It doesn't work. If it did rodents are clever and figure out what is killing them.
Three methods of dealing with rodents according to Howard E..
Sanitation
Exclusion
Elimination
First method, bulk feed in metal barrels. An actual treadle feeder and pay close attention to the negative reviews...
Just another old wives tale spread until some enterprising person made it available commercially. I would imagine the market focuses on first time customers because there wouldn't be many repeat sales.
If you want to deal with a rodent infestation there is only one sure method.
You
stop...
Way too young for any kind of port feeder or treadle feeder. Unsafe.
Someone posted about a deer feeder for under $100, spews out feed for a set time on a set schedule. Might be an option for you.
Good on you for being so proactive on the rodents but sad that some inferior products wasted your hard earned money. That Dutch feeder with the green plastic parts is certainly being dumped in the U.S. after it developed a bad reputation in the EU. They actually make some versions of that...
An old thread revived but it is still relevant.
This is the major flaw of the Chinese made Grandpa feeder and the other Chinese made clones, AKA guillotine style feeders. You have to leave the lid open for a few weeks because the lid goes up and over their head which is scary, but that pinning...
Snakes come because of mice and rats and stay for the eggs and chicks. Deal with the rodents and you are far less likely to have a snake hanging around.
Rodents will eat during the day. Check your feed consumption, a quarter pound of feed per bird, ignore roosters unless you have many. That will tell you if you are losing feed to vermin.
Which treadle feeder? If the spring was set stiff enough and it had the factory narrow and distant treadle it would take a dozen rats to defeat a treadle feeder and some are sure to be caught inside each time till they are gone.
That is a bargain on the deer feeder but it costs more than a...
I've never heard of a first person report where scent has driven off rodents. Someone provide a case if they have personally witnessed this ever happening.
If you want to eliminate rodents you start by doing a forum search for rodents/rats/mice and chickens. What you will learn is that there...
There is only one sure way of eliminating a rodent infestation for good.
You have to stop feeding them.
Do that and they either starve to death, leave, or return to finding natural food and being prey for the natural predators while they hustle to find natural food in exposed areas.
Get an...
Ahhhh, do a forum search and you will find literally hundreds of threads with great advice on mice and raising chickens. Especially look for Howard E.'s posts on rodent control. It boils down to sanitation, then exclusion, then elimination if the first two steps fail.
The three steps in...
Most hydro carbons, paint thinner, gasoline, diesel, lacquer thinner, all will kill wasps on contact. It evaporates quickly so unless one is completely stupid there is little fire hazard.
Ditto on the rodent control. Wild predators like snakes and raptors have limits on their numbers from the amount of prey species their territory will maintain during dry spells, winter, and other natural factors. They get out of control, as do wild birds and rodents, when humans set up buffets...
Free range protection just isn't going to work with a protected species that you can't kill or trap. And losing eggs is a minor nuisance, consider the mites or the disease being brought in by these birds as they travel between other coops and your coop.
Bio security has to be a concern even...
Squirrels are tough to stop but they can be stopped IF you have mostly medium to large breed of birds and don't live next to a forest packed with squirrels that don't look at a nearby farm as part of their territory they defend.
They rarely weigh over a pound, sometimes 1.5 pounds for a fat...
Way too many people spoil their birds. Chickens aren't dumb, when they get hungry they will eat what is in front of them. They are smart enough to manipulate some flock owners though. LOL I get it, to many they are pets, not farm animals.
Political season is coming and those spiffy little coreplast signs work great for feeder covers. A bit of tape, pin it down with some long nails or metal stakes, and Bob's your uncle.
Wait till two days after the primary and go after the loser's signs. Before the election stealing signs is a...
In a closed coop, no rats or wild birds, sure it would work.
But the cheapest one is more than a decent American made treadle feeder so.... why go that route?