How to discourage rodents without poison

[Al Gerhart]

Assembled in AU? Guarantee the supply chain is Chinese even if assembled in country.

Regardless, no way this feeder is rat proof. It is just silly to even claim that.

 

[Down Under]

Nope to get that sticker it has to be made here mate, if it is not 100% Aussie it is a different sticker stating the % of Aussie content.

They hang up and the way they are designed a rat would have a hard time getting into it climbing or chewing. Knock on wood I have been using them for 5 years without rats getting into them. Also they are not cheap, 3 of them cost me more than a treadle feeder. After mates had issues with the noise and injuries from treadle feeders I went the other option.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Rats can jump three feet, no way you could hang one high enough and still allow a chicken to stand there and eat. No need to chew through the plastic, just eat out of the open port, right? Not surprised they are expensive, nice finish on them. But plastic, not rat proof, never going to be rat proof.

Oh come on, what injuries from treadle feeders? Very rare even with the guillotine style or some idiot trying to mount a treadle feeder to a wall and expect the birds not to fall off the treadle. Yeah, this happens.
Statistically the flock is far more likely to die from vermin and disease brought in by using one of these rat buffet type feeders. Or increased predators due to the rodents attracting them. Noise? Soft close. Most like the sound anyway, reminds them the feeders are working and the hens are eating.

Look, there is a place for these type of feeders, small chickens, poults, but it to market them as rodent proof is just downright dishonest.

 

[Down Under]

You don't have to hang it very high, just high enough that a rats rear feet wont be able to touch the ground trying to reach into it. You would have to see one in person to see how much thought has gone into the design, if a rat tried to eat from the open port without its feet on the ground it would slide straight back out.

We had to modify a treadle feeder because the clang from opening and closing was waking a mates wife up on weekends which were the only days she had to sleep in. Then there was the bully chicken that knocked another off the actuator bar and the poor thing couldn't get its head out quick enough. Filing and rubber edging sharp edges because birds fighting and pushing over who got to feed had caused cuts and bruises.

Honestly as a poultry keeper yours are probably sensational, but even the high end treadle feeders here are made by sheeties that probably don't have birds of any kind so don't think about any issues that their product may cause.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Well, it is nice to have a civil discussion about the pros and cons but come on, the rat can jump in and if the feed can't slide out then neither can the rat. If nothing else it would jump up fling out feed, chow down, repeat. The rats can clearly reach the feed and sit up there eating.

 

[Al Gerhart]

You don't have to hang it very high, just high enough that a rats rear feet wont be able to touch the ground trying to reach into it. You would have to see one in person to see how much thought has gone into the design, if a rat tried to eat from the open port without its feet on the ground it would slide straight back out.

We had to modify a treadle feeder because the clang from opening and closing was waking a mates wife up on weekends which were the only days she had to sleep in. Then there was the bully chicken that knocked another off the actuator bar and the poor thing couldn't get its head out quick enough. Filing and rubber edging sharp edges because birds fighting and pushing over who got to feed had caused cuts and bruises.

Honestly as a poultry keeper yours are probably sensational, but even the high end treadle feeders here are made by sheeties that probably don't have birds of any kind so don't think about any issues that their product may cause.

Modifying a treadle feeder isn't hard, some rubber will do it or just add a soft close. Not sure which kind of feeder, you being down under and all that, but if an actuator bar can be knocked off, having sharp edges, that is just a crap product. Edges should be seamed, no part should be that fragile.

Good point on the makers of the sub standard feeders, you gotta have birds to design one and the feed back we got from BYC was invaluable over the years refining the feeder.

All in all, no plastic feeder with an open port is going to be rodent proof. And $60 per feeder? A small ratproof feeder is only $65.00, with an hour's labor plus the sheet metal and bar stock. They are making a killing off those feeders, probably spend more on marketing than on design or manufacturing.

 

[Down Under]

True, but it was the chicken that was feeding was knocked off the bar before she could get her head out. Yeah I have seen "high end" feeders with guillotine burs (so much for turning their blade when it is blunt) and all sorts of oversights that just let the product down over all. It is almost like someone has seen a cheap one and said to themselves "I can make one that is a little better than this and sell it for twice the price".

You forgot about the "Australia charge", it is an unwritten mark up just because everything here is more expensive. Hey even the Porsche factory have a higher wholesale price on cars coming here, just because they can.

In the photo it is more about what you cant see, inside attached to the triangle bit is a tube and there is a grid in the bottom with gaps that are perfect for a chicken but not much else, I have seen Indian Miner birds land in it and after 10 minutes of trying only get 1 or 2 pellets out of it.