Frequently Asked Questions
Can I call you for more information?
Please do not call with questions. This is a sideline to my cabinet shop and the time during the day is very precious as my overhead is enormous. Calling is reserved for those few customers that don’t like to use PayPal and want to call in a credit card number. If you have questions or need help please send us an email with pictures if needed to help us solve any problems that might arise.
Can bantams use the feeder?
It depends if there are other full size birds in the flock. Customers report that their bantams, geese, and ducks will eat from the side if they can’t operate the treadle. This is a poultry feeder for all species and varieties if you add the Duck Step or Turkey Step. This feeder will stop the rats and mice from eating chicken feed if it is installed and adjusted correctly.
The rat proof chicken feeder is truly rat proof only because of two things: the weight difference between a grown bird and the difference in reach between a grown bird and a rat. So the treadle must be set far back and there must be a two to three pound force used to open the feeder door. Some tweaking is possible to allow smaller birds to use the feeder but when you do that you are also making the vermin proof feeder less effective. On the small feeder and extra large feeder you can gently stretch the spring a bit using two pairs of pliers to lessen the force that holds the door shut but be careful, you can’t un-stretch a spring so do a little and test it, then do some more. On the medium feeders they now come with dual springs that have a series of holes drilled into the front feed tray (behind the front cover) so you just move the spring to add tension or even add more holes if you have very large chickens and a bad squirrel problem.
There is also a product called the Duck Step, a larger platform that the smaller birds will find easier to use. Just remember that adding bantam modifications reduces the ability of the feeder to keep the rats and squirrels away so sometimes it is just better to let the smaller birds eat while the big birds are eating.
Will the Rat Proof Chicken Feeder Defeat Squirrels?
Usually… Many customers report that it solved their squirrel problems but with the original single spring/counterweight feeder one customer reported that her squirrels learned to cooperate to operate the feeder. If you keep the treadle set pretty stiff and have medium sized or large sized birds then the action can be kept stiff enough to defeat most squirrels. Generally squirrels are territorial so you dealing with one squirrel, the exception being a mama squirrel with her current offspring. Once they are adults though they will be driven away from the mama squirrel’s territory.
Now we have the new medium feeder dual spring version where the door tension comes from two springs that are hidden behind the front cover. This puts all of the pressure directly on the door plus twice the spring tension plus it is easily adjusted if more pressure is needed. It is going to take a horde of squirrels to overcome this new dual spring door. They stand a big chance of trapping themselves inside and with the new lift off cleat system used to hang the feeder you can just pick up the feeder and go for a long car ride or open the top lid, dump the feed into a container, and drown the tree rats if you want to get rid of them. This is a poultry feeder but it is also bird proof, rat proof, and squirrel proof.
Is the Rat Proof Chicken Feeder Bird Proof?
It is a bird proof feeder too as the birds are too light and have too short of a reach to defeat the treadle. Perhaps dozens of pigeons might overwhelm the feeder but you shouldn’t have your coop where that many pigeons can get inside much less to the feeder. A half dozen of the flying rats couldn’t defeat the feeder so in that regard it is a bird proof chicken feeder. So this feeder will stop birds from stealing and eating your chicken feed if property adjusted.
Do you make a larger size Ratproof Chicken Feeder?
We do now. The extra large feeder holds a whopping 67 pounds of feed. Originally we thought it would be too expensive to build but we did come up with a design that uses a wider door with a reinforced throat plate and we made both sides of the feeder counter weighted so the treadle wouldn’t bend as much. The feeders cost the same per pound of feed stored so to speak and buying two medium feeders will give you 20″ of eating space versus about 15″ on the large feeder but there are cases where room for two feeders just isn’t there so a large feeder makes sense.
They do cost a lot more but again, the price per pound of feed stored is pretty much the same on the medium and the larger feeders.
Three birds can eat at a time, a full large feeder will hold around 268 day’s rations, or would feed one bird for 268 days, two birds for 134 days, four birds for 67 days, eight birds for 33.5 days, or sixteen birds for 16.5 days. With the wider door and eating space you should be able to feed around sixteen to twenty birds per feeder before the competition for the feed early in the morning leads to fighting among the birds. You might consider buying two medium rodent proof feeders and a bit more space for the birds to eat at once rather than having one feeder that holds more feed.
The extra large feeder is 10″ taller and 4″ wider than the medium feeder. It is a counterweight type feeder with springs on both sides of the feeder.
Do you ship feeders internationally?
Unfortunately, no. The paperwork is quite a barrier here in the U.S., requiring a visit to the local chamber of commerce to get the invoice certified and the time required to fill out the export paperwork. However, there are forwarding companies will accept a package from a U.S. based merchant, consolidate it with other packages for their customers, then forward everything in one shipment to keep the export paperwork to a minimum.
charged $127.00 to Australia. This was in October of 2021 so Covid pricing was in place, likely costing more than usual.
A recent customer spent $200.00 to ship four small feeders to Canada.
offers a wide variety of options and is a bit cheaper than the others.
If you Google “U.S. package forwarding service” you will find many companies that will consolidate items and reship to your country. A chicken feeder has lots of empty space inside that can be filled with other items. Generally packages over a cubic foot will incur additional charges like Dimensional Weight, where the shippers charge extra weight for bulky packages. As an example a medium feeder weighs 12 pounds but is charged as if it weighs 21 pounds by FedEx Ground so if you could pack nine pounds of additional products inside the feeder you would ship that nine pounds for free.
Can I use the feeder outside?
Yes, the original feeder was designed as an indoor feeder but since around 2015 all feeders are exterior version where you can recess the lower front panel back about a quarter of an inch so that any rain that hits the door will drip to the ground. Just grab it and bend it inward. Of course big critters like raccoons and possums will raid the feeder if you don’t secure it and it is outside.
How difficult is it to put the treadle back on the
feeder?
Not hard at all. Three to five minutes to un-box and replace the treadle . You will need a pair of pliers and a crescent wrench (or a 1/2″, 7/16″ and 10 mm wrench). The treadle bar has to be bent around a bit after you bolt it on to make it look square with the front of the feeder and on some models to prevent the counterweight from rubbing against the side of the feeder. The treadle bar is only 1/8″ thick so even a child could bend it easily. If you aren’t the handy type find a neighbor or friend that is and stop the rats from eating your chicken feed once and for all. No need to rat proof the chicken coop, just keep the feed away from the rats.
Can I put a wider wooden step on the treadle?
Yes you can and we sell a Duck Step and Turkey Step for that purpose.However, during the prototyping stage we found that rats are smart enough to cooperate in order to defeat the feeder if the step was too wide. By setting the step way back the rats can’t reach the feed even if a dozen of them overwhelm the treadle and counterweight system. The second one of the rats started to eat the others would rush off the treadle and close the door. Same thing on squirrels, they just aren’t long enough to depress the treadle and reach the feed. Those pretty looking feeders on Amazon and eBay are nice looking but those wide steps will not stop a rat from eating your chicken feed.
Can I adjust the sensitivity of the treadle?
Somewhat on the original counter weight models. There is a spring that keeps the door tightly closed and as part of the assembly and set up you should gently and carefully stretch it out a bit at a time to make it easier to trip the treadle. The medium feeders have a series of holes drilled across the top of the front of the feeder for the spring adjustment. And the most current (2023) medium feeders have a new dual spring tension system that has a series of adjustment holes for the springs and the soft close medium feeder has a new threaded adjustment system for near infinite adjustment. Some customers have chipped off part of the concrete counterweight so their lighter birds could use the feeder. However doing that removes a lot of the rat resistance as a large rat can then push the door open by pushing on the door itself. You can add weight to the treadle, replace the spring with rubber bands, get creative and you can adjust the feeder to fit any bird. With some tinkering you can set the feeder for lighter birds and prevent the rats from eating the chicken feed.
One tip though is to be sure and install any duck step or auxiliary step prior to adjusting the spring tension.
What do I do if the feeder arrives damaged or if I
need help in assembling the feeder?
If any damage occurs keep all of the boxing and inner packing so you can ship the product back if needed. Take pictures of the damaged parts and send us some closeup pictures and a shot showing the entire feeder on the side that was damaged. Damage is extremely rare these days as we switched to a recycled wood cage surrounding the feeder.
If the feeder is actually defective and once or twice a year one will slip through somehow, we either send replacement parts if the part is easy to replace or we send a pre paid shipping label to return the feeder.
This product is bulky and expensive to ship so minor cosmetic issues such as a scratch or a slightly bent side panel (easily bent back by hand) isn’t considered a defect and is not a reason for returning a feeder. These feeders are not stamped out by machines but hand made so they are sometimes imperfect but always functional and sturdy so they will last many years.
If a part ever does fail we usually make replacement parts as long as you send us the broken part. In four years we have had one axle break that needed replaced, which is a five minute operation using a Philips screwdriver and a crescent wrench on the older feeders, the newest models you will need an angle grinder to grind off the drive nut. Sometimes a customer loses the spring on a counter weight model while installing it, launching it out into the yard where they can’t find it but we have replacement springs on our shopping cart. Springs and wire links do have a useful life and will fail but those are wear items so you have to pay for them, usually a buck per part plus the very expensive U.S. Post Office shipping.
If you need help in assembling the feeder first view the videos on assembling the feeder. If you still can’t figure it out send us pictures of what you have done so far and of any problems you are having. If your mechanical skills are zero you should plan on having a handy neighbor help you put the treadle on. It is quite simple though, a five year old could easily install the treadle.
How hard is it to train the chickens to use the feeder?
Very simple as the door isn’t swinging up into their face. The first rule is to never block the feeder open to “train’ the birds like other companies are forced to resort to. All that does is teach the birds that the door isn’t supposed to move. Attach the feeder to the wall or a sturdy base or post and fill it up before the birds go to roost at night and remove ALL other feed sources including free range. Around 8 am, late enough so that the birds are pretty hungry, show them where the feed is with the tip of your foe. One or more will step up and eat if they are hungry. Let them eat for a few seconds and gently push them away and let them come back. Once they are perched on the treadle take your toe off. You might need to show them several times.
Go back in a few hours and check that they remember how and check again before they go to roost and again in the next morning. Once one understands how it works the others will learn.
Most customers report that the birds pick it up on the first lesson. Flock owners that bought the Grandpa type feeders or the pretty green plastic feeders report that it can take weeks before they can unblock the feeder door.
But always remove all other sources of feed and keep the birds inside if they free range. The birds need to be hungry to learn. No treats, no scratch, no compost dumped into the coop. If there is a lot of wasted feed in the litter that will slow training down as the hens might scratch for enough left over grain that their motivation is less. If rats and wild birds are eating your chicken feed it will be worth the time to read the assembly, installation, and training instructions and follow them. If you do that this feeder will stop rats, mice, and wild birds from eating your chicken feed without trying to rat proof the coop. The answer is quite clear, if you want to stop rats from stealing feed you use this treadle feeder to keep the feed away from the rats.
If you have any questions that are not answered in the product description and the FAQ questions above please email the to us at sales@ratproofchickenfeeder.net