RentACoop Automatic Metal Treadle Feeder - 25lb Capacity

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

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!

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!

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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.

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

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.

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.

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.