Chick feeder design to ensure no spillage?

[Kitsune]

Ok, I'm looking for a design to ensure that no chick crumb gets spilled - I'm doing a final year project on chicks (see me, my chickens, my family for more info) and I need a way to accurately weigh the amount of food being consumed by the chicks - which means I need to make sure all the food disappearing from the feeder is going into chicks and not onto the floor!

Any ideas!?

All suggestions will be considered and trialed (if practical) with my last non study batch of chicks.

Thankyou!

 

[MissPrissy]

Keep the feeders raised up at least the height of their backs. They should only be able to reach in with their necks and eat comfortably. With young chicks there is always going to be some feed loss.

 

[Kitsune]

Thankyou - I guess as long as the feeders are the same for both groups it should be the same amount of feed loss...

 

[tenthingsfarm]

My cousin makes feeders from gallon plastic milk jugs. She cuts round holes in the sides, and they birds have to stick their heads in to eat. She mounts them on the wall for her full grown birds, (the top of the jug is cut like a 'flap' so it's easy to re-fill and you can just run a screw through the jug from the inside - no problem) but something similar might work for chicks if you placed it directly on the floor. You could even lay it sideways if it seems like it'd work better.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kitsune]

that's certainly a possibility - I'll have a go at making something! Thankyou

 

[sBrickmanHouse]

I have also seen people put pie tins and other shallow pans under their chick feeders, so that if any does get spilled, it's collected in the tin.

That might help, too.

 

[Kitsune]

I thought about that, but won't it get poop in too? - and shavings the amount chicks scrabble around!