Auto Poultry Feeder Saves Feed, Time
 ✖  |
"Backyard chickens have historically been fed by scattering food on the ground or by using gravity-fed, open feeders which allow free access for rats, mice and wild birds. Our feeders are unique in that they allow chickens full and free access to their food while stopping rats, mice and wild birds from getting at it," says Mark Kirkham, whose father invented Grandpa's Poultry Feeders.
The sturdy, galvanized steel feeders have an aluminum tread plate. When a chicken steps on it, the bird's weight opens the feeder's hinged lid, giving the chicken access to food. The lid closes when the chicken steps off.
It takes a couple of weeks to train the chickens to step on the tread plate. A video on the company's website shows the three-step process.
In addition to saving feed, the feeder also solves the problem of finding someone to feed the chickens when owners are gone for a long weekend or short vacation. A standard feeder ($210) holds 20 lbs of feed - enough for six hens for 10 days. The larger feeder ($290) holds 40 lbs. to feed 12 hens for 10 days.
"There's a large savings in the chicken feed bill due to keeping scavengers out of the feed, along with severely reducing the risk of disease to both humans and chickens that these pests carry," Kirkham says.
Designed in New Zealand 14 years ago, the first feeders are still working flawlessly after exposure to the elements and continuous outside use. The feeders are available in North America through a Georgia business that sells a variety of imported products.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Grandpa's Feeders, 375B Green Valley Rd., Griffin, Ga. 30224 (ph 678 373-4041; www.grandpasfeeders.com).
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
Auto Poultry Feeder Saves Feed, Time LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment 34-4-18 "Backyard chickens have historically been fed by scattering food on the ground or by using gravity-fed, open feeders which allow free access for rats, mice and wild birds. Our feeders are unique in that they allow chickens full and free access to their food while stopping rats, mice and wild birds from getting at it," says Mark Kirkham, whose father invented Grandpa's Poultry Feeders.
The sturdy, galvanized steel feeders have an aluminum tread plate. When a chicken steps on it, the bird's weight opens the feeder's hinged lid, giving the chicken access to food. The lid closes when the chicken steps off.
It takes a couple of weeks to train the chickens to step on the tread plate. A video on the company's website shows the three-step process.
In addition to saving feed, the feeder also solves the problem of finding someone to feed the chickens when owners are gone for a long weekend or short vacation. A standard feeder ($210) holds 20 lbs of feed - enough for six hens for 10 days. The larger feeder ($290) holds 40 lbs. to feed 12 hens for 10 days.
"There's a large savings in the chicken feed bill due to keeping scavengers out of the feed, along with severely reducing the risk of disease to both humans and chickens that these pests carry," Kirkham says.
Designed in New Zealand 14 years ago, the first feeders are still working flawlessly after exposure to the elements and continuous outside use. The feeders are available in North America through a Georgia business that sells a variety of imported products.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Grandpa's Feeders, 375B Green Valley Rd., Griffin, Ga. 30224 (ph 678 373-4041; www.grandpasfeeders.com).
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.
