RentACoop 40 lb Automatic Treadle Chicken Feeder

Honestly better than expectedMy unit came with some deep scratches and customer support sent me a new one within a week. My younger group (~16 weeks) figured it out rather quicklyLeft the training screws on for about a week and then removed completely (throw in some BSF with trainer on) and worked like a charm. Witnessed multiple filtering in and outI like that this one has the cover over the lid unlike grandpas - I always got scared one would jump on top while another was eating with this there’s no concern5 stars for customer supportOnly complaint/concern is the metal gets hot so I get worried about having to make sure it’s always in shade so they aren’t stepping on a blistering hot plate (might just cut a shelf liner or something to put over)Also like that the stepper is higher than grandpas so it can withstand a little more unevenness

I was thrilled to find this feeder at lower cost than Grandpa's Feeders. I've bought so much stuff from RentACoop and I trust their company.I was expecting some assembly challenges based on previous reviews, but I'm mechanically inclined and figured I could deal with anything that arose. The first issue was that some very tiny holes had been drilled on the receiving arms, where you insert the step. (This is the first part of the assembly process.) The tiny holes created an effective "stop" inside the arm, so that the step would not insert all the way into the receiving arms. Without modification, I would have only been able to secure the step using the first mounting hole, and it wouldn't have been stable enough for use.I think the manufacturer intended to place this "stop" behind the second mounting hole, so that the step would stop at the correct location once aligned with both mountain holes...and they simply placed the stop in the wrong location. (There were 2 identically placed "stops" inside both arms on both sides of the feeder.)Correcting it was as simple as finding a very narrow, long Dremel grinding bit and grinding off the stops. It took all of 30 seconds to fix the issue, but I was lucky I had a Dremel and the correct grinding bit. So if you get one of these feeders that have the stop in the wrong location, borrow a Dremel from a neighbor if you don't have one...the fix is easy, and it's not necessary to send it back. (I notified RentACoop of the situation, hopefully they will address it with the manufacturer before too many incorrect models are shipped out.)There were a few dents in various places due to shipping, but a pair of pliers and a rubber mallet took quick care of that.Otherwise, assembly was straightforward. My ladies have taken to it pretty quickly, on day 3 they are already in the second training phrase. I'm very much looking forward to not feeding a horde of rats every night! Thanks, RentACoop, for saving me a bunch of cash over the competitive model, and for saving me TONS of future cash feeding the rats!

Love this! It keeps rodents out well. It’s durable and simple and holds at least ten days worth of food for 9 chickens.

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I expected a better working and longer lasting product for spending over $200 on a chicken feeder. I got this in May and I’m writing this review beginning of August—less then 6 months. It never worked quite right. At first it was just the annoyance of the top closure for adding food not closing easily. We would have to mess with it for a few minutes and shuffle it around to get it to close all the way/properly to latch it. But then in June we started noticing the treadle the chickens needed to stand on to open it wasn’t opening much for them. It appears to hang lower on one side. We have tried to trouble shoot this on our own by placing pieces of 2x4’s under it to elevate it more so it has a longer distance to drop and opens wider for them to get their heads in. My bantam hen cannot get it to open at all anymore though. She’s a bantam cochin so if the larger birds aren’t stepping on it she can’t eat. It all feels like a quality control issue—like certain parts weren’t made quite right and things have just gotten worse over time. I’m very disappointed and really upset knowing I spent so much on this. The reviews sold me and I’ve had good experiences in the past with products from this brand. But this is not good at all and I really suggest others reconsider spending this much.

It might be easy for some to assemble, but I struggled with it. At last, it is together and functions well.I put my foot on the treadle to show them where their food is now kept and they learned IMMEDIATELY to do it themselves - no learning curve.I find them sitting on their roost earlier now, as they don't wait for an evening meal. Win-WIN!!!!!Before, when I'd go to the coop, several mice would scurry away... eek! HOWEVER, the mice learned quickly that their free food source was HISTORY and they have to forage for themselves now. I doubt they will starve because this is an especially fertile area.The coop floor is CLEAN now - other than under the roost where they sleep. I am SO happy!

It's a great feeder

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This product is fantastic. We had a major issue with little birds coming into our coop/run and eating all the feed. We added this and it greatly reduced the pesky bird freeloaders. We recently added a second Rent-a-coop and it’s been great.

It really works! I had no idea how much feed I was losing to rats until I got this. My chickens are remarkably stupid and I didn't know if they could actually use this. I followed the instructions about teaching them, and it worked. If my ladies can figure it out, any chicken can.

Great feeder and my girls quickly adapted to using it with out much issue at all. The nocturnal scavengers getting at the food have moved elsewhere.

This is perfect for my chickens, they learned to use it quickly. Very durable and it was easy to assemble. I like that there is almost zero waste because the chickens can't scratch out the feed and other birds in the yard can't get to the chicken feed. I recommend it to anyone who has chickens.

Bought this treadle feeder after discovering what a treadle feeder is after becoming incredibly frustrated at my old feeding system for being far too inviting to the local rat population, who apparently would rather fling the food everywhere. Anyway. This thing works wonderfully. Follow the instructions so your chickens don’t become frightened of it (they are remarkably dumb birds at heart…and mind). Easy to set up, it holds every bit of the 40 pounds advertised, I’ve had no issues with water getting into it. The chickens use it. It feels well constructed and looks the part too.

bought these feeders for our chickens and it was absolutely worth the investment. I have approx 30ish chickens in 2 separate coops/runs. I have 2 of these feeders and they are fantastic. I appreciate how much feed it holds so i don't have to go out there everyday and feed them. I also appreciate that they are water tight and animal proof to try to keep the rodents away. The chickens learned very quickly how to use it so nothing to worry about there. Highly recommend this feeder even though its on the expensive side.

We bought this as a trial for our coop - we were having a mice infestation problem and our old plastic barrel set up allowed the mice to go in, eat and mess up the chicken feed. This claimed to be rodent proof and easy for the chickens to learn and so it was. We used it exactly as the instructions said - with the two training bolts in for 2 weeks then removed. It works very well and we bought a second one. It keeps the mice out - reduces food waste and our chickens eat out of it no problem - even the bantams, guinea hens and turkeys. Worth the price we paid, the stainless steel looks like it will last a very long time and filling it is easy.

These are considered the top of the line luxury of chicken feeders. No spills no waste no rodents have any reasons to hang around for free handouts. Just barely less in costs than the similar g-feeder but this is better thought out and built imo.I keep having to move it around though. I did the first training week and I think one hen tried the food but went back to the other feeders. I removed the rain cover. Nope. I removed the side blinds…. Still no interest. It’s not the feed because they’ll eat it from literally any other feeder or bowl.Then the pine pellet run bedding was sticking the treadle so it wouldn’t treadle, which was unnoticeable with week one being in the open all the time.It was moved. To a clear more open spot. Then the girls literally buried the entire feeder in chopped straw. So I took it inside cleaned it out and put it back out but I’m not as hopeful or excited about this anymore. I just wanted a cleaner run and to simplify feeding. But this is more work.My chickens free range all day unless it’s bad weather and after coop door opens for morning run time.It’s a me problem. I have a decent raised coop and walk in run but…. This baby is huge and heavy and I’m having trouble finding a space for it that doesn’t block the door or the ramp or take up too much needed run space. Tractor supply walk in chateau/ they had a huge coop but my build and run was a winter disaster for their health so prebuilt happened.I’ll give it another go in a larger run we have planned for them in spring.

First, I need to say that I have complete faith in RentACoop. I've always found their products to be superb quality. They are made by people who understand chicken behaviors, which is extremely helpful.I purchased two of these feeders. One had a couple broken rivets when it arrived. I reached out to RentACoop and they immediately shipped me the replacement parts. The company is very customer conscientious and I very much appreciate them for this!The feeders are good quality. They work well, they are waterproof and they hold a decent amount of feed so I don't need to refill them every day.We got these feeders bcuz we had a terrible rat infestation. I don't ever put food of any kind inside the coop. Not even treats. All chicken food is always outside, so that rodents aren't tempted to try to chew their way inside the structure. But our problem was so bad, we had to modify parts of our coop and run to deter rodents more effectively. These feeders were an important part of the rodent-proofing process.The only thing is, they do not keep squirrels out. A squirrel is heavy enough - and smart enough! - to learn to use these feeders. I busted one just this morning getting his or her brunch!All in all, they're a great investment. I only took off one star bcuz of the squirrel issue. The description reads that the feeders are squirrel proof, and turns out they're not. But so far, the feeders appear to deter every other critter. I will just need to deal with the squirrels in my own way, which is a never-ending battle (before you cringe, understand these are the destructive and menacing ground squirrels that destroy foundations and utility lines, not the sweet, cute tree squirrels).

I followed all the suggestions, tried training. Starting over, etc.My chickens were literally losing weight over this feeder.They never warmed up to it, much to my dissatisfaction. They're terrified of it, even though it's left up / open, never even made a loud noise, never smashed anyone. Nope. They refuse.A bad storm rolled in and got the feed all wet. It's in a covered run, but with crazy wind and rain whiping from all directions, it didn't matter. I assume it was from being open, but later discovered molded feed inside the bin-More on that coming...The rats appreciate the feeder (being open) which was the whole reason I bought this feeder (over the rats).But I'd rather feed rats than starve my chickens.As far as the quality, seemed pretty good! It's exactly as I expected.There are some sharper areas of the metal, but nothing egregious or that should cause real concern for the birds.It was easy enough to put together.But the lid doesn't sit where the latches work. They just slip on/off without having to unlatch them. So it completely defeats the purpose of a latching lid. The lid isn't tight and leaves a gap around the food bin.Turns out, that is the main source of water entry (from the storms). We had a rough run of weather, so hoping not to waste another 40lb bag of feed to mold, I ran out with my tools (to close the feeder [it was locked into training mode]).That's when I discovered the rain gets in along the backside of the lid, where there's a gap.Yes, under bad weather, if the feeder is open, it'll get in wherever. But the perma-gap is a problem.Anyhow, my girls won't use it anyway, I don't have the box to send it back. I'll either gift it or try again in another life when chickens aren't chickens.

This was fairly easy to assemble, and I like that the capacity is adjustable (decreased from 40 lbs by not installing the second part of the hopper, or more than 40 lbs by purchasing/adding an additional hopper unit) since food by weight doesn't always have consistent volume. I buy feed from a local mill and what is sold as a 50 lb bag didn't quite fit in my Grandpa's Chicken Feeder (GCF) - I dislike having partial bags so I was going to buy a second GCF but didn't find them available on Amazon anymore....this seems to be about the same thing, though less expensive. My impression of side-by-side - the GCF feels slightly more robust, but that's not to say that the Rent-A-Coop feeder is too flimsy for holding up to a flock of hens. The second hopper unit did have a bent corner when it arrived (looked like it happened during shipping) but was not difficult to bend back in place and install anyway. The footprint of this feeder is smaller than GCF, and adding capacity just makes the feeder taller - there is no add-on hopper option for the GCF that I am aware of. Some other things that this feeder has - an adjustable feed flow, and a rain cover for outdoor use. In comparison to my GCF, which has a grate that can swing and sink into the feed (so it doesn't really always work for keeping the hens from scratching through the feed and sending lots of it out to the ground), this one has a grate that sits over the entire feed trough and I think will be more effective at preventing feed waste - the hens have to peck down through the grate to reach the food. I'll have to update regarding efficacy once I have it in use. The cover for the feed bin stays attached when you are refilling it, which is nice - my GCF lid comes all the way off and is sometimes difficult to realign securely. On the other hand, I'd be able to more easily clean the GCF lid if material accumulates on top of the feeder.Because I already have a treadle feeder, my hens should know how to use this without repeating the training steps. I plan to continue to have both of my feeders in use so if my hens for some reason don't immediately take to using this feeder, they will still have access to their feed. I just want to underscore how important it is to go through the training steps if you are switching from another style of feeder.