DIY rodent proof/automatic feeders with toggle?

[Frank Hyman]

I like the DIY rodent proof automatic feeder in this video. Anyone have experience with one of these? Any tricks to getting your chickens to learn to tap the toggle to get their food? Thanks for any tips!

 

[Quail-man]

I know this thread is over a year old now, but it may help someone. I use them and my hens only tap the food they need, the rest stays inside and dry. It also keeps food out of vermin's way.
It's easy to learn the hens to tap at the toggle, you just tape live mealworms to the toggle with clear sellotape and before you know it, they've mastered it. You only need one hen to pick it up and the rest will follow. Always observe them well until you are actually sure they can find the food. It's quite easy really, though you always get the odd hen that's not the brightest and takes a little longer to pick it up.

 

[debid]

I'm building one of these and was hoping someone had documented the hole size that had worked well for crumble. I'm trying a 1/2" hole with a 1/4" x 4" eye bolt. It seems like it will work. The original video never said what drill bit he ended up using but the hole looks about that size.

Hoping for big enough to avoid clogs without the food pouring out when a breeze blows...

I went with two eye bolts to start but may add more depending on how it empties. One in the middle just seems like you'd have an awful lot of food trapped around the edges when it runs low.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Those were a fad. Like you said they trap a lot of feed or slosh it out when the weather is storming. I suppose you could truss it up with ropes on four sides. Wild birds and rats learn to bump the trigger anyway or sit out there in broad daylight and eat with the chickens. In life you always get what you pay for and this trigger feeder is one way but a poor way of feeding birds.

 

[All Ball]

The originator of this idea, the Trigger-Happy Feeder people, show it on a table-type contraption, which prevents it from blowing about in the wind and sloshing. To train chickens, start it lower so they can reach it easier. Mealworm is a good trick. There has been evidence of sparrows learning to cling to home-made triggers and peck at food. And this video shows a young (and typically therefore not as smart) rat figuring out how to get food from it:

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