A FOOD/PELLET NIGHTMARE

[Welshies]

My feeder hangs though.

Could you not be willing to try it on the ground?

 

[RonP]

Quite some time ago I used a similar feeder with similar results, wasted feed on floor.

What I later realized was that I had a squirrel problem also...

 

[Fairview01]

Are you mixing something more attractive with the pellets. Chickens will sort through their feed to get to the good stuff like scratch grains or cracked corn. I feed pellets and have never had a problem with waste. Right now a bag of pellets last 7-9 days depending the quantity of kitchen scraps available. When I was feeding mash I couldn't get but half that many days out of a 50lb bag of feed.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Honestly if they liked the old food and made less of a mess with it, maybe just switch back?

Only other thing I could think of would be rodents stashing the food, but they would be unlikely to hide it under the shavings inside the coop. I did have a rat stashing food under my eggbox though.

 

[Welshies]

Honestly if they liked the old food and made less of a mess with it, maybe just switch back?

Only other thing I could think of would be rodents stashing the food, but they would be unlikely to hide it under the shavings inside the coop. I did have a rat stashing food under my eggbox though.

16% is not enough protein. That is the bare minimum.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The extra protein can be supplemented. Mine get 16% pellets all day and 17% fermented mash in the mornings. So barely above the minimum. No picking or feather/egg eating issues. Obviously they devour all the bugs they can find!

 

[Circle D Enterprises]

My feeder hangs though.

I currently have a hanging feeder (22#) in one of my houses. I do not have fancy coops, just plain old houses that I've put floors in. Anyway, I currently have that same problem with waste. I have figured out (even without seeing it happen) what actually happens. With a hanging feeder it can swing and even tip when one or more chickens are eating out of one particular side. This causes and overbalance and can cause a few pellets at a time to spill out or be pulled out unintentionally by the chickens. Then over time, that ends up being a lot of waste. What I am going to do when I get the chance is to take and build a base out of scrap 2x4 and OSB (or one could even use plywood) big enough for it to sit on without tipping off. That will eliminate the waste problem. If you do this, measure the bottom where it just starts to curve, across the diameter. Then make a square box with 2x4 and if you use 7/16'' OSB for your top, that will be approximately 4'' off the floor. Or you could use the 2x4s laid flat and use the OSB nailed in several places to hold it together and that would be approximately 2'' off the floor. This is just an idea or two for you to consider. What you finally do will depend on your skills and materials available.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

My feeder hangs though.

You could very easily drill a hole in the rubber, plastic, whatever pan that's maybe 2 inches larger than the feeder. Then drill one in the bottom of the feeder and use a small nut and bolt to connect them. If you used a long bolt you could arrange for the catcher to hang a bit below.

Also, I usually stabilize my hanging feeders with a small bucket, upside down coffee can, whatever fits right to avoid spilling. Still hung up, but just setting on something to stabilize.

 

[Fairview01]

I currently have a hanging feeder (22#) in one of my houses. I do not have fancy coops, just plain old houses that I've put floors in. Anyway, I currently have that same problem with waste. I have figured out (even without seeing it happen) what actually happens. With a hanging feeder it can swing and even tip when one or more chickens are eating out of one particular side. This causes and overbalance and can cause a few pellets at a time to spill out or be pulled out unintentionally by the chickens. Then over time, that ends up being a lot of waste. What I am going to do when I get the chance is to take and build a base out of scrap 2x4 and OSB (or one could even use plywood) big enough for it to sit on without tipping off. That will eliminate the waste problem. If you do this, measure the bottom where it just starts to curve, across the diameter. Then make a square box with 2x4 and if you use 7/16'' OSB for your top, that will be approximately 4'' off the floor. Or you could use the 2x4s laid flat and use the OSB nailed in several places to hold it together and that would be approximately 2'' off the floor. This is just an idea or two for you to consider. What you finally do will depend on your skills and materials available.

I have a hanging gravity feeder also but have it set on a cinder block. I also had considerable waste when the feeder would get low and the feed would not flow out of the tower. They ended up pushing the feeder off the cinder block to get to the feed.

After the second time they dumped it, I went to HD and bought a brick and set it inside the tower. They aren't strong enough to push that.

 

[speedy2020]

Just give them a limit amount of food each day (1 handful for 2 birds). They will have no choice, but eat what available.