5 gallon feeder issues

[Mrs. K]

I generally feed each day. But I am going to be gone, and want to leave feed 24/7. So I used a 5 gallon bucket with the holes cut in the side fitted with the half cup deals for chickens to put their heads in to eat. So I set it up and there was a lot of feed spilled out in the first couple of days of use.

So I set it in a black rubber bowl with a 3.5 inch lip, which blocks the ports, SO I set a pan in the black rubber bowl, hung it from a board so it could not be tipped over...but now it is too high for my chicks that are being raised by a broody hen.

So now I am thinking, just set it back up on a piece of plywood, and just know that there will be waste while I am gone. Just how high should this be?

Mrs K

 

[thecatumbrella]

The one time I tried a port feeder, I also had a ton of waste. If you're asking what height to set the ports, I've seen someone place landscaping stones near a couple of the ports for smaller birds/chicks to use to reach the food.

 

[WingItRanch]

I would add a brick or something as a step so the littles can get to a couple of the ports without moving around your whole setup.

 

[FrostRanger]

Are you using pellets or crumbles? Port feeders do better with pellets. I set my ports maybe 3-4 inches from the bottom so they can still get to the feed on the bottom

 

[Mrs. K]

Good point, I am using crumbles.

Do you raise up the bucket or is it flat on the ground?

 

[FrostRanger]

Good point, I am using crumbles.

Do you raise up the bucket or is it flat on the ground?

I raise mine, but it's more for the birds' comfort than anything. I'll see if I can get you some pictures when I get home later

 

[Al Gerhart]

Those sorts of feeders have a niche use and for a time will work while wasting quite a bit of feed. In the long run though, the wasted feed will quickly pay for a quality feeder that doesn't invite rodents and wild birds and the large predators that survive on them to your coop.

Expecting a port feeder to not waste feed no matter the height it sets is a lesson in futility. Waste just goes with the design but for someone with chicks or poults unable to use a real feeder they will serve a purpose. It might be months or even years before the rodents find the buffet so bucket feeders are fine until they aren't. You are still paying for a real feeder without having one though.