Grandpas Automatic chicken feeder

[Daniel Grey]

Hi All,
I am planning on buying a standard size grandpas Automatic chicken feeder, but it is out of stock on the website and on Amazon. I can only find one slightly rusty one on eBay, which is currently £52, and the bids will probably go up from there. I am happy to pay the full £123 for the feeder, but cannot find it anywhere. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Daniel

 

[Airyaman]

Do you know anyone in the United States? TSC has them according to their site but they don't ship outside of the continental US.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...enuine-automatic-chicken-feeder-standard-20lb

 

[Daniel Grey]

Do you know anyone in the United States? TSC has them according to their site but they don't ship outside of the continental US.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...enuine-automatic-chicken-feeder-standard-20lb

By that do you mean I should get someone I know to send it to me from the USA to the uk?

 

[Altairsky]

I've heard horror stories about the grandpa chicken feeder.
I'm using this one, and I'll never change it with anything else
River system
Solved mice problem and wild birds stopped visiting the coop.
It's also safe for chicks - no chicks ever got stuck in it-.
It's made in italy so it's probably easier to get it shipped in EU.

 

[Airyaman]

By that do you mean I should get someone I know to send it to me from the USA to the uk?

That would be one way. They buy it, ship it to you. Can't order directly from TSC.

 

[Altairsky]

Here are some info on the problems with the grandpa feeder:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ed-with-grandpa-feeder.1644930/#post-28119384

 

[Daniel Grey]

I've heard horror stories about the grandpa chicken feeder.
I'm using this one, and I'll never change it with anything else
River system
Solved mice problem and wild birds stopped visiting the coop.
It's also safe for chicks - no chicks ever got stuck in it-.
It's made in italy so it's probably easier to get it shipped in EU.

So does that one also make it difficult for rats to steal food, reduces mess and is waterproof?

 

[Altairsky]

It disappointed me about the waterproof part. Water might stay out but humidity gets in so I keep my feeder sheltered from rain.
I have no mess at all and solved the mice problem.
You'll probably have to set the feeder carefully to not open with the weight of a rat. If you set the pedal to activate on a light weight (like the weight of chicks) it will also open for rats.
It works really well with pellet feed and homemade recipes, crumbles might be too powdery (especially if it's cheap low quality crumbles) so keep that in mind.

 

[Al Gerhart]

As European feeders go that one is better than the Grandpa feeder but it still has some flaws. If it were me I would buy this one instead of importing one unless money wasn't an issue.

First, never trust a treadle feeder with chicks. Period. End of story. They will get caught and crushed.

Wide treadle plates allow wild birds and rats to pile up on the treadle and open the door.

It is good that it has an inward swinging door but they refused to put a door closing spring to pre load tension on the door to prevent mice and even wild birds from just pushing the door open.

The treadle has holes punched in it for traction but like the Grandpa and the Rent a Coop feeder, those holes trap toes and cut toes to the bone when a chicken gets caught. A narrow and distant perch works so much better and is safer.

Plastic, not concerned about the plastic feed tray, when the rats and mice chew it up they might not get into the feed. But it has plastic axle sockets, at the top, bright red color. Those will fail long before the feeder rusts out. It has a latch, nice touch, but again, bright red plastic that will eventually snap off. And the sloped roof is nice but it is sloped the wrong way, a chicken can stay up there all day wedged in against the back wall.

The plastic feet are just marketing, the poop will splash up on the bottom or the feet will just sink into the litter and rust out the bottom of the feeder. If you don't keep a treadle feeder up on patio blocks the bottoms will rust out in five to eight years. 1/4" plastic feed aren't helping.

They warn not to use crumbles in the feeder. Almost certainly due to bridging issues, feed not coming down and back up into the lower feed hopper. Pellets are a lot more slippery, less likely to bridge and flow properly into the lower feed tray.

Far better than the grandpa feeder. Not a great feeder. But shipping a feeder from the U.S to the UK or Europe is going to cost around $60.00 on top the cost of the feeder. Plus any VAT or tariffs which in the UK would add $25 to $30.00. Also, when you ship internationally you will lose a lot of consumer protection and the right of return if there is a problem. I would buy local and live with an okay feeder.

At least this won't happen. This is a Rent a Coop feeder, not a Grandpa feeder but the designs are nearly identical. I think the Rent a Coop has the extra long side guards. So many pinch points, so many points of mechanical failure, what an incredibly stupid design.

 

[Al Gerhart]

It disappointed me about the waterproof part. Water might stay out but humidity gets in so I keep my feeder sheltered from rain.
I have no mess at all and solved the mice problem.
You'll probably have to set the feeder carefully to not open with the weight of a rat. If you set the pedal to activate on a light weight (like the weight of chicks) it will also open for rats.
It works really well with pellet feed and homemade recipes, crumbles might be too powdery (especially if it's cheap low quality crumbles) so keep that in mind.

Do you have power in the coop? A small wattage incandescent bulb will provide enough warmth to stop the condensation. Keep the feed a few inches away though. Or a heat pad taped to the back of the feeder with some insulation behind the pad to push the heat into the back of the feeder.