Food sticks in feeder

[arcatamarcia]

I'm feeding my chickens layer crumble in a bucket type feeder with a small plate at the bottom. I've hung it chicken back height so there's little waste. But the food won't drop down into the little plate. It gets stuck. Unless I go in every day and push it down into the tray, they would not be able to get at the food after they eat what's in the tray. I'm concerned that I should do this multiple times each day.

I'm not filling the bucket because I worried about the food getting stale. Could that be the issue?

What am I doing wrong?

 

[loverOFchickens]

Is it absorbing moisture somewhere along the way? That would be my best guess.

 

[KDK1]

Quote:
You can make a cone out of heavy cardboard (plastic is better) a couple of inches less in diameter than the bucket. Place inside the bucket and fill with feed. If you have a moisture problem, sprinkle a little DE in with the feed.

 

[Tenmore]

Mine did the same thing the crumble compacts to much and wont move on its own I had to go and twist and shake the feeder aswell> pellets work great!

 

[arcatamarcia]

The food is dry, but it is humid where I live, so that could be part of the problem. When I'm done with this bag of crumbles I'll switch to pellets. That sounds like it could be the solution. Thanks.

 

[stcroixusvi]

I have the same issue - thanks for asking...

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Be sure you make the transition slowly, chickens are visual eaters and will refuse to eat new things for a while.