Feed clumping in galvanized feeder

[kristenm1975]

I have a biig galvanized feeder that ought to keep my hens supplied with constant food for a week. Instead, the moisture in the air is apparently causing the food to clump at the bottom so that once the small amount of food in the tray has been eaten, that's all they have. The top of the feeder is covered and the feeder itself is under cover beneath the coop. I've tried switching feed but every kind available to me does the same thing. Am I missing something here? What do other people in damp environments do?

Thanks!

 

[Cowgirl71]

Are you feeding a pelleted feed, crumbles, or a mash?

 

[redsoxs]

I have had the same thing happen - worse with crumbles (which is sometimes little more than chicken feed dust) than with pellets. But with moisture - even humidity - they tend to clump. While my chickens seem to prefer their food loose, they will eat the clumped stuff once they realize I'm not coming out the door to feed them anything else! In fact, some folks actually moisten the mash and feed it to their birds warm in cold weather. So, this might be a case of what they'd prefer to eat rather than them not eating it. Good luck to you ad happy holidays!

 

[kristenm1975]

I'm currently feeding a mash although I've had the same results with either.

The trouble isn't that they won't eat. They'd dearly love to eat more, but the food has clumped at the bottom of the feeder (on the inside and therefore out of reach) and won't flow out properly to fill the tray. They peck as much as they can and every night I come out and use a stick to dig under the edge where the feed is stuck to move more into the tray. I hope that explains the trouble I'm having more clearly.