014
  • Conwy
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #12 on: October 14, 2015, 08:50:38 pm »
I have the food visible all the time but they dont seem to cope with the treddle making the lid wobble. I will try intoducing  more tempting stuff. One 'girl' has no fear of anything where corn is concerned (happlily climbing on my knee for it) so that is what I have concentrated on - but grapes do cause enthusiastic guzzling so i will try that too. Cheese would certainly smell stronger - can / may i give them that??
I think putting a stone on it from time to time is a good plan too.
Happily they are all such characters I could probably sit in with them for hours. ....am I a bit thick? :roflanim:

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #13 on: October 15, 2015, 08:28:31 am »
Ghdp,
My girls used to jump at the clanging of the lid too and it put them off but they did get used to it so perservere
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

chrismahon

  • Joined Dec 2011
  • Gascony, France
Re: Are my hens a bit thick?
« Reply #14 on: October 15, 2015, 09:06:32 am »
I spent a lot of time balancing and greasing our Grandpa feeder to stop the frightening clatter when the lid shut. I know the instructions say to leave the lid open for at least a week, then half close it for another then leave it shut by which time they should have got the hang of it. We haven't actually used it though, but judging by the length of time it took them to figure out how to use a trigger feeder three weeks is about right. We had to get ours to a state of hunger though- seemed to kick them into thinking harder about finding some food.

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS