Best feeder to prevent waste??

I am trying to find a good feeder for about 15-20 chickens that won't waste too much. Since I am feeding organic this is super important for me. Any ideas from experience?

I like the conventional long feed tray, with the revolving bar on top. These can be bought in 4 and 6 foot length and will provide room for a bunch of hens to feed at one time. As far as waste, pellets eliminate waste as good as anything I've seen. I am presently feeding an old fashioned layer mash, which is locally ground and it is pretty much dry, coarse powder. However, by taking a bucket, putting in three scoops of feed, and adding a quart of water, stirring briefly with a stick, it turns into what is essentially moist crumbles. Weird or what? Anyhow, it is very inexpensive for great quality and that little step of adding a little water makes them incredibly waste free. That the hens love it is a bonus.

I use the big round metal feeders for the older birds. Works pretty good unless you fill them full, then they will climb in and start scattering it. I haven't really found anything for the younger ones that I really like so far. I thought about building something out of PVC, like a trough or something like that.

I made one out of a plastic oil pan ($1.79 @ KMart), a 3 gal. icing bucket, 3 - 2" pieces of PVC pipe and 3- 2 1/2" bolts. It works very well.

I put the bucket in the oil pan and drill 3 holes through both. Then put the bolts with a washer through the bottom of the oil pan. Put the PVC on the bolt then through the bottom of the bucket, then another washer and nut.

Then I take a utility knife and cut out about 2/3's of the bottom of the bucket, leaving it look sort of like a peace sign.

The height of the oil pan keeps them from scratching it out. There should only be about 3" open between the bucket and edge of the pan. I just set it on the ground, but you could hang it by the bucket handle.

I think it holds about 20# of feed, about 4 coffee cans full.

I was having trouble with wasted feed last year too. I was looking for large plastic plant saucers and couldn't find any. Then I saw the oil pans and came up with this. I think it works very well. I did have to replace 1 this winter when it froze to the ground and broke when I yanked it up, but for a $2 investment, I don't think that's bad.

I just put together a 3" PVC pipe feeder. It's amazing! I replicated one posted on here. It uses a Y connector at the bottom and does not have a trough like many of the others you will find posted on BYC. They do not waste a single crumble now and I can fit several days worth of feed into the feeder. I have seen some pics of people running the pipe to the outside so you don't even need to enter the coop to fill it.

See this pic (from the original poster) of the one I copied. For 20 chickens you will probably need a few of them. I have six 5 wk old chicks eating from one feeder. I will add one more as they get bigger.

db

I just made a pvc feeder and sawzawed a 2 inch slot in the top feeder section. It is big enough where their heads fit nicely but small enough where they dont try and scratch it out.

thats pretty cool CK, i have a small flock and just 2 would have suited me. May have to try this if i cant get mine to flow correctly..

edit...just saw your pics in the other thread.

i add water too to the pellets! they still waste tho.. if i put that mix on the ground they eat it, but in a dish they dont!
I am going to try the longer trough again, but before when i used it they didnt eat!
so thats when i started putting it on the ground. ugh guess they are fussy or scared of the silver trough?

Quote:
This is what I use in most of my coops/tractors. But I use a 4inch pipe that reduce down to 2 inches. Still uses the same parts at the bottom!

I always use hanging feeders hung at slightly higher than back height. I have little to no waste.