question regarding feeding chickens to avoid mice

[Al Gerhart]

Folks, this problem was solved years ago, then I came along and made it more affordable. Treadle feeders with spring loaded doors and a counterweight are going to keep mice and rats out if they are installed properly and maintained. The only caveat is if you are already overrun with rats but even then the rats will smother themselves in the feeders in a few days.

Gaps, yes, but read the reviews on our shopping cart or just around the web where people have done reviews. Mice can get inside a nickle sized hole but not a 1/4" galvanized sheet metal gap. If it does it gets trapped and can be disposed of easily enough.

Read the reviews carefully though, even the Grandpa type feeder won't always stop rats and some feeders leak, if you see 20% or 30% negative reviews, run Forest run.

 

[chaz65]

I would like to withhold food from the flock for up to about three hours in the morning.

Let me explain. until recently, I have been waking up every morning when the chickens wake at the crack of dawn and putting food in their closed run. I put the food away at night to keep rats and mice away. But it is getting harder and harder to wake up every morning as I age and days get longer. So I began leaving the feeder available over night to give them access in the morning. Now for the first time I am seeing mice. I have killed about one a day with traps (Put out 10 baited traps) but that is not really a solution since they reproduce quickly and will soon learn to avoid the traps.

Would it cause any harm to have the chickens wait for me to wake up before their first feeding, possibly up to 3 or more hours after they wake. They do have access to water and can get into the run. Once I put the food down it will be available all day until they go to sleep.

I am not a fan of the treadle feeders since seeing mice get into the cracks spaces of these feeders. Mice seem to be able to get into anything.

Appreciate your comments.

Hi there I read your message
I live in brazil it's hot here
I have about 50 or so chickens and ducks in my coop
But what I do is I get up in the mornings and let them out
I then go and feed them about 2 hours later
In the afternoons I feed them about 5 o'clock and send them to bed at 6 pm or 6:30
I have never had mice since doing this
But before I had loads of mice and rats
Good luck