Getting chick to use the feeder?

[ChickyChicky327]

One of our chicks is having a tough time transitioning from eating off the ground in the brooder to eating out of the red plastic feeder. She's just not interested. I have overfilled the feeder to where the food is practically spilling out the little holes. What else can I do to get her to use it? She's already kind of runty (at nine days old), so I don't want her missing meals. I feel like I'm going to have to break down and put a tupperware lid with some food on it for her in there. Help!

 

[tinkershell767]

How long has she been eating off the floor?

 

[tinkershell767]

You could try opening the lid and/or showing her with some of the other chicks that the food comes from the feeder.

 

[donrae]

Why can't she just eat off the floor? That's really much more instinctive for birds than eating out of a dish.

 

[ChickyChicky327]

Well, we changed over from paper towels to pine shavings, because they were continually scratching at the paper towels to get to the shavings anyway. So now, when I put their food either in a trough with the lid off (which we did for a week before putting the lid on) or on a flat surface, they just scratch it all over the place into the shavings. It seems like such a waste of food.

 

[donrae]

Mine clean up pretty much all that food on the floor while scratching around. If they're kicking too much out, raise the feeder some more.

When I clean out the brooder, I dump it in the run of the laying flock, so the hens clean up any spilled feed that's still in there.

 

[tinkershell767]

Mine clean up pretty much all that food on the floor while scratching around. If they're kicking too much out, raise the feeder some more. 

When I clean out the brooder, I dump it in the run of the laying flock, so the hens clean up any spilled feed that's still in there.

My family did that too. It really helps with wastage.