RentACoop Automatic Metal Treadle Feeder - 25lb Capacity

No longer as advertised! Beware! These are now constructed of several panels of sheet metal instead of being a solid watertight piece. Now less stable and no longer water tight, same price. Highly disappointing. I was initially excited that Amazon still had these in stock when every other retailer showed discontinued, but this product change must be why. It took me a few days of thinking before I decided this wasn’t worth it to introduce leaks and instability to my treadle feeder system. If they want to continue to have this enshittified version available, then the product page should absolutely be up-front about what the product actually is and maybe a lower cost since it is absolutely an inferior product. Tricking people into buying this crap for the same price point is not the right way to go.

I ordered this feeder because it was perfect for when we were traveling and needed to leave enough food. Having no rodents getting in food and keeping it dry was also something that made me want it. It does all of that but also be aware this has a serious design flaw that is very dangerous to your chickens. I lost a chicken about a week and a half ago and another one today due to them trying to eat food from the side and sticking their heads in through the side of feeder while there were apparently several on the bar that lifts up the feeder door. Them when the other ones abruptly jump off it comes up and traps the chicken on the side. After the first one died,I thought it was just a terrible freak accident but this morning when I found that a 2nd one died the same death I was just sick. This is a terrible flaw. I took it out of the coop and going back to the old fashioned kind that won’t kill my chickens.

So far, I mostly really like this feeder. However, the lid does not lock. The lid sits too low and the locking mechanisms are too high, so the locks do not engage on either side. The part that is supposed to hold onto the lid can just be flipped around at will without lifting the latch on the bottom. I'm not sure how to fix that and I worry that a raccoon may figure it out. Other than that, so far so good and my birds are eating from it just fine. If anyone has managed to fix this issue, I'd love to know what you did!

Reached out to the manfacturer and A+ customer service. Answered within 24 hours and resolved within 48 hrs. And the resolution was beyond expectations. They really do stand behind their product.

Now for the positives about the feeder I haven't shared before. We have 16 hens and are lower pecking order seem to be the smartest, they took to the feeder right away. The older ones were last to follow but by the end of the week they were all eating out of it and by the second week no longer spooked by the movement or noise when lid shut.

There is next to zero waste on the ground, they don't pick and choose what to eat by knocking half the feed on the ground. Major plus.

What motivated us to purchase was the sightings of a mouse and two rats visiting their run over the period of six weeks. We caught all three and switched to these feeders. We haven't had visitors picked up by the cameras again and no evidence of visiters.

These really do work as advertised. Food stays dry (ours is in a run though but we did leave outside initially thinking we'd have one outside the run and one inside to create less fuss (our head hens like to eat alone and won't share) and food did stay dry after it rained.

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We ordered the first feeder 9/2023 to test out and get the girls trained before we left for a week long trip. All went well so we ordered a second that arrived 10/2023. First is working perfectly, the second I noticed the lid was stuck in up position .. see pic of mine stuck up on a slant.

Using someone’s pic posted in a review, the red arrow shows break. Not a screw so much as a welded screw like connection that came undone, a defect.

The lid is now off balance and doesn’t lift all the way on the left side .. if girls step on left it will go down but if they step on right, it’s stays up. Even if I was able to dismantle, can’t get anything into the hole.

Guess it’s hit or miss if the parts aren’t going to be defective. Contacting CS for help.

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!

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Very pleased with the Treadle Feeder.
My chickens figured out and adapted to the change the 2nd. day. My previous feeders caused a lot of waste even though it was water proof. The treadle totally eliminated waste where the chickens only eat what they need and sloppy feed is eliminated.
Thank you

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 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.

Absolutely love these for our chickens. They hold up well, store a lot of food, keep food dry, & we don’t have problems with the rats or chickens getting into them. Keep in mind, if you spray it with enough water, the food will get wet, but it does dry again and seems to be fine. If anything it maybe sticks a little bit to the sides and you can just scrape it right off and it’ll crumble right back into bird feed… So just keep in mind if you’re like leaving it out in the rain. It definitely can get some water inside into the food but should be fine for the most part… We just keep hrs under the covered area of our chicken coop && they work perfectly. Easy to use, easy to assemble, and two of these allow us to keep our 20 chickens fed for weeks at a time w/o having to refill. When it is time to refill, we just fill up a bucket and dump it/pour it into the feeder from the top, mix stirred it in a little bit… And we’re all good to go! Very easy! I’m not a super handy woman & I was capable of figuring these out & ‘assembling’ all by myself. I’d say they hold about 30-40lbs of feed each.

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.

Does what it says it does

Nice feeder, chickens figured out how to use it within a few days. I purchased the extension. It can fit about 40 lbs of feed. Make sure it’s placed where you want it before filling it. It is heavy and awkward to move. So far no water or critters have been able to get in. Though my coop and run are pretty solid.

After I received the replacement feeder that had the treadle it has been awesome.

Our chickens figured it out right away. No more mice eating our feed. It has paid for itself because we have no waste or others eating the feed. Very heavy and sturdy. Keeps feed dry and sanitary. So happy we purchased this.

None of the screws thread or screw in properly. There isn’t one hole that threads smoothly - not even with a drill and wrench. It is impossible to tighten the screws past a few turns. So everything is loose and clanging around and it’s loud and no doubt it’ll scare the animals. Seems entirely defective. Also, the lid doesn’t line up properly so the lid latch mechanism doesn’t work …it’s essentially useless. Returning it and trying to get it back into the box is going to be a nightmare. I don’t recommend this product …and usually this brand is so reliable!

Update: Customer service made it right (above and beyond my request) within 24 hours. Excellent customer service. I think I just got a dud but the corrected that swiftly! I’m a RAC customer for life ❤️

We bought this feeder for our seven chickens. It is a well built, solidly constructed feeder. The chickens were quick to catch on how to activate the opening so they could get their food. It keeps the food secure from rodents.

Love that this feeder has a latch for the lid and that the shape discourages the hens from roosting and pooping on it. The feeder has a rubber "bumper" which makes it quieter when it opens, so the hens are less frightened of it. No possible way for mice to get into the feed. Excellent!

at first i thought it was not going to work out, my hens were afraid if it. but you have to leave it open on the highest setting for a few days, the drop to the lower levels.
best part of it is!!!!!! in not feeding thw sparrows any longer! and they have fled from around my home!!! my bags of feed are lasting a lot longer now!!!

so have patience, they will be “chicken” at first but they will adapt!

We love this treadle feeder and now have 2! It fits 3-4 hens at a time, so for my flock of 16, we needed a little more room for everyone at breakfast. By the time we got the second feeder, they had all learned how to use the treadle, so no need to do the three week training. The only negative is that the holes for the machine screws are very tight and difficult to turn even with a screw gun. But it’s worth the effort - no more wasted or stolen food, and happy, engaged hens.

I absolutely love this product! I have tried many chicken feeders, but this one is by far the best. It provides protection from the elements due to its perfect measurements. I had my feeder out in the open for months and no rain ever got in. I also love how it has locks on the sides so raccoons can't figure out how to get in. Additionally, with a treadle, rodents are unable to access the feed without being taught. There were some concerns that older chickens would not like the clanking sound it makes as the lid shuts, but as long as you follow the super easy training instructions, there should be no issue. It's important to note that you should not use this with young chickens because they won't be heavy enough to lift the lid. Also, if an older chicken steps off the treadle, a chick could get hurt. In conclusion, this product gets an A+ from me!