Feeder ideas for 50 flock

[jaj121159]

I am going to be raising a flock of 50+ broilers. I'm thinking that bucket feeders without employing large numbers will not allow the birds to feed comfortably. As meat bird raisers know, as soon as you put the first feeder into the pen all heck breaks loose. I am looking for a solution that will spread out the feed without having to do it manually. Something like bunk feeders used to feed cattle in feedlots. I have search the feeder and water section, but what I have seen is mostly for laying flocks of 20 birds or less. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
how about a rain gutter feeder with PVC pipes hooked to it? like a 4-6 foot long gutter rigged with PVC pipes (3-4) draining into it Sheesh sounds good enough for me to try next time! yah Im going to try it!

 

[Crabella]

I've been thinking of doing something like that, but haven't figured out how to keep them from roosting on it and pooing in their feed. How are you addressing that issue?

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
cover them with some sort of tin at an angle so they cant grip it??

 

[buckeyejerseygiants]

We have 50 per tractor and use rain gutters on the sides (raised). No fancy system, we just dump the feed in through the wire on down the line. You're right about the circle feeders (even multiple of them) presenting problems when more than 20 want to eat at one time. The rain gutters have been the easiest solution for us and we have them attached so that they can be easily removed and rinsed if they do get dirty. We haven't had a big problem with them pooping in them, though. At about 5 weeks they're already too big to stand inside and they won't stand on the ledge. Up until then a few might stand in the feeder to eat, but they don't hang out there for long.

The gutters are also cheaper.

 

[SteveH]

I was going to add a hinged cover to stop them from climbing in plus lower all the way down if I want to close it for an on/off feed schedule , but decided instead to measure out the amount they get daily . As others have said , they don't stand on the sides and seldom climb in and stand to eat , at least after they get to a certain size . If you have tall fences and want to avoid the struggle of trying to walk among them to feed , you could always feed from the outside useing a plant watering can with the sprinkler head off . [CX cockeral and WLRC pullets at 17 weeks of age ]

I use this creep feeder to feed younger or smaller chickens in the same pen as the larger ones . The lid hinges to add feed to the rain gutter trough attached to the back wall .

 

[TimG]

You could also cut a hole in the fence about the same size as the gutter so that it could be filled from the outside and would be harder to get into from the inside.

If you're using 2" chicken wire, do you think it would work to put the gutter outside the fence? The chickens could stick their heads through to eat, you could fill it from the outside, and the chickens couldn't get in it or stand on it.

 

[nifftiness]

I just did the gutter thing the other day and love it! My husband had a funnel with a super long skinny end on it and i just put the end through the fence and can dump the food into ti moving it along the fence through the holes filling the gutter in the mornings. He got it at canadian tire i think or any automotive store probably has one of the funnels. Easy and works great and I dont have to go in the cage or cut any holes. Also We just got the plastic gutters and didnt even buy the clips, we just drilled a screw right to the pen. And I had the end caps on but prefer it without them on. My chickens havnt roosted in them at all and only a couple hop in to eat but dont pop in it and will be to big to get in their soon anyways!

 

[BigPeep]

I am planning on getting meat birds in the Spring and was going to construct chicken tractors out of livestock fencing, the kind where the horizontal wires are closer together at the bottom. I would think you could hang the gutter outside and they could stick their heads through. I also want them to forage a lot so I was just thinking of throwing the feed on the ground through the top as it will be moved every day so the feed won't get too dirty. I am concerned if I used feeders that they may not forage enough. Their main purpose will actually be to clear the ground for a later planting of a vegetable garden. Has anyone tried using the livestock fencing for tractors?

 

[jaku]

I think you'd be fine with a 5 gallon bucket feeder for 50 broilers. I do 75 at a time, and I give them a 5 gallon bucket, plus a 3 foot trough feeder in the morning. This helps with the crowding they do when first fed. When the trough feeder runs out, I don't refill it. They just work off of the bucket for the rest of the day. Try the bucket and see how it goes, then add a trough in the AM if need be.