Feed Consumption Question, Vertical Feeder, Scratch and Peck Food

[Al Gerhart]

Hens are always going to sort through mixed grain feed for the goodies. It can be stopped with a deep treadle feeder but it needs a high front, and a 1/2" feed lip protruding horizontally into the feeder. Even then on a determined old biddie it might take some chicken wire laid over the feed to force her to peck instead of raking feed.
Feed consumption, a quarter pound per hen per day and ignore any roosters as they eat very little.

Good feeders pay for themselves in feed savings. Sounds like you are losing a half pound per day per hen of very expensive feed.

 

[trputman]

Hens are always going to sort through mixed grain feed for the goodies. It can be stopped with a deep treadle feeder but it needs a high front, and a 1/2" feed lip protruding horizontally into the feeder. Even then on a determined old biddie it might take some chicken wire laid over the feed to force her to peck instead of raking feed.
Feed consumption, a quarter pound per hen per day and ignore any roosters as they eat very little.

Good feeders pay for themselves in feed savings. Sounds like you are losing a half pound per day per hen of very expensive feed.

Thanks, Al! Do you have a specific treadle feeder that meets those specs in mind? Will look out for one.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I would Google something like chicken feeder reviews but be careful of the ones that have an affiliate link, that money is more important than the truth with a lot of these chicken sites. There is one site that has a bunch of reviews on treadle feeders and has page for each one and it has reviews on some gravity feeders as well. You will find it with those key words on Google. Just stay away from the ones that claim to have the "best treadle feeder", have three or four very different kinds of treadle feeders or just feeders, and have affiliate links for what they recommend. Pay close attention to negative reviews, those are the most important if you sort out the crazy ones, a lot of people don't deal with rats or feed waste and the initial reviews can be pretty good for those customers. The customers with a rodent or wild bird problem are the real test.

Good luck on your search.

 

[trputman]

Hi All-

Thanks for this helpful advice last month! We have slowly shifted them onto the Scratch and Peck pellet food and have been giving them fermented food daily (1 dry cup fermented for two days). This definitely seems to have helped.

One follow-up: periodically they are still very noisy. Sometimes it's when two are in the laying box and one is left running around (which is probably unavoidable). Occasionally it's inexplicable. Huh!

 

[3KillerBs]

Hi All-

Thanks for this helpful advice last month! We have slowly shifted them onto the Scratch and Peck pellet food and have been giving them fermented food daily (1 dry cup fermented for two days). This definitely seems to have helped.

One follow-up: periodically they are still very noisy. Sometimes it's when two are in the laying box and one is left running around (which is probably unavoidable). Occasionally it's inexplicable. Huh!

Chickens tend to be loud.

As long as it's not alarm screaming, I figure that -- just like with kids -- if they're making noise they're probably happy and healthy.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I had the time finally to go look at the link to that royal rooster feeder, $55.00, $10.00 short of what a real treadle feeder will start at. How do people like this sleep at nights? I guess you spend enough on marketing to bring in new customers and sell on private platforms to keep the bad reviews from showing up.

Shop around people! Google is your best friend before spending hard earned money.