Gravity feeder advice

[Madsnooker]

View attachment 1290043I assume the squirrels and coons would just chew right through this and any plastic feeders like the Banks?

I'm not sure about the one in your pic, but we've had the Banks feeders for years and no problems with squirrels chewing thru them. Actually we see more damage by deer chewing on the end of the spouts then anything because of the protein pellet residue that collects at the end of the tubes.

 

[habersham hammer]

Another idea....

This feeder is currently now in a more open hardwood area. If I moved it back 50 yards or so into more thick stuff will that work better?

 

[basshappy]

I'm not sure about the one in your pic, but we've had the Banks feeders for years and no problems with squirrels chewing thru them. Actually we see more damage by deer chewing on the end of the spouts then anything because of the protein pellet residue that collects at the end of the tubes.

If you have one still virgin not gnawed on, could you wrap the end in chicken wire small mesh so the plastic is protected? Might be worth trying.

 

[Madsnooker]

If you have one still virgin not gnawed on, could you wrap the end in chicken wire small mesh so the plastic is protected? Might be worth trying.

Never thought about that? The banks guys said once the end is to compromised I can buy new spouts very reasonable. I think your idea would work though so might give that a try. Thanks for the idea.

 

[sghoghunter]

Never thought about that? The banks guys said once the end is to compromised I can buy new spouts very reasonable. I think your idea would work though so might give that a try. Thanks for the idea.

The feed ports can be replaced in about 2 minutes and $25 each. I just replaced one cause squirrels chewed a hole in the bottom. I’ve never had a problem with deer chewing on one but all mine have scars from hogs feeding and biting on them

 

[basshappy]

Never thought about that? The banks guys said once the end is to compromised I can buy new spouts very reasonable. I think your idea would work though so might give that a try. Thanks for the idea.

I have kept things from being gnawed on using strong mesh wire. Eventually there might be some gnawing, but most animals have disliked the texture or taste or feeling and move on. I would be interested in an update if you experiment with this on one of yours.

 

[Madsnooker]

The feed ports can be replaced in about 2 minutes and $25 each. I just replaced one cause squirrels chewed a hole in the bottom. I’ve never had a problem with deer chewing on one but all mine have scars from hogs feeding and biting on them

Mine are set at 40inches so we have never had a pic of hogs chewing on them as most of them can't reach it. We use buck muscle protein which is like crack to deer. The residue packs up at the end of the tube and when the feeder is empty they will chew on the ends trying to get at the powder residue that piles up.

 

[sghoghunter]

Mine are set at 40inches so we have never had a pic of hogs chewing on them as most of them can't reach it. We use buck muscle protein which is like crack to deer. The residue packs up at the end of the tube and when the feeder is empty they will chew on the ends trying to get at the powder residue that piles up.

Everybody even Banks says they can’t eat out of them but here’s proof. These feeders started out between 36 to 40 inches but after all the rooting around it’s closer to 40 or more now. Here’s also one of the many pics I have of a big boar standing up and tearing off a spin feeder motor that’s over five foot high

 

[Browning Slayer]

I have kept things from being gnawed on using strong mesh wire. Eventually there might be some gnawing, but most animals have disliked the texture or taste or feeling and move on. I would be interested in an update if you experiment with this on one of yours.

You looking into running a feeder?

 

[furtaker]

View attachment 1290043I assume the squirrels and coons would just chew right through this and any plastic feeders like the Banks?

I had one of those one time. I don't think it was on the tree more than about a week before squirrels chewed a hole in the side and the strap in two.

 

[Madsnooker]

Everybody even Banks says they can’t eat out of them but here’s proof. These feeders started out between 36 to 40 inches but after all the rooting around it’s closer to 40 or more now. Here’s also one of the many pics I have of a big boar standing up and tearing off a spin feeder motor that’s over five foot high

I guess I should have clarified, we have hog panels around all of our Banks feeders. Hogs don't get in and they rarely ever even come around since we went with the setup in pics below. All of our chewing damage is deer. I can't imagine a feeder without the hog panel pen anywhere in ga or FL.

 

[sghoghunter]

I guess I should have clarified, we have hog panels around all of our Banks feeders. Hogs don't get in and they rarely ever even come around since we went with the setup in pics below. All of our chewing damage is deer. I can't imagine a feeder without the hog panel pen anywhere in ga or FL.


View attachment 1290952View attachment 1290953

I’ve thought about doing that to a couple of our spots but haven’t done it yet. How many panels is the enclosure?

 

[Madsnooker]

I’ve thought about doing that to a couple of our spots but haven’t done it yet. How many panels is the enclosure?

We use 6 panels. We put a Tpost at each end and 1 in the middle of each panel which that is 12 Tpost total. We just buy the 5' not the 6' Tpost at tractor supply. We also cut the top section of the panel off to make it shorter so the fawns can jump over easy. We have built them with 4 and 5 panels but the 6 panels is the sweet spot. Gives plenty of room inside and deer don't feel pressured.

We buy everything from tractor supply. Small tip. Don't use the short wire pieces they give you with the Tpost. They are designed to attach barbed wire for making a fence. It's a pain trying to use that stuff to tie hog panel to Tpost. Just buy a roll of flexible wire and just cut your pieces longer. Much easier to tie. Also, spend the $40 and buy the slide hammer designed to drive in Tpost rather then trying to use a sledge hammer. Once you buy the material and arrive at your site you can build the whole thing in about an hour to 1.5 hrs with 1 or 2 helpers.

Once you build the pen it will not only solve the hog problem but they will actually totally disappear usually. We have done this at 3 different properties over the years and the same result happens everytime. It would go from massive hog problem with them coming g daily to not seeing a single hog in months and when we do it's just a boar traveling thru that we might get on camera.

 

[sghoghunter]

I don’t want to do away with them totally cause then I’ll go slap crazy if I don’t have a few therapy sessions at night haha. Also a tip from us. Don’t use the Tpost driver while your there alone cause you will eventually lift to high and slam down hard and in return you will knock ya self out cold

 

[Madsnooker]

I don’t want to do away with them totally cause then I’ll go slap crazy if I don’t have a few therapy sessions at night haha. Also a tip from us. Don’t use the Tpost driver while your there alone cause you will eventually lift to high and slam down hard and in return you will knock ya self out cold

I almost mentioned don't lift driver to high when using. I see you have experience.