Anyone have one? How does the control unit work and how much protein can they actually hold since they are rated at 1000 pounds of corn?

Protein weighs about 10% less as corn measured in the same volume container. You should expect that 1000 lbs feeder to hold around 900 lbs of protein. Protein varies sometimes in lbs/volume due to amount of moisture and pellet density/hardness. The variation is not huge but in 900 lbs of feed it might mean a 1/2 bag more or less on the total you can get in the feeder. If it has "The Timer" then you can set 6 different feeding times and adjust the run time from 1-30 sec on each feeding time.

'May not be the 1000, but I do plan on buying four of the All Season timed protein feeders next year, after I have to turn in my Wildlife Valuation plan to the county appraisal district. I hate the idea of coons just gobbling up my money, so I'm gonna try to set it for daylight hours. (And continue to trap them, of course.) I've also saved stxranchman's advise on slowly introducing with corn, in little bits. The man is a font of knowledge regarding this stuff.

I’ve got the 600 lb one. It uses a regular feeder timer and dispenses feed into the hopper which holds a certain amount of feed that is throw each spin time. I like it so far.

So there’s a spin plate? Any issues with clogging?

I am guessing they have a larger funnel opening vs. a corn feeder. Plus it is up inside the feeder and protected by the feed ports for from moisture. The key with feeding protein out of spinner type feeder has always been to feed at least 2 times per day so the feed is continually flowing every day. The more exposure the pellet has to moisture the more seconds per feed you need to feed.

Not in the last two years I've run it basically year round.



Correct. The funnel is probably 1 foot above the bottom of the feeder where the protein comes out. Really not much of a way that moisture can get up there. I've run mine 1x or 2x a day with less time. Same results.

Lower humidity vs. higher humidity effects it also. Binder in pellets will clump them together in higher humidity areas that is the need to feed twice per day. Heat builds up in the feeder hopper and that can cause the moisture in the pellets to rise to the bottomside of the lid. It then will rain down onto the pellets and keep repeating the cycle. All protein pellets are made with a % of moisture in them just like corn will have some moisture in it. That moisture is what people see in their feeders when they open the lid and see green moldy pellets/corn. Once it starts it will usually clog the feeder up in the funnel throat then you have a mess inside the feeder hopper. Most people think they have a leaky feeder barrel or hopper when it was moisture in the feed inside the feeder. Take a tightly sealed plastic baggy of corn or deer pellets(with airspace at the top) and set it in the sun to see how the moisture will bead up at the top of the bag. That is what is happening inside your feeder. A vented lid on a feeder helps for airflow circulation to let the moisture be drawn out of the feeder. A few small self tapping screws on the top edge of the feed barrel or hopper for the lid to sit down on top of is enough to keep rain out and let heat/moisture escape. Just need a lid with a good lip on it to cover down over the "vent" created.

Good point. West Texas doesn’t have much humidity so my statement was based off that area, not somewhere with high humidity.

I switched to a cottonseed based protein instead of peanut based and no longer have coon problems, they don't like it. Just a thought

Do you have concerns about sterility with cottonseed? If so when do you cut it off?

I have the AS 1,000lb electric model, stand and fill. It holds 17 bags of protein. I have an issue with feed bridging in each corner which prevents approx 150lbs from feeding out. So, I basically have an 700lb feeder.

Also, just burned the motor up because the feed backed up due to lack of activity related to the anthrax outbreak.

Well, that's some concerning info - on a couple of fronts. But I appreciate you posting it.

Is your feeder empty when you get there to fill it? Feed sitting inside a hot feeder without any way to vent the heat/moisture out will get brown bugs inside it. The bugs will cause the feed around the edges and bottom of feeder to get powdery and after a while it will bridge up around the sides due to lack of flow. Feed with to many fines/dust will do the same and bridge up around the sides. I would try to vent that feeder somehow and make sure it empties completely every 4-6 months. Venting is simple on their feeders and their lid has a lip. Take the lid off and I would take 2 self taping metal screws and screw them on the top lip of the feeder hopper. Put 2 on each side for 8 total. They will be short enough to allow the lid to still overlap to keep moisture out but allow the heat build up inside to vent out. When putting feed in the feeder on top of older feed, I would suggest putting in one bag of fresh and take a shovel and mix in the new with old feed. None of this will help much with your Anthrax problems this year but maybe in the future it will help ward off any problems.