Feed the Hens Not the Rats

12/29/2025

Another of the common myths that people post when asked about keeping rodents out of chicken coops. Peppermint oil..... simply doesn't work if there is anything drawing rodents into a coop like nesting material to be shredded, water, or food. People mean well but they parrot this useless information and people fall for it and do nothing but waste their time and allow the rat colony to explode in size and numbers.

Don't fall for it, use the sanitation method mentioned at the end of the video and deal with the actual problem that draws the rats and mice to the coop in the first place.

Another in the series of videos about some of the common urban myths or scams pushed by bloggers competing for clicks instead of giving solid helpful informa...

12/27/2025

One of the biggest scams on Youtube and blogs is the old "Baking Soda and Cornbread Mix Kills Rats". No, no, it doesn't. If it seems to good to be true it likely is. Baking soda is actually an antidote for poisons, used in rodentcide testing to freeze blood levels of poisons at specific levels so the effects of the poison can be studied in the live mice. It is actually good for the rats and a lot of commercial rat litter products has...... baking soda .... in it.

One of the most prevalent click bait issues is the claim that baking soda mixed with other food will kill rodents. It is a flat out lie unless one could con...

12/26/2025

More on the old wives tales that people spread hoping not to spend the money needed to stop a rodent infestation.

Another of the numerous old wives tales spread by well intentioned but clueless people who put clicks over credibility. Can it work? Absolutely it can, IF ...

12/25/2025

So lots of folks like the Grandpa feeder but really it is a hot mess. Made in China, a very old and very dangerous design, tends to rust out quickly for some reason, and we are not fans of the fact that they lie their furry butts off about the country of origin. BTW, the photo of the poor hen was from an Amazon review on the Rent A Coop treadle feeder but it has the same old dangerous style of rube goldberg linkage and the Grandpa is just as dangerous.

12/25/2025

Nice video came in from one of our customers showing her turkey using one of our Medium Ratproof feeders. She added her own wider step, so it isn't the original step which would have worked fine with some patience. I would have cut the ends of the step a bit shorter and at an angle for safety reasons but it is working for her and both she and her flock are happy.

11/20/2025

Nice BYC.com review was posted today from another awesome customer.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wow-al-gerhart-feeders.1680277/

I’ve been a member on here for several years , and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I could change/train my Chickens to Gerhart self feeders !!! His advice was to “have Faith” , I got to thinking about that sentence and my middle name is “Hope” ,,, so I continued on and spen...

11/20/2025

Got a nice review in today from a customer that bought four feeders so far.

Name: Carlena from Nebraska
Review: One thing to remember is to have “Faith” in this product from Al Gerhart ,,, he is there to answer every email, look at all your pictures and watch all your videos if you have troubles! Communication is everything especially to me and he is outstanding , hands down! I am now a proud owner of 4 of them in my two chicken coops. Just follow the directions, if you have any questions he answers them just as if he is standing right next to you , thank you so much Al , you have definitely made me one Happy customer. Faith , Hope and Love

The video also shows how to train the hens. Thanks to Carlena for the kind words and the feeder orders. Remember, we stock spare parts if they are ever needed.

01/01/2025

Nice review came in yesterday:

Product Name: Soft Close Medium Ratproof Chicken Feeder
Headline: Pleased

Name: T from South Carolina

Review: I am very pleased with the medium soft close chicken feeders. They were easy to assemble, and the duck treadle was a nice add on for the training period. Some of the chickens started using the feeder within 20 minutes of me installing it. Their food is mash, and they do rake some the food out to pick through to their favorite pieces, but I have some ideas for that. The administrator provides great feedback and suggested I send a pic of my set up to further advise me on the raking issue. This product definitely keeps their food clean and mouse free.
Rating: 5

09/28/2024

The best part of making these products is the nice reviews that come in. You get a few jerks, very minor cosmetic damage from shipping that could be fixed with a hammer and a block of wood in two minutes, who demand replacement despite our terms of sales that state cosmetic damage is going to happen shipping a light weight sheet metal product. But 99% of the customers are hard core appreciative of what our feeder is and how well it works.

Below is a review that came in today:

Product Name: Medium Ratproof Chicken Feeder
Headline: Fixed Squirrel problem
Name: Robert Jones
Location: Saint Paul
Review: This feeder saves us a ton of money. We had squirrels, chipmunks, and mice taking the feed. We didn't realize how much until we got this. It is adjustable for different weights of hens. The soft close option sets it apart from other feeders I looked at. One of my birds likes coming in from the side and can get her head stuck but the soft close allows her to get it out. The company will answer questions so we have a plan to get our cheater hen to go from the front. It stores a lot.
Rating: 5 stars

Note: The instructions state that setting milk jugs filled with dirt or sand on either side of the treadle completely stops hens from trying to sneak in from the side. We chose to not go with side guards like the Chinese made Grandpa feeder uses due to them being major pinch points that are quite dangerous to hens.

09/26/2024

Here is another set of comments from an email last week:
"Sara P.
Herber City UT

Looking forward to getting the new feeders. They truly are the only ones that keep the wild birds out. I got my first one over 10 years ago and it finally gave up (totally my fault because it was unprotected out in the weather). I tell all my "Chicken friends" about your feeders. "

Then a few days later after she got the new model feeders:

"Got the feeders today. I thought I loved my old one. You guys are really making some beautiful feeders these days. I have to say the old one was more function over form but what mattered was that it worked and it worked better than anything else out there. However, you seem to have managed to improve on an already great product. I'm sending all my "chicken friends" your way.

Sarah P"

09/25/2024

I have some of the best customers in the world. I suppose solving a problem for them helps motivate their nice comments they send our way:

"Robert J. St Paul MN
Just confirming that we got the soft close doors. We like our new feeder we ordered from you a few months ago and those soft close doors make the difference especially with one chicken that is always cheating and coming in from the side. It has saved us from awful squirrels. Thank you for designing the product and it worked very well!"

BTW, blocking off side access to the feeder with a couple of milk jugs filed with sand or dirt does wonders to force birds to come straight in to get to the feed. We thought about side guards like the Chinese made Grandpa feeder uses but thought they were dangerous pinch points.

Squirrels by the way are darned tough to stop. You have to keep the feeder set on three to four pounds of pressure needed to open the door or a couple of big squirrels will push the door open like they do to the other treadle feeders.

02/11/2024

Nice review came in today.

Product Name: Medium Ratproof Chicken Feeder
Headline: Good Bye Rats!
Name: Andrew from New Jersey

Review: I moved into a house with a barn which had an absolute rat infestation. Within 2 months of installing this chicken feeder and some rat traps outside of the barn, the rats had left their seemingly limitless warrens and moved onto other pastures. Worked as intended! 6 Months later and still no creep crawlies ready to ambush us as we go into the barn.
Rating: 5 stars