Grandpas Feeders

These clever well-built creations have now been available in New Zealand since 1995, improving the lives of many a chicken owner. Grandpa's Feeders stop the loss of valuable food to wild birds, rats and mice. These pests are not only eating your chicken food, but also putting you and your chickens' health at risk by contaminating the food with several serious diseases, which they commonly carry.
There is a real resurgence in keeping half a dozen chickens in the back yard, partly as a result of changing views towards commercial battery egg production. Also, the large growth of lifestyle farms on which chickens are often the first step in fulfilling one's dream of a better life in a rural environment. Many lifestyle farmers often have full-time jobs, and find it essential to have good management tools like a Grandpa's Feeder to make it all possible. There is also the added advantage of automatic feeding, so being tied to daily feeding or relying on friends or neighbours on those weekends away is now a problem of the past.

The team at Windsong Enterprises, the company which makes and distributes Grandpa's Feeders, receives plenty of interest from overseas, because there seems to be little to nothing available which offers all the benefits that Grandpa's Feeders do. One of the most interesting niche markets has been building feeders for the Karore bird sanctuary for its kaka breeding programme, which has been a huge success. Windsong Enterprises makes two sizes suitable for chickens, bantams and ducks, plus smaller feeders for a variety of animals, including cats, dogs, rabbits and pigeons.

It also makes specialised feeders for zoos and bird sanctuaries, all working on the same principle of the weight of the bird or animal pressing down on the platform to open the lid giving access to the food.