Chickens very messy with feed...suggestions for a feeder.

[Pleasantonchicks]

Hi there BYC people,

We are pretty new to chickens, we have three that are about 12wks old. Love this site and all the help from fellow chicken owners. Kind of a silly question but my chickens make a huge mess with their feed. I hung the feeder up recently but the feed is still all over the place. The bottom of the run is sand and I sift the poop and wasted feed out every other day. Does anyone have this problem? I posted a picture of our set up below any suggestions would be great.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Put smaller amounts of feed in the feeder, and stop cleaning up what is spilled.

When the feeder is empty, they will eat what's on the ground

 

[DDRLonghorns]

I don't know the answer to your question

but I love your coop! Nice setup.

 

[Pleasantonchicks]

Bear Foot Farm: Thank you for your response. Makes perfect sense, I am still learning...I feel a bit silly right now

DDR Longhorns: Thank you! We did the best we could with the little bit of room we have in California, someday I would love to have land!

 

[Haunted Chicken]

Glad you asked this, I'm having the same issue. I keep filling it back up

Oops! I felt bad making them eat it off the grass lol. Seems pretty obvious now

Edit : I meant to comment on your sweet set up. Very nice!!

 

[MammaBear]

I had the same problem. I had my feeder too low and they were scratching in it. I raised it up some and it stopped. If that is your feeder that I can see in the pen, maybe it is too high...??? Try changing your height and see it if it helps.

 

[Pleasantonchicks]

Quote:
Haunted Chicken: I felt bad about them eating the feed off the ground too...my husband looked at me like I was crazy and proceeded to remind me they are chickens...they don't mind eating things off the ground! Thanks for your kind comment about our set up

Mama Bear: Thank you for your input, I will try moving the feeder down a bit.

 

[Nicolette'sFarmette]

I have a 30lbs feeder that I also hang (love it because I only have to fill it about every three weeks or so). It is hanging about chest high....and there is honestly no wasted feed. I would agree with adjusting the height a bit. Great coop, by the way

 

[MammaBear]

Nicolette'sFarmette :

I have a 30lbs feeder that I also hang (love it because I only have to fill it about every three weeks or so). It is hanging about chest high....and there is honestly no wasted feed. I would agree with adjusting the height a bit. Great coop, by the way

How do they reach it???​

 

[Nicole01]

I asked the same question a while back. We ended up building the feeder in post 10. It's the BYC posters(KDK1)'s design and I have zero feed waste! It fits the entire 50# bag and the feeder is mounted outside the coop, with the tray inside. Not even a single morsel has spilled out. Here is the post. I'm very grateful KDK1 shared his idea with me. It's the best and most effictive feeder ever!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=535997