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[gtaus]

I added a tray underneath, most of the feed they spill is caught in the tray and they eat it up.

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I really like that setup. How high off the floor is your feeder bucket on top of those bricks?

I have my feeder bucket hanging from above so that the PVC port is about the level of the chickens' backs. There is very little spillage on the floor, but the chickens will eat that up as well, so it has never been an issue for me.

Your setup with the catch tray looks like an improvement over just hanging the bucket. Great idea.

I am really scratching my head on the report by @TexasBlues that there is a lot of waste with this PVC bucket feeder system. I hope there is something we can see in any pictures if posted. It just runs contra to my personal experience of over 4 years using this type of feeder.

 

[TooCheep]

I am really scratching my head on the report by @TooCheep that there is a lot of waste with this PVC bucket feeder system. I hope there is something we can see in any pictures if posted. It just runs contra to my personal experience of over 4 years using this type of feeder.

You might want to check your last two posts. Both @ references point to the wrong people.

 

[gtaus]

You might want to check your last two posts. Both @ references point to the wrong people.

Thanks. I think I got it corrected in editing.

First mistakes all year! ...not really.

 

[TexasBlues]

Here’s some pics. I have it sitting on a piece of plywood and you can see all the food the chickens have knocked out.

 

[TooCheep]

OK. I see the problem. I think it is a design problem with the kit. Under the right conditions, there is a fix is fairly easy.

Chickens love to flick around food looking for the best bits. They are naturally messy eaters. With this setup, they are using their beaks to scoop feed forward and wasting a good amount.

With these feeders, the inside hole is at the same level as the outside hole, making it easy to drag/flick feed out. With a PVC pipe setup, you would have about 1" of curve down before they could reach the feed, greatly reducing the waste.

Now about the fix. This will only work if your feeder is in an area that is protected from critters getting into your feeders at night. Looks like you have the feeder inside of hardware cloth protected area, so this might work for you.

Fix- The kit comes with feeder covers to protect them from night critters. If you don't need them, then you can use them for this purpose. You will need to use a saw to cut about a 1" tall semi-circle from the cover. Then you can fit the semi-circle at the bottom of the feeder hole and glue it in place. The result will look something like the following (please excuse the non-existent graphics skills). That bottom part will keep the feed from getting out and should stop the vast majority of the waste.

I would experiment with this. Just fix one hole at first. If too much food is still getting out, then you may need to adjust it to 1 1/4" or 1 1/2". I wouldn't get any higher than that because they still need to get their head in comfortably.

 

[TexasBlues]

My cutting skills are sloppy. This might work. The problem is the cover is very loose and will come right out. I’ll have to fix it with glue or something to keep in place.

 

[TooCheep]

I don't think that will work well. You don't want rough edges that can hurt their comb/wattles. I'd try another one and just do a straight cut to create a semi-circle. Use sandpaper or a file to smooth out the edge if needed. You should be able to get 2-3 semi-circles out of each cover.

 

[TexasBlues]

It’s actually very soft pliable rubber. It’s not the same material as the pvc fitting. Not hard at all, but I understand what you’re saying. I may need to work out a better solution.

 

[TooCheep]

I'd suggest using some Elmers or school glue for testing. It is water-soluble and you can soak the feeder unit if you need to remove it. Super glue would be best when you are comfortable with the setup.

Just to clarify: It looks like you are trying to keep the outside ring in place. That sounds good, but you might not have the tools to do a "pretty" job. It might be much easier to simply do a straight cut, including cutting through the ring. Count on the glue to hold the semi-circle in place.

 

[fuzzi]

I really like that setup. How high off the floor is your feeder bucket on top of those bricks?

I have my feeder bucket hanging from above so that the PVC port is about the level of the chickens' backs. There is very little spillage on the floor, but the chickens will eat that up as well, so it has never been an issue for me.

Your setup with the catch tray looks like an improvement over just hanging the bucket. Great idea.

Thanks!

I have a concrete block with two bricks side by side on top, then the tray on top of that. The bantams can reach inside to eat.

This is the same setup though with a different tray. It shows the approximate height of the feeder.