Chicken feeders ...

[vsecretz]

I think that my chickens are used to eating their food off the ground which is fine with so long as the dirt is very dry and clean for the most part. We've had a few rainy days back to back here in MA which is weird for the month of October and its caused a little muddy situation but anyways ... I am trying to train my chickens to get used to eating from the feeder I purchased so that I do not have to keep running outside to feed them throughout the day.

I figured they would need to get used to eating from the feeder once I placed it into their coop but since a couple of days now, I'm really not sure that they've been eating from it as they should. When I do come out to check on them after work, they all gather to the gate and make it known that they want something. I checked the feeder today to see if they've eaten anything and they rarely touched anything. Is that normal for new feeding options other than what they seem to be used to? They didn't even really touch the pellets that were stragglers on the dirt near the feeder. I tried placing some down there to lead them to the rest of the food as a trail but I don't think they're buying it ... maybe at least for right now. Will they eventually eat from it?

 

[ProviderEx]

My day old(s) ate from the feeder as soon as I put the food in the feeder and sprinkled feed around it.

How old are your birds?

If you just put the feed on the ground they will spread it all around and you don't get a good idea of how much of it they actually consumed.


I'm no expert in the mater.

 

[vsecretz]

I have 5 hens which look full grown - unsure of their age as I inherited them from a previous owner. I also have 5 silkies. Some of them will eat a little from it but thinking that they will see others eat from it, I thought they'd all follow suit but not really.

 

[ProviderEx]

they will soon. no chicken will ever go hungry with food in sight.