Chicken Feeders

[codybird]

I use this one made from a bucket and have no waste.

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

The people that concern themselves with billions of chickens wasting feed (I am one of them) will tell you the two most important things are-

Do not frustrate the birds attempts to eat in a normal manner. The chicken (most specifically the hens) are designed to eat at foot level. Not up so high that it is uncomfortable for them to eat. If you notice - in these cases the bird bills out the feed and then eats it off the floor. On the other side of the coin the feed can not be so low that the bird can practice another time honored chicken habit - scratching the feed out to pick it up off the floor.

The other common problem is known in the poultry industry as "high grading". That is when a bird searches through the feed for particles that she prefers. This preference can be based on size, color or texture. Makes no differernce - they waste feed and screw up the nutritional balance. This is why pelleted or crumbled feeds are much prefered.

Think about one pound of feed being wasted out of each bag of feed. That is 2%. If the feed costs you $0.25 a pound you will have paid for a $20.00 feeder that does not waste that feed in 16,000 hen days. Or about two years of utilization for 25 birds. Pretty good return on investment seeing as how I am still using feeders that my Grandmother had. She died in 1963.

The most expesive feeder you can have is one that sits in a pile of wasted feed.

 

[howard]

I love this forum :>)

I just built a feeder out of a 5 gal. paint bucket.
Drilled 11 one inch holes around the bottom side of the bucket...
To make sure the feed all comes out as it is eaten, I built a cone out of a piece of tin that fits in the bottom.
I drew a circle on the tin using the bucket lid as a pattern, cut it out then cut half way into the circle, and overlapped it to make the cone fit into the bottom of the bucket.
Once I got it fitted I marked the overlap with a pencil then removed it and clamped together with a pair of vice grips and drilled 3 small holes for sheet metal screws.

Cost "0" dollars... can't beat that !!!

 

[stormylady]

I know this wont help much but i just use a kitty litter box and a short tupperware tote with the tops off and let them do their thing. They all seem happy and healthy with it. And when there outside in the run I just sprinkle it on the ground and they have a long fun filled day of pecking at the ground. It really won't save you any money but the girls are happy. Sandy

 

[Fowl Visions]

Quote:
Here ya go.

does anyone still have pictures of these?

I have pics on a blog post of this feeder that came from Laura...
Homemade Chicken Feeder #2

 

[mahalo4]

simple yet elegant LOL!!

 

[jockey1975]

Quote:
I have this same type of feeder and was having the same problems, then I put a round galvanized pan under each feeder and it catches most of the feed. Every once in a while I have to clean the pan out, but I have seen the hens eating from the pan and now some won't touch the feeder and only eat from the pan. It cut down on my waste tremendously.

 

[Kaugomu]

Quote:
Could I get a bit more info on how this was made. Is the bottom two differant buckets or did you just paint the clear plastic the dark green? Thanks!

 

[KDK1]

This is one I built. It holds about 65# but you can build it as big or small as you want. I have had zero waste since building it. It is installed about 8" off the floor and the holes prevent scratchig and billing out.

 

[aandkmiller]

What are your dimensions?