Next, remove the prop opening the lid, so the feeder functions normally again and allow them to begin exploring it again. Placing some treats into the feeder will help enormously. They are made from aluminum and galvanized metal and are therefore very strong. They are the only automatic feeders on the market that have been around for over 20 years.

This position will keep the lid open partially and fully open after a bird steps on its treadle plate. Rodents like rats and squirrels will try to steal feed that is kept in open feeders. A sealed automatic feeder will help reduce pilfering. The part that shoves the door open has a fatal flaw as well, it is thin for its purpose and quite flimsy. That part is not under tension, it is under compression, and just a matter of time before it snaps. In the picture it looks like the part wraps around behind the horizontal bar but that is simply a reflection in the shiny sheet metal. A thin sheet metal strip like this would be fine if it was under tension but under compression it is going to flex and snap or allow the door to bind. Weatherproof feeders can be used in all weather conditions. This means that the feed will not be affected by weather conditions and will not become contaminated. What had prevented me from getting a treadle style feeder was the cost. Plain and simple. Or the thought that one day I would make one myself. We live on a farm and have a workshop and so I hate buying what I can usually fashion from old bits of metal lying around. I was wrong to wait though, as actually the cost of not getting one was so high with all the food that was being wasted. So I began to see it as more of an investment.

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Once the birds have started to associate the feeder with their food source, move the bolts to the second position. Inside in the feed trough, it comes with 3 plastic food safe containers which can really handy to easily add in seeds, nuts or fruit and veg to their diets. After your birds have become used to the slight movements, you can remove all bolts so that the feeder lid can be completely covered. The lid may initially be a bit too heavy for birds to grip, but this will fade over time. This is ideal because it can hold food for at least 8 – 10 birds for 2 weeks without you needing to feed them daily. Today they didn't seem at all bothered by the movement and noise, so I decided it would be worth seeing what happened if took it off the training setting... and the result is 5 chooks happily using the feeder

There are feeders that can reduce the opportunities for freeloaders, but I have yet to find one truly pest proof. Squirrels are particularly destructive. They will gnaw through plastic and wood, so metal is the best choice if you are overrun with these little pests. How Do Automatic Feeders Work? The lid mechanism that attaches the lid to the feeding tank is difficult to secure correctly, and almost always leaves a gap. For each major rain that we’ve had, I’ve had to flush out the food and clean out the food container. Suitable for a variety of bird seed types, for example, sunflower seeds, millet, peanuts and other treats Certain breeds (like bantams) love to spill out feed all over the place. This is wasteful and can be very expensive. An auto feeder will reduce waste and save you money.This product comes almost fully assembled, just fasten the treadplate on and you’re ready to go. The whole product fits easily into your car for transport. They have a 2 year no quibble guarantee! Again, that’s something you don’t hear every day a 2 year guarantee shows the trust they have behind this product. Do you even get a 2 year guarantee on vehicles anymore..? Put it this way no other treadle style feeder has a 2 year guarantee. I did have to show our docile Silkie how it works with a one-on-one tutorial. I placed her on the floor plate and she watched the lid open, then took her off and she watched it close. Ran through that again and she was fine. Which breeds does it work best for?

Ideally for indoor use as there is only one lid that opens. This differs from the previous two designs I reviewed above, which have a separate lid to fill up the feed with.

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The feeders come with 2 training bolts to limit movement and instructions for their use: 2 settings with one week on each setting. Multiplying every 21 days two rats can turn into 40 odd in just 6 weeks so the message then is simple, vermin spread disease and treadle style feeders put a stop to vermin. Wild Birds – Squirrels – Raccoons… You want to ensure that you use this for feeding full grown birds as smaller birds might get in the mechanism when the big birds step off. The two feeders on the left are guillotine type , so named because the door swings up and down. The two feeders on the right are swing in doors.