Perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of raising chickens on the farm is keeping your backyard free from vermin, such as rodents, small birds and other animals. Such trouble makers can bring many sleepless nights and cause a lot of nuisance. Since they are attracted to food and drink, rodents and small birds can consume chicken feed, contaminate them by leaving droppings, urine drops and strands of fur and damage the yards. More importantly, they can also transmit illnesses and diseases, numbering to around 50 in number, through lice and fleas.
For this reason, treadle feeders are gaining more and more traction among farmers. They are designed to allow chickens to consume feed without being interrupted or disturbed by vermin. However, many farmers are beginning to wonder whether it is too good to be true. In this post, we look at the extent to which treadle feeders are effective in combating vermin.
What Are Treadle Feeders?
Treadle feeders are made from a combination of galvanised steel and plastic and designed to ensure only chickens can access and consume chicken feed. Unlike hanging feeders that can easily be penetrated by rodents and small birds, treadle feeders, as the name suggest, ensures that only the chicken is able to get feed, thus offering a much better protection against vermin.
How Does It Work?
The unique design of treadle feeders makes provides adequate protection against rodents and small birds. The feeder consists of a closed hatch containing feed that can only be accessed once the chicken stands on the treadle, which has an activation weight of a minimum of 500 grams. This ensures that only the chicken can open the hatch and consume feed and vermin, such as small birds and rodents cannot easily get through.
A second aspect to the effectiveness of treadle feeders is its galvanised steel frame. Since rats are very skilled at getting through virtually any space by chewing objects and sneaking through, the robust galvanised steel surface will deter them from doing so. It would take a very large number of rats to chew for a very long time to be able to get through the frame, which is unlikely.
How Effective Are Treadle Feeders?
How effective treadle feeders are is still up to debate. Many say that despite the unique design of treadle feeders, one should not underestimate the cunning ability of rodents to get chicken feed. It is thus important that you make use of other recommended methods of keeping your backyard free of little troubles like rodents.
Since rodents are attracted by food, one of the first things you should check is to ensure there are no spilled feed on the ground in your backyard. Always make it a routine before sleeping every night to inspect and clean any spilled feed. You should also make sure the feed is kept away from the coop for as far as possible. Repellants should also be made use of. Using peppermint or balsam fir in high concentrations can deter rodents away from your backyard.
