Chicks scattering feed!

[griswell]

How can we prevent this from happening? We have the kind of feeders that have the circular openings that you pour the feed into, then snap the lid on. If we fill it up at the beginning of the day, within an hour, they have thrown half the feed out of it and it falls between the wire mesh to the floor below. I can't scoop it back up and put it back in the feeder, because they have pooped on it by that point. By the end of the day, it's almost all thrown to the floor where they can't reach it. How can I keep them from scattering the food so much?

 

[LizGled628]

Put the feeder on a brick or something similar that will elevate it. Make it no higher than the tops of their back and they will be able to reach it just fine

Good luck!

 

[gritsar]

Raise your feeders. The feed trough should be at the height of your smallest chick or chicken's back. Same goes for the waterer. I start out with squares of 1" thick plywood for the feeders, adding more as they grow and then switch to bricks as the chicks grow. Right now the feeders/waterers for my 13 week old chicks are up on cinder blocks. We'll soon be hanging the feeder and using the same - height of the smallest chickens back - rule.

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

is that the rule for adult chickens also? what about ducks?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Don't know about ducks, but yes it goes for adult chickens too. In fact, raising the feeders and waterers is beneficial for the chickens. Chickens don't have the same swallowing mechanism we do. If you'll notice when a chicken drinks water from the ground they tilt their heads way back to swallow. Raising the feeder/waterer makes it easier for them to swallow and can prevent choking.

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

very interesting i have never thought about that since i know chickens would have to eat off the ground in the "wild" and such.. hmm very interesting!

 

[33yardbirds]

I screwed 2x4 blocks on the bottom of the same feeders, I tried the bricks but they would knock it off and even flip it.

 

[3chimama]

I use bricks for my water and hang my feeder.

 

[bundick]

If your the least bit crafty, you can put some kind of a Comb over that feeder so they can peck at the feed from between the spokes, but cant scratch in it.

One other thing you can do is suspend the Biddy coop over the normal chickens so they will eat what the Chicks dump.