Can you stop chickens from perching on feeders?

[Carwile Chicks]

Hi there! My husband designed two 5 gallon buckets into a waterer and a feeder. Is there anyway we can stop the chickens from perching and pooing On top of these items? Our chicken pen has ladders and roosting bars for the chicks to perch on.
I welcome any suggestions

 

[cmobley]

I've got a unused aluminum red light shroud on top of my 5 gallon bucket waterer right now. I got a new hen and that was her spot.

 

[Cecisflock]

you could put a cone shape on the top so they just fall off

 

[wordgirl]

You could also put a steep hinged board hanging over your feeder and waterer if they are up against a wall. It has to be steep enough that they can't balance on it.

 

[wordgirl]

I have a similar issue in my coop. I currently have a square of hardware cloth hanging at an angle over my waterer--it helps some, but unfortunately some of the hens still like to perch on it. I need to install something steeper and less grippy, like a steep board.

 

[Sheepheart]

Makin the top rounded so it is difficult to perch on can help or suspending it high enough that they can’t get on top of it

 

[Carwile Chicks]

you could put a cone shape on the top so they just fall off

That sounds easy enough. Thank you!

 

[Carwile Chicks]

Makin the top rounded so it is difficult to perch on can help or suspending it high enough that they can’t get on top of it

What are your suggestions for suspending 5 gallon buckets with feed & water?

 

[perkolator]

Is hanging it an option? Ours can’t perch on our feeder because it’s suspended from a chain that’s in the way. If it’s a 5-gal bucket I’d remove the plastic roller handle and put a kink in the center of handle for chain

 

[Ridgerunner]

My husband designed two 5 gallon buckets into a waterer and a feeder.

Just out of curiosity, do you mind showing what he did? This is how I made mine. Those holes are about 2-1/2" diameter.

Is there anyway we can stop the chickens from perching and pooing On top of these items?

I haven't had any problems with this. There is so little weight in it if they try to fly up they flip off, did not take them long to learn not to try that. Small chicks can fly up without tipping it.

I had a waterer made like this but sitting on a raised platform instead of hanging it. To keep them off the top I hung a one gallon plastic milk jug over it. If there was much wind it would blow the jug out of the way so it wasn't perfect but it was pretty effective. I did not like this design as a waterer so I went with something else.