I don't write many product reviews, but felt very compelled to write one for the Rent-A-Coop feeder. I made a chicken feeder that seemed to work well (it lived inside the coop but we could fill it from outside the coop) until our hens decided they preferred to carpet their coop in chicken feed. It was disgusting and it was expensive. We were going through a bag of food per week with only four hens and as the weather got damp, the food on the coop floor became foul.
We purchased the Rent-A-Coop and at first I was skeptical. It seemed pricy for what seemed like a bucket with a few thoughtfully placed holes and plastic ducts. But I figured, if it made a bag of chicken feed last even an extra week, it would quickly pay for itself. I'm writing this review because I see the chickens eating from it, but we have been stretching the same bag of food for a lot longer than we ever had. I am now realizing that we ALWAYS had a problem with the chickens wasting food, it just got worse before we bought this product. We would have easily gone through four bags of food by now which would have been substantially more expensive than this feeder. You are paying for the design. And, while it may seem simple, it is a great design. The economics of this purchase turned out to be superb.
The only thing I could wish for is a way to purchase extra lids. If I had an extra lid I could drill a four inch hole in so I could fill the feeder from the outside of the coup using a PVC pipe, I would have the perfect feeder. I just don't want to do anything experimental with the lid if I don't have a way to replace it in case I botch something up. But overall, I am grateful we made the leap and purchased this product. We are happy campers.