Chicken Feeders

[bigchunguschicken]

Hello! What are some of the best chicken feeders that don't waste food. I have a trough feeder. Does that work? It seems like with my automatic chicken feeders that are just a bucket on a pan/dish, they just scratch the food out. Could I add something to that so they don't scratch the food out?

 

[bpoore04]

I just have 3 feeders from tractor supply. When they eat the food just flows down and not much if any gets wasted. They work really good and I don’t see anything wrong with them

 

[bigchunguschicken]

what level do you keep your feeder at

 

[Ebony Rose]

I have five chickens. I've tried the standard types of feeders, but ended up with a lot of waste and on some varieties, chickens with injured combs or wattles. I now use a large plastic garden bowl similar to the picture posted here; note the nearly flat bottom with ample contact with the ground and the rounded interior shape of the bowl. My flock hop in, kick the feed around a bit bouncing the feed off of the side of the bowl and back into the bowl. It's large enough and heavy enough that they don't tip the bowl over, even if they stand on the lip of the bowl. I've never had a problem with rats or other animals looking for a free meal with the exception of some wild doves... and as far as I'm concerned, the doves can eat as much as they like.
One tiny drawback is that the feed getting kicked about so much as they are literally standing in it as they feed daily, does tend to eventually get powdery, too powdery for my birds to enjoy. When that happens, I pull some aside for my quail who prefer it that way, and the rest I mix with water, yogurt, raw eggs or even mashed hard boiled eggs, or leftovers to pick up and hold the powdered feed and offer them this mix as a TREAT... and they gobble it right up.

 

[bpoore04]

what level do you keep your feeder at

I have 20 chickens and the feeders are elevated to where the bottom of the feeder is about at the top of their backs

 

[rosemarythyme]

I just use one of these types of plastic feeders, though mine is smaller. https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/11-lb-plastic-hanging-feeder.11170/

I have it elevated on a upside down flower pot. Since my chickens like their pellets, they typically don't scratch out much since there's no point in it.

 

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

I have a lot of luck with these. Just make sure to hang them high enough.

 

[mandelyn]

How many do you need to feed?

We made these, 4"PVC elbows, faced down into a galvanized garbage can. Buy feed, dump feed, done touching feed until next feed run. We also have wall mounted PVC tubes for pens without many birds.

We set the can in the middle of the pen, with 4 ports, one on each side. If a bird wants to guard an opening, it can't see the one on the other side and the submissive birds still have a spot to eat from.

A LOT less spillage/waste. They do a much better job at cleaning up whatever they do spill. Since they like to scratch and the feeder can't be scratched, they scratch in front of the port and clean up what they did toss out. We don't feed layer feed, so I also sprinkle oyster shell on the ground in front of each port.

The feed stays as fresh as it would in a can for storage, we let them eat it until empty, to avoid the potential for mold/fungus in the bottom from old feed. We aim to refresh it once every two weeks, based on how many birds are in the pen is if it gets a half bag or 2 full bags. It's good for either 25 pounds all the way up to 100 pounds.

We did one for the Turkeys too, propped up on 2 cinder blocks (next to each other) to account for their height. For chicks I use the hanging type plastic feeders, size based on age. The grow outs can't start using the PVC elbows until they're tall enough and their necks are long enough, around 12-14 weeks old.

 

[Alaskan]

How many do you need to feed?

We made these, 4"PVC elbows, faced down into a galvanized garbage can. Buy feed, dump feed, done touching feed until next feed run. We also have wall mounted PVC tubes for pens without many birds.

We set the can in the middle of the pen, with 4 ports, one on each side. If a bird wants to guard an opening, it can't see the one on the other side and the submissive birds still have a spot to eat from.

A LOT less spillage/waste. They do a much better job at cleaning up whatever they do spill. Since they like to scratch and the feeder can't be scratched, they scratch in front of the port and clean up what they did toss out. We don't feed layer feed, so I also sprinkle oyster shell on the ground in front of each port.

View attachment 1969106

The feed stays as fresh as it would in a can for storage, we let them eat it until empty, to avoid the potential for mold/fungus in the bottom from old feed. We aim to refresh it once every two weeks, based on how many birds are in the pen is if it gets a half bag or 2 full bags. It's good for either 25 pounds all the way up to 100 pounds.

We did one for the Turkeys too, propped up on 2 cinder blocks (next to each other) to account for their height. For chicks I use the hanging type plastic feeders, size based on age. The grow outs can't start using the PVC elbows until they're tall enough and their necks are long enough, around 12-14 weeks old.

I made the same sort, but with a plastic garbage can.

Excellent.

Mine don't scrape any feed out, but I put collars/pipe extenders on the ports that they were able to bill out of, and that fixed it.

 

[Acre4Me]

I have a lot of luck with these. Just make sure to hang them high enough.

this is the same feeder we use - maybe different brand bc ours is red/white. 2 parts, easy to clean, nothing to lose. Easy to see what’s in it. We hang it so feed tray is at back height. Little to no waste. Cheap to replace.