Feeders & Waterers
RentACoop vs. Grandpa's vs. Omlet No Waste Feeder
- RentACoop and Grandpa's are both true treadle feeders — a rat's weight can't trip the lid. Omlet's is a gravity/port design: less training, but weaker rodent exclusion.
- RentACoop is the only one of the three with adjustable treadle tension, making it the pick for bantams or mixed-size flocks — with a real tradeoff against rodent resistance when loosened.
- Grandpa's 40lb model is the only one of the three built for multiple birds feeding at once (4-5 simultaneously), which matters for flocks past a handful of hens.
- Omlet needs no training at all, but real Amazon pricing for it wasn't found during research — its $ tier is a relative placement, not a confirmed budget price.
RentACoop and Grandpa's are the pair most often pitted against each other in BackyardChickens-forum debates over which treadle feeder is worth the money; Omlet's No Waste Feeder is included here as the no-training gravity/port alternative to both. All three are compared directly rather than folded into a wider roundup. All three specs below come from the same product data behind our full no-waste feeders guide — manufacturer documentation and retailer listings, cross-checked against each other. Where a number wasn't independently verifiable (Omlet's live price, specifically), that's noted instead of guessed.
At a glance
RentACoop Metallic Treadle Feeder
Mixed flocks that include bantams or smaller breeds, where a fixed-tension treadle feeder would be too heavy to trigger.
Check Price
Grandpa's Feeders (Treadle)
Larger flocks (12+ birds) where the 40lb model's multi-bird feeding ports matter, and where the coop keeps it under cover.
Check Price
Omlet No Waste Chicken Feeder
Owners who want less feed waste without the multi-week treadle training process, in areas without heavy rodent pressure.
Check PriceFull spec comparison
| Feeder | Price tier | Mechanism | Rodent resistance | Capacity | Check price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 RentACoop Metallic Treadle Feeder | $$ | Treadle (weight-activated) — galvanized sheet metal, stainless-steel hardware | High — a rat's body weight can't depress the treadle | 25lb (feeds ~6 hens 10 days) or 40lb (feeds ~12 hens 10 days); expandable to 70lb with extensions | Check Price |
 Grandpa's Feeders (Treadle) | $$ | Treadle (weight-activated) — galvanized steel body, alloy treadle plate | High — lid opens only above roughly a 500g threshold, well above a rat's weight | 20lb standard (feeds ~6 hens 10 days) or 40lb large (feeds ~12 hens 10 days, 4-5 birds can feed at once) | Check Price |
 Omlet No Waste Chicken Feeder | $ | Gravity/port — hooded feeding ports contain feed without a moving treadle part | Moderate — hooded ports reduce spill and access but don't require body weight to open, unlike a treadle | 6lb (3 ports), 12lb (5 ports, feeds ~6 hens for 7 days), or 25lb (6 ports, feeds ~12 hens for 7 days) | Check Price |
Mechanism: treadle vs. gravity/port
RentACoop and Grandpa's Feeders both work the same basic way: a hinged lid stays closed over the feed trough until something heavy enough steps onto a spring-tensioned treadle plate, which lifts the lid. A rat or mouse isn't heavy enough to trip either one — that's the whole point of the mechanism, not a marketing claim. Omlet's No Waste Feeder takes a different approach entirely: hooded, covered feeding ports that a chicken reaches into to eat, with no moving part to trigger and nothing to train. That gets rid of the training period, but it also gets rid of the hard weight-based exclusion — a determined rodent can still work a hooded port in a way it can't work a properly-tensioned treadle.
Neither approach is universally better; see the rodent resistance section below for how to weigh that tradeoff against your own coop's rodent pressure.
The feeders, one by one
RentACoop Metallic Treadle Feeder — $$
Adjustable for bantams
Weight-activated, no-waste, rodent-resistant; frequently debated vs Grandpa's on BackyardChickens forums. Adjustable treadle tension is a genuine differentiator for bantam-inclusive flocks.
- Mechanism: Treadle (weight-activated) — galvanized sheet metal, stainless-steel hardware
- Rodent resistance: High — a rat's body weight can't depress the treadle
- Capacity: 25lb (feeds ~6 hens 10 days) or 40lb (feeds ~12 hens 10 days); expandable to 70lb with extensions
- Adjustable treadle tension — one of the few treadle feeders that can be set light enough for bantams
- Included training bolts and a documented 2-week training process
- Expandable capacity (up to 70lb) via add-on extensions
- Rodent-resistant by mechanism, not just marketing: a chicken's weight triggers the lid, a rat's can't
- More expensive than a basic gravity feeder
- Like all treadle feeders, needs a training period before birds use it reliably
- The manufacturer's own manual sets a higher minimum age for bantams on this feeder (20 weeks) than for standard-size birds (12 weeks)
- Loosening the treadle enough for bantams also makes it easier for a rat to trigger — the bantam fix is a real tradeoff against rodent exclusion, not a free adjustment
Ideal for: Mixed flocks that include bantams or smaller breeds, where a fixed-tension treadle feeder would be too heavy to trigger.
RentACoop Metallic Treadle Feeder
Feeder
$$ see current price on Amazon
Weight-activated, no-waste, rodent-resistant; frequently debated vs Grandpa's on BackyardChickens forums. Adjustable treadle tension is a genuine differentiator for bantam-inclusive flocks.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)Grandpa's Feeders (Treadle) — $$
Long-standing treadle feeder brand, well-known in the "no waste" search cluster. Real reviews are more mixed than the marketing suggests — rain-leaking complaints and a longer-than-average training period show up repeatedly.
- Mechanism: Treadle (weight-activated) — galvanized steel body, alloy treadle plate
- Rodent resistance: High — lid opens only above roughly a 500g threshold, well above a rat's weight
- Capacity: 20lb standard (feeds ~6 hens 10 days) or 40lb large (feeds ~12 hens 10 days, 4-5 birds can feed at once)
- 20+ years on the market with a 2-year money-back guarantee
- Large (40lb) size lets multiple birds feed simultaneously — better for bigger flocks
- Calibrated lid-opening threshold keeps rats and wild birds out while staying easy for hens
- Documented reviews report leaking in rain — several owners note it needs a rain cover
- Training reportedly takes longer than some competitors — weeks, sometimes a month, per multiple reviews
- Mixed review profile: a meaningful share of Amazon reviews are critical, not just a handful of outliers
Ideal for: Larger flocks (12+ birds) where the 40lb model's multi-bird feeding ports matter, and where the coop keeps it under cover.
Grandpa's Feeders (Treadle)
Feeder
$$ see current price on Amazon
Long-standing treadle feeder brand, well-known in the "no waste" search cluster. Real reviews are more mixed than the marketing suggests — rain-leaking complaints and a longer-than-average training period show up repeatedly.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)Omlet No Waste Chicken Feeder — $
No training needed
Gravity/port-style no-waste feeder (not the Omlet Caddi treat holder, which the original research shortlist mistakenly listed here — see docs/LAUNCH-CHECKLIST.md). Hooded feeding ports contain feed without needing a treadle mechanism, so there's no training period.
- Mechanism: Gravity/port — hooded feeding ports contain feed without a moving treadle part
- Rodent resistance: Moderate — hooded ports reduce spill and access but don't require body weight to open, unlike a treadle
- Capacity: 6lb (3 ports), 12lb (5 ports, feeds ~6 hens for 7 days), or 25lb (6 ports, feeds ~12 hens for 7 days)
- No moving parts to train birds on — works immediately, unlike a treadle
- Anti-topple tripod base, locking lid, visible feed-level window
- Comes apart for easy cleaning; BPA/PFA-free plastic
- 3-6 hooded ports per unit, more ports on the larger sizes, reduce bullying at feeding time
- Gravity/port feeders are generally less rodent-resistant than a true treadle — hooded ports reduce spill but don't require body weight to open the way a treadle does
- Plastic construction, not metal — lighter duty than the steel treadle feeders
Ideal for: Owners who want less feed waste without the multi-week treadle training process, in areas without heavy rodent pressure.
Omlet No Waste Chicken Feeder
Feeder
$ see current price on Amazon
Gravity/port-style no-waste feeder (not the Omlet Caddi treat holder, which the original research shortlist mistakenly listed here — see docs/LAUNCH-CHECKLIST.md). Hooded feeding ports contain feed without needing a treadle mechanism, so there's no training period.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)Rodent resistance and flock size
If mice or rats are a real, active problem at your coop, that should outweigh every other factor here: RentACoop and Grandpa's both give you a true treadle mechanism a rodent's body weight can't trigger, full stop. Omlet's hooded ports are a real improvement over an open feeder, but they're not a hard exclusion barrier the way a treadle is — pick it for the no-training convenience, not as your primary rodent defense, and pair it with the general rodent-and-predator exclusion practices on our predator-proofing guide (an open feeder that attracts rodents also attracts the predators that eat rodents).
On flock size: Grandpa's 40lb size lets 4-5 birds feed at the same time per its listing, and Omlet's largest (25lb) size has 6 hooded feeding ports — both give a large flock more than one feeding position, unlike RentACoop's single-treadle design. RentACoop's expandability to 70lb via extensions covers capacity for a growing flock without adding a second feeding point, so it's the one to reach for if you want more feed on hand rather than more simultaneous access. Just remember Omlet's ports don't require rodent-excluding body weight to trigger the way Grandpa's treadle spots do, so more ports isn't the same axis as more rodent resistance.
Which feeder should you buy?
Frequently asked questions
Which of these three is best for a flock that includes bantams or smaller breeds?
RentACoop's Metallic Treadle Feeder — its treadle tension is adjustable, one of the few treadle feeders that can be set light enough for a bantam to trigger. There's a real tradeoff, though: RentACoop's own manual sets a higher minimum age for bantams on this feeder (20 weeks) than for standard-size birds (12 weeks), and loosening the tension enough for a bantam to trip it also makes it easier for a rat to trip it — that's a genuine rodent-exclusion tradeoff, not a free adjustment. Grandpa's and Omlet's feeders don't offer an adjustable-tension option.
Which of these three is the most rodent-resistant?
RentACoop and Grandpa's Feeders are tied here — both are true treadle (weight-activated) designs where a rat's body weight can't depress the lid-opening mechanism. The Omlet No Waste Feeder uses hooded gravity/port openings instead, which reduce spill and mess but don't require body weight to open the way a treadle does, so it's a step down in rodent exclusion specifically, even though it's still a real improvement over an open feeder.
Which is best for a large flock?
Grandpa's Feeders, in its 40lb large size — it lets 4-5 birds feed at the same time, which matters once you're past a handful of hens and birds start waiting on a single feeding spot. RentACoop's feeder is also expandable up to 70lb capacity via add-on extensions if you need to scale further. Omlet's largest size (25lb) actually has more feeding ports than Grandpa's — 6 hooded ports, rated for roughly 12 hens over 7 days — but a hooded port and a treadle feeding position aren't quite the same thing: Omlet's ports don't require a bird's full body weight to access the way a treadle spot does, so it's not a strictly apples-to-apples port-for-port comparison, just a higher port count.
Which feeder needs the least setup or training?
The Omlet No Waste Feeder — it has no moving treadle part, so there's no training period at all; birds can use it immediately. Both RentACoop and Grandpa's are treadle feeders that need a training period before birds reliably trigger them (RentACoop includes training bolts and a documented process; Grandpa's reviews report training sometimes taking weeks to a month).