Chicken Feeder

[Chooky1]

I am currently using a feeder to feed my chickens, should I wait until they finish what's already in the feeder. Or should I just top up that means I will be putting fresh feed on top of the old feed.

 

[gtaus]

I have a 5 gallon PVC feeder for my chickens. My new feed gets dumped on top of the old feed all the time, but the feeder is designed to have the chickens eat from the bottom. So, it's not a big deal for me.

If you have some kind of open feeder, then I would not put new feed on top of old feed. Either let the chickens eat all the old feed before refilling, or dump the old feed into a bucket, put in the new feed, and then dump the old feed from the bucket on top of the new feed. Assuming, of course, that the old feed is still good.

A picture of your feeder would be helpful, but, in general, I would not suggest putting new feed on top of old feed.

 

[RojoMarz]

I have both a Ratproof Feeder and a Hanging Feeder. I put new feed on top of the existing feed ever time I add more feed. I'm not sure I see an issue with putting new on top of old , assuming the chickens "eat" from the bottom. If they eat from a trough style feeder, maybe adding new on top of old would be a concern, if they never truly get to the bottom feed.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

FIFO - first in, first out. FIlling on top of a gravity feeder is generally fine - unless what's in there is already gone over, wet, moldy, whatever. Filling on top of a dish, bucket, gutter or other "feed of the top" method is generally to be avoided.

 

[Sally PB]

I have feed bowls, so they eat from the top. At the end of the day, I dump whatever is left into the "mash feed" bin and they get fresh the next morning. The mash feed is usually small bits that fall to the bottom of the bowl, and they don't like them anyway.

But add some water, stir, and voila! It's their favorite treat. Silly chickens.

 

[gtaus]

The mash feed is usually small bits that fall to the bottom of the bowl, and they don't like them anyway.

But add some water, stir, and voila! It's their favorite treat. Silly chickens.

That's a great idea. I wonder if it would work for my layer crumble feed that gets spilled out of my hanging feeder and on to the coop litter? It seems to me that the litter under the feeder is "soiled" with very fine feed pieces. I wonder if I could just sift out those bits and pieces of feed into a bin, add some water, then toss it to the chickens as treats?

Currently, those bits and pieces just get swept up and dumped into the chicken run when I clean out the coop. I figured whatever fine bits of feed were in the litter would also be good worm food outside in the run. It all gets mixed in the compost. But I like your idea of making treats out of those fines so much better. Chicken feed is not free, and I want to use as much of it as possible directly for the chickens.

 

[Sally PB]

Another great thing about "mash snack" is you can tailor it to the situation. If the weather is really hot, make it with cold water and stick it in the fridge for an hour. Make it with hot water in the winter. Also, if you want to give them some electrolytes (like save-a-chick) when it's really hot or cold, sprinkle that powder on and mix it in before you add water.

I've also made it with whey that I drain from yogurt. They like that too.

 

[Al Gerhart]

That's a great idea. I wonder if it would work for my layer crumble feed that gets spilled out of my hanging feeder and on to the coop litter? It seems to me that the litter under the feeder is "soiled" with very fine feed pieces. I wonder if I could just sift out those bits and pieces of feed into a bin, add some water, then toss it to the chickens as treats?

Currently, those bits and pieces just get swept up and dumped into the chicken run when I clean out the coop. I figured whatever fine bits of feed were in the litter would also be good worm food outside in the run. It all gets mixed in the compost. But I like your idea of making treats out of those fines so much better. Chicken feed is not free, and I want to use as much of it as possible directly for the chickens.

I'd be careful about sifting wasted feed unless there is some sort of pan to catch the raked feed to keep it out of the litter. Chickens live their life standing in their poo as it is, no need to add more feces into their diet and the salmonella and other bacteria. Most people have no clue as to how close chickens are to having their immune systems overwhelmed on a daily basis when kept confined or even sleeping in a coop.

You would be far better off if you focused on preventing the wasted feed. Any feeder needs a minimum of 1/2" width protruding lip, to the inside, on the feed bin and the sides need to be closed as well. Our testing showed that a carefully angled bottom causes the feed to flow out in almost a uniform layer due to gravity, keeping a uniform thickness until it piles up at the bottom. The distance of the treadle is crucial too, you want to stretch the average hen out so she is focused on standing on the treadle and can reach only the feed at the very bottom of the feed tray so the oldest feed is consumed and not buried under the incoming flow. Keeping this constant thickness of the flow of incoming feed is one reason that a feeder needs to be solidly attached to a wall or post and not rocking around when large hens jump on the treadle.

 

[gtaus]

You would be far better off if you focused on preventing the wasted feed.

That's what I did. I have a hanging PVC 5 gallon bucket feeder, but my new chickens were spilling more chicken feed than I was used to seeing. So, I have gone to giving them only a daily ration at a time, and there has been no spillage since then. I imagine I can go back to giving them half a bucket and see if they have changed their habits. A half bucket lasted 7-10 days in the past, but with the new chickens spilling out the feed I was only getting about 5 days. Anyways, a daily ration of feed has reduced the spillage for now.