Small Treadle Feeders
Feed capacity
Chickens and rats aren’t inevitable so if you have rats eating your chicken feed and need a solution, here it is. The small rat proof treadle chicken feeder hopper holds 12 pounds of laying pellets or other feed and has a 100% galvanized sheet metal feed tray and hopper so the feed flows easily and sanitation is assured.
Generally a laying hen eats around 4 ounces of feed per day, so one pound of feed should feed four birds one day, 7 pounds per week per four birds, or 1.5 weeks per full hopper of feed for a four hen flock. The more poultry feeders you have the more birds can be fed per poultry feeder.
Size
Approximate assembled size of the medium automatic feeder is 18” deep x 10” wide x 19” tall. Shipping weight is around 12 pounds with packaging for the medium rat proof treadle chicken feeder.
Number of birds per poultry feeder
That will vary depending upon how established the flock is and your goals for the birds. If they are layers you need to make sure there are no more than 8 to 10 hens per poultry feeder because a laying hen needs to eat as often as possible for full egg production. The more she eats the more eggs per week she can put out as protein consumption is usually a hen’s limiting factor.
If you are feeding out broilers the weight gain per day is as important so once again you should have one small feeder for every 6 to 8 birds.
If a flock is well established there will be a pecking order and you can go as high as 10 birds per small feeder as long as you don’t mind a few less eggs per week
Versions available
There is the standard or original small rat proof chicken feeder intended for indoor use or outdoor use for $65 .00 plus shipping
There is a soft close version $80.00 plus shipping
Construction Details
Right Side View
One piece steel bar treadle with an attached distant and narrow treadle which gives the maximum amount of rat proofing, you can add a wider plywood treadle for smaller birds.
Concrete counterweight balances the weight of the door, steel treadle, and step. The concrete counterweight is what makes this poultry feeder truly rodent proof. If you are having problems with wild birds like starlings, house sparrows ,English sparrows, pigeons, or grackles stealing your chicken feed they can be stopped just as easily.
