Duck Feeder?

We keep feed out all the time but our ducks are excellent foragers so they don't spend their day in front of the feeder. We use them for our chickens too and they eat more than ducks but the only time there is a large group around the feeder is when they first come out of the coop in the morning. Once they fill their crops they go off to forage too.

I don't ever see the ducks crowded around the feeder but they seem to take a scoop and then step back to let another duck get some too. The chickens will take turns eating but one will stand there and keep the rest from eating until she has had her fill, then the next in line gets a turn. My husband will sometimes throw out feed on the ground to scatter them but I don't want the feed on the ground, that is why we have feeders. They all get their fill so they can work it out.

I want to make a smaller version for our Silkies because they don't go through as much feed either. We can cut the pipe into more sections and get more smaller feeders out of it that way but I like being able to fill them less often.

I like the commercial ones but there is some satisfaction in saving money and maximizing resources. Our feed costs are high enough already.

Great post, I've been looking for ideas as well. We've just moved our ducks to their pen/run and I'm looking for feeder ideas that won't let the ducks drop too much food everywhere and attract rodents. I saw this idea on Pinterest that seemed like it would help contain the food with the added bonus of being able to put the dropped food back in the feeder.

I use an oversized round hog pan for my ducks. All 6 could fit around it at the same time but they usually eat 3 at a time ( bonded groups within the flock). They dont spill or waste much at all. Someone almost always finds it and eats it. The only true wastage I have is the bits that get deposited in the waterer while they're dunking it.

We have about 20 chickens and had to start using treadle feeders because of mobs of starlings that steal the food from regular feeders. Now we have TWO DUCKS and the poor things don't understand the treadle at all. I've been putting out bowls of food for them next to a water dish, which they like just fine --- except the chickens seem to get there first and gobble a lot of the feed, plus the dang starlings are back in force. HELP!

The ducks have been here a month and have integrated very well with the chickens, and seem happy. No one is bullying anyone. We'd actually like to get a few more ducks -- but only if we can solve the feeder issue.

Also, our birds are housed in a large open yard with trees where they free range. It's not possible to cover it with netting!

Honestly, I just have a big black rubber bowl that I bought at the feed store, and my chickens and ducks rather eat out of that than our chicken feeder. We pushed it to the side of the run, and wedged it inbetween a couple of boards so it won't tip over. I didn't like the idea of my ducks having to use the chicken feeder, it was hard for them to scoop food up into their beaks.

So I thought I should follow up on this thread as I've had my girls for about two months now. And maybe it will help someone else out looking for a feeder solution.

At first I had one of those PVC gravity feeders that you see all over Pinterest. It didn't work at all. I was finding that the feed would get clogged so it wouldn't auto-fill. I also had an issue with mold from all the rain we get in central Florida. So that ish got thrown away with a quickness.

This is feeder number two (pics below). Also found on Pinterest but a friend of mine also uses the same system for her chickens. It's a 5-gallon water jug and a 5-gallon bucket. Total cost was about $10. The link to where I found this solution is below. It says chicken feeder, but it honestly works great for my ducks
http://toolmakingart.com/2008/06/10/chicken-feeders/

Now this is where my genius kicked in. I was still concerned about the rain making the food wet (the top of my duck's enclosure is just hardware cloth). While walking through lowes, I noticed some pretty large trash can lids and thought, "maybe I can use this as a cover for my feeder." And it actually works REALLY well. The only problem I found was that my curious ducks liked to knock the lid over and play in it. So, To get around this, I took some left over yellow chain, and suspended it from the top of the enclosure. So this is what the current set up looks like:

I really like these ideas! Thanks so much for sharing --- I think this will work well for my two ducks AND my big flock of chickens. Awesome!

Duck Drover said:

We make our own feeders like the second one by cutting a 12 foot pipe into three 4' sections. We put a cap on top, a wye on the bottom, and a grated plug in the bottom of the wye to let any moisture and/or feed dust out the bottom (you could use a solid plug if you prefer). The ducks eat out of the angled wye andcwe can keep them filled since they are gravity feeders. We use them for our chickens too. My husband also added a rain guard over the wye with a piece of plexiglass with a 4" hole cut into it so it goes down over the pipe. Then we attach it to a fence, tree, or coop to keep it upright.

Click to expand...

I’m also looking for ideas do you have a picture of your feeder, would you mind posting it if possible

https://www.amazon.com/RentACoop-DIY-Port-Feeder-6/dp/B07D1B5MD8/

I have used these with great success, even my big fat turkey tom can get his head in for a sample.

The ducks love it because they can just shovel all the food they want without having to do all that pesky foraging.

I put 4 buckets with two opposing ports into a little square enclosure and close it up at night to keep rats out. The doors fold up to provide an awning while they eat, and it keeps the area *relatively* mud free. They hold about 15 lbs of feed each.

It works out to $23 per feeder with the $5 bucket and lid, and they are infinitely expandable as buckets are easy to come by.

1 port for each 5 or 8 ducks depending on if you're going to give them any other food sources.

I've had almost every type of duck eat out of them happily.