- A tiny hen sized door
Inside view of a goat proof chicken door
“Some animals like goats and horses can come to great harm if they eat too much chicken feed through bloating or foundering.”
Don’t believe them…
No Such Things as a Goat Proof Chicken Feeder
A lot of people raise goats and chickens together and keeping the smaller goats out of the chicken feed is a task. If you have never had a goat they are incredibly clever and persistent at finding into where they aren’t supposed to be and out of where they are supposed to be. They can jump like deer and climb on top of anything under five feet tall.
They are contortionists too, will lay down and wiggle through or under almost anything. As goats will bloat and even die from eating too much feed you have to make certain the feed is locked up with a goat proof latch that can’t be pushed open. The goat proof chicken hatch to the left works because even a small kid goat can’t bend its body sharp enough to gain entry.
Treadle feeders are of no use to defeat goats, dogs, or other large animals. The weight and reach of a large animal is much more than a chicken so don’t depend on the treadle feeder to protect the feed unless you have the feeder inside an enclosure.
Dogs love chicken feed too for some strange reason. The chicken feed won’t really hurt the dog although it is low in fat . Some cats will eat laying pellets as well although it is less common.
Small breeds of dogs and cats will be difficult to keep out of chicken feeders unless the feeders are high off the ground and a cat has nothing to climb to get up to the feed.
Larger animals can easily rip through chicken wire, even a small dog will have no problems tearing through as chicken wire is simply twisted together. Always use hardware cloth to prevent dogs, racoons, or other predators from ripping through the coop. Occasionally horses are persistent enough to knock over a small coop to get to the chicken feed. Most people won’t have hogs near chickens as the hogs will quickly eat every chicken it can catch and can easily over turn a coop to get at the birds or feed.