Fermented feed feeder

[hennible]

@Vian
How's the seal around the pipe/feed port?
Totally forgot ( none of this has been very scientific, I really should have made a few notes ) but when my seals are poor, broken, or wearing out, the feeders don't work as well. Sorry should have thought of that sooner...

 

[jbkirk]

Um maybe this has already been asked but does this feeder work with dryer fermented feed?

 

[hennible]

Not well
I'd say what works in the feeder is wetter than most people make theirs...

 

[cpchicks]

Does anyone have one of these feeders that is working successfully? I'm going to be leaving for a week and made one hoping it would make it easier for my husband to do the chicken chores. Its only been a few days but the elbow is always full of liquid and the fermented feed inside the bucket is getting gradually dryer/thicker. The birds ignore the liquid in the elbow until I pour some scratch in it but the next time I look it's liquid again. Is there a solution?

 

[hennible]

I still haven't got it working right... Atm I only have two chickens (long story) and I'm not currently fermenting. I never got it any easier than adding water and stirring every few days. I'd still like to work on it but I just can't find a solution.
The seals broke on all my feeders, and I ended up doing it bee kissed way and -face palm- it was stupid easy like she always said. I filled a Rubbermaid with feed and water, didn't stir and kept the bucket in the pen, filled the bowl once a day... Mine also had access to dry feed, personal choice. A while back COchicks mentioned another design, just like the typical no waste dry feed feeder, I'm starting to think that's the way to go, with a dryer feed, like what most people seem to make (so no water to pool, and no place for it to pool)
So no I don't think anyone has a working bulk feeder for FF at the moment...

 

[TeaChick]

I do fermented feed in a five-gallon bucket sitting on my back porch. I put de-chlorinated water in with some mixed grains (no corn or soy). Then every evening, I use a litter scooper to toss several scoops out to my chickens.
I'm confused. Are you fermenting in the buckets in your coops or are you fermenting and then adding the FF to the feeders?

 

[hennible]

I was fermenting in the feeder in the coop. But after my last two feeders broke I was fermenting in a Rubbermaid tote in the coop and just dishing it out once or twice a day. The feeder needs to be stir free, (because stirring is a lot like work) that I can see now... As well as able to handle thicker feed...

 

[TeaChick]

I was fermenting in the feeder in the coop. But after my last two feeders broke I was fermenting in a Rubbermaid tote in the coop and just dishing it out once or twice a day. The feeder needs to be stir free, (because stirring is a lot like work) that I can see now... As well as able to handle thicker feed...

Great avi!!!
I wouldn't mind stirring...oh, are you saying that stirring contributed to the seal not holding?
Handling thicker feed might be achieved by using a larger pipe? or one with a more obtuse bend?

 

[cpchicks]

This is what my feeder looked like this morning. Usually more liquid than that in the elbow. As you can see it has been overflowing into the dish below. I think as the amount of liquid in the feed decreases the ff won't flow into the elbow but I'll give it a couple more days to see what happens.

As you can see the ff inside the feeder is getting quite thick.
So far I don't see an advantage over scooping some out of a bucket but I don't give up easily so I'm giving it more time.

 

[hennible]

I'm started seeing the advantage of scooping into a dish over the feeder, but if the feeder needed no stirring it would be equal if not easier (because you could leave the birds and keep feeding FF) it's so strange, it worked very well at first (stirring once a day) I'm not sure which change impacted its function the most... Leaky seal, temperature...
Stirring probably aided in the seals breaking. But with the "good old way" you don't need to stir anything, in my feeder you sure have to stir... There are bulk feeders for pig slop... Wonder how they work...