The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Bionic on May 17, 2015, 10:12:25 am
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we saw them yesterday at the Smallholders Festival at Builth and were tempted. They aren't cheap but if they work are probably worth it.
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Never used one but only ever heard good things. I believe it takes a little while to train them to use it
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I would be really interested to hear other people's views on these feeders too as I'm thinking of getting one. Trouble is we have 19 large hens and 1 bantam and I can't see how we can sort the weight issue out as apparently these feeders are quite exacting. I'm desperate to stop the jackdaws and pigeons (tried everything else) but our Bantam doesn't weigh much more than one of those! :thinking:
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I bought one but haven't set it up yet. A little worried about whether the call duck that lives with my chickens will be able to manage it. The guy who sells them was really nice and helpful. Will report back once I have it set up and see how it goes.
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The Grandpa is the only feeder we currently use for our flock of 8 large fowl. I love it.
The instructions say that it takes 10 to 14 days to train your chooks to operate it but it took ours no more than 4 days. Theres no mess from flicking pellets everywhere, its very easy to clean, we never lose feed to vermin. The hopper holds enough feed for our girls for 3 to 4 days. Its weatherproof ( it really is). And I quite like the sound the feeder makes when the lid closes as its reassuring to know the girls are feeding regularly ( a bit silly of me I know!)
Downsides?
-The cost. They really are expensive but they will last a long long time so the saving in feed bills might well be worth it. As I bought it as a rat-proof feeder it was worth every penny to me..... and Ive never seen a rat or evidence of rats.
- Im not sure that it would necessarily work for bantams as you do need a bit of weight on the treadle to open it up.
- as ducks scoop up their feed the manufacturer recommend that you take the grid out for ducks. But then the hens will be able to flick the feed about. So I would think it wouldn't be so good if its feeding hens and ducks.
When ( and if) I manage to hatch my eggs I will definitely buy another for the new hens
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I've got 8 or so of the version Mole Valley sell and they are great. Not as good as the Granpas ones probably but I've got a lot of pens! Takes a whole 20kg bag. I site mine on paving slabs which makes it work better. Rat population definitely much smaller now and crows etc can't use them.
As for training, I put a flat stone on for a couple days so they get to know it's the feeder and then take it off. Once one gets it, they all do. Funny watching them at first gently putting a foot on the treadle and then taking it off again. Only real issue I had were my leghorns who exploded into the air every time it made a noise. Took them about a week but they are there as well now.
Other issues would be spilt feed getting under the mesh treadle where they can't get it so I'm thinking of siting it on a raised mesh that they can get under so any spillage will be hoovered up. Also, the MVF ones are not totally waterproof on the seams but I have siliconed them inside. Plus they are quite tall which may be a problem in strong wind. I believe the Granpas ones are flatter.
But I would totally recommend the treadle concept and would probably invest in the best if I only wanted one.
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We have used them for 5 years and wouldn't use anything else now. We use them for both ducks and chickens and our call ducks and bantams use them with no issues.
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We have two which we haven't used yet. One was re-balanced to make the lid come down more slowly by stick-on lead weights under the treadle. Then I became worried that in cold icy weather the chicken's feet may stick to the treadle- like ungloved hands used to stick to car door handles, so I was going to fix a rubber pad to the treadle. Then I realised that during the training process the feeder has to be under cover because the lid is partially open. Then I read someone found a rat in theirs and then a report one hen had somehow got its head stuck under the closed lid. At that stage we put them into storage.
A well made product that at some stage we will utilise, but not yet. We have just built a Trigger Happy feeder unit which is a lot cheaper and just as effective.
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Hens certainly couldn't get their heads stuck in the MVF version. I doubt a rat could get in either.
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the only way a rat could get into a Grandpa feeder is if you didn't locate the hopper lid properly. Its weather proof even in the training period because the feeder lid ( the bit that opens with the treadle) is always partially over the feed trough; believe me, we have horizontal rain here and the feed never got wet.
The Grandpa feeder has 2 holes in the side that you use for training. You put a bolt ( well, in my case a bit of stick!) into the top hole for the first few days ( fully open) then move it down to the lower hole....except I never got to the lower hole as my girls got it so quickly.
Other varieties don't have a solid metal treadle plate so I can see that people might not like that. The Grandpa has a solid galvanised treadle. I also worried about feet freezing to it but it has never happened.
I cant fault it .....except Id like it to be half the price!
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We've got 3, wouldn't consider anything else now. :thumbsup:
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I don't understand how/why crows won't use them? I am also dubious about how weather proof they are when on a Western hillside *happy to be convinced*
I have a couple of trigger happy feeder doojits that I've not used yet-seeing as the crows are happy to use my spring feeders, I expect the trigger happy ones will go the same way.
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A crow wouldn't be heavy enough to open it unless they ganged up.
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I don't understand how/why crows won't use them? I am also dubious about how weather proof they are when on a Western hillside *happy to be convinced*
The lids (the hopper lid and the treadle lid) both have folded external edges so the aspect shouldn't really affect how weather proof they are. Even in the heaviest rain in a gale ours have kept the feed dry.
HTH.
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I can see that I'm really going to have to get one........... ;)
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I have been thinking about these for a while.... but not sure if the large crows we have around here wouldn't be bright enough to work in pairs (and anyway the most annoying is that they go inside the house and steal the eggs from the nests!))... 100quid takes a few eggs to sell....
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[size=78%] We have just built a Trigger Happy feeder unit which is a lot cheaper and just as effective.[/size]
I bought two of these a while back but not put them into use yet. How are you finding it? I think the crows would work it out but the birds wouldn't be able to use it. Might be useful for the duck house which has a sparrow problem, but not a crow problem!
I am wary of the grandpa feeders-my Marsh Daisies are not a lot (if any) smaller than the local crow/raven population. I also once bought a Bec feeder and the damn thing was awful-am sure it works fine in completely dry environments but in wind and wet, no chance-and no way of cleaning it, just horrid, so am wary of spending a lot of money.
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They can be pretty simple Lord Flynn- but I decided to push the boat out and built a frame from aluminium sections held together with greenhouse bolts. Our tub has a cone in it so feed doesn't go stale. I added extra weight to the trigger using lead free solder wire and put a cork on the end so the target is bigger. Height is important and the hole size is critical. At the recommended 20mm ours kept jamming up but at 21mm it is perfect. However I recon that if it was half a mm bigger it would just empty itself, so pellet consistency is important. Their suggestion of a shallow bowl underneath didn't work for us as our cock kept tipping it up, so we used a rubber car mat which works very well. They eat every last bit up before hitting the trigger again, so nothing there for the sparrows. It took ages to build the first one but I will simplify the frame for the second one and not bother with the cone in the tub, just stir the feed when I refill it. You could just suspend a tub with string under a shelter in its simplest form.
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We have one and it's brilliant. Lots of friends have commented on it. It does everything it says on the box, it's waterproof, jackdaw, rat and pigeon proof and the chickens have no problems with it. The bantam in the original post i'm sure would soon learn that if you get on the treadle at the same time as a bigger chicken then you get to eat as well. Ours often has 3 hens all eating at the same time first thing in the morning.
Would highly recommend them although I agree they are expensive. :thumbsup: