Any waste free feeder ideas??

[tornado8070]

The PVC works great. I have 3 of them and love them. I got 90 degree elbow, end cap and another short peice of pipe and glud them in an L shape. Then trimmed a hole in the top of the horizontal pipe for them to eat out of. This peice shouldn't be much longer than 16" or else the feed dont gravity flow out to the end cap, thus wasting a pipe that would be any longer. If you search this site correctly there was an old thread on this topic, thats were I got the idea from. Good luck.

 

[NanaLantana]

I built a rectangular one out of some plexiglass I had laying around - The one thing that makes it not waste feed is the chin guard. A little strip sticking out into the feed plate area - you know, the chickens always scratch the feed toward their chest with their beak - the little chin guard prevents the feed from exiting the feeder. Try attaching a piece of plastic to your existing feeder in this way, see if it helps. I used Cyano-Acrilate hobby glue. It sticks really well, but takes overnite to dry. Good luck!

 

[chasnkris]

We have the hanging 5 gallon bucket type and my chickens burn through it like CrAzY! I think I'm going to try the PVC corner pan type. I think I've seen it somewhere with a chicken wire topper put over the base so they can't toss it out with their beaks. That's what mine do, they throw it around while they sift through it. Very wasteful!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

THIS is a 100% waste-free feeder. I have two of Grandpa's feeders and the amount of money saved in my feed bill is unbelievable.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I have a tutorial about making the corner pan feeder.http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/05/my-pvc-chicken-feeder-diy-instructions.html

 

[BigECarter]

I'm happy with the feeder I made using the Chicken Chick's DIY instruction. I had too large a gap, which Kathy helped me troubleshoot.

I don't have wire like the last picture shows and my first batch of babies made a huge mess as they were able to stand in the feeder and rake it out with their feet. Problem went away when I switched to pellets. The second batch of babies aren't nearly as messy - maybe because they have to keep an eye out for the grown chickens or risk getting pecked.

Instead of storing the feed in the tube, we mounted a cooler outside the coop, using 45's to bring the PVC into the coop. Good idea except - coolers aren't very weather proof and we have to cover the cooler to keep the rain out. And, the same gaps that let rain in also let roaches and mice in. We dusted the cover and the area around the cooler with sevin dust and that took care of the problem. The raccoons haven't figured out how to get into the cooler yet, but they do occasionally leave us "presents" on top of the cooler's cover.

Also, the bottom of the cooler is flat so we have to take the feed into the tube when the feed gets low. To get the PVC into the coop at the correct height, the cooler ended up on the high side when emptying a 50# bag into it.

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[Beekissed]

There is a somewhat different school of thought on feeding that is finding favor in some camps. It may not be either practical nor something you wish to do, but it is ration feeding as opposed to free choice. The thought process is this. Feed what they will eat within an hour. It takes close management to find the amount required, kind of a Goldilocks thing. Not too little nor not too much.

Not everyone's cup of tea. Essentially, it was instigated to provide protection of feed loss due to rodents, but the principle apply to other situations. Just something to contemplate.

This is what I've been doing for years and there is zero waste and I lose none to rodents at night. It can hold enough for 4-5 days feed if I have to go on a trip as well, so it can hold bulk amounts of feed for situations like vacations.

I use as trough style feeder elevated to chest height and when I was feeding dry, it was wrapped in welded wire fencing to prevent scratching and shoveling through the feed, but now I feed fermented feeds I no longer need the wire covering. This trough costs a couple of dollars to make out of rain guttering and scrap 2x4s. Since I feed in meals, any feed that falls on the coop floor when I dish out feed is completely cleaned up within the day's time. Since the feed is wet, there is no powder residue left over in the feeder and every grain and speck is utilized, without flicking or waste.

 

[jimmywalt]

Guaranteed ABSOLUTELY NO WASTE or I'll give you your money back!!!!!!!!!! LOL!

This thing is priceless! Been using it for about 6 months. Plans came from JetDog. Hopefully he sees this thread and comments!

It only costs about $3 to build and you will NEVER EVER use any other feeder again! I promise.

Check out my thread at:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...te-5-gallon-25-feed-bucket-feeder-for-about-3

 

[Lil 2 U]

Lots of great ideas! Ive been meaning to build several of theses and have a bunch of the big pvc street elbows purchased but found it so hard to cut them the project was never fonished. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we wree using a standard galvanized feeder on the ground. Still havent hung it either but we did disover that if you dont mix your feed and only put in one type they dont scratch. So now i toss (or hand feed) the scratch grain, BOSS, and mealworms and put only the pellet feed in the feeder which results in almost no waste. I thought i was enticing them to eat more by making gormet mixes, but they just made a mess looking for the choice bits.