Going through the food

[underground chickenman]

I have 8 black sex links that are about 1.5 weeks old. They are going through a quart jar of food per day! Obviously, they are not eating that much, but still. They fling it everywhere. I had 25 last year and I didn't through this much food. Do I just have a particularly sloppy bunch of birds or a short memory from my experience a year ago?

BTW, I am currently using one of the round feeds that you screw a quart jar onto.

Thanks,

UGCM

 

[CrazyMomOf2]

I have 48 2 1/2 week old chicks and they have been going through 4 of those a day, sometimes more. I find the majority of it mixed in with their bedding. I did however catch them digging in their food and flinging it all over the place... which they proceeded to dust themselves in!

Don't worry... its not just you!

 

[Soaring Chicks]

Both of my hatches have been throwing food everywhere too.
We have the some type of feeder. What I started to doing is moving the food around and letting them scratch at the food spilled out. Thay have been cleaning up after thier selves fine since. Hope you can get something to work out for you as that did for us.

 

[mistyfeather]

i have 18 , i feed them with those long metal chick feeders that has the bar that goes down the middle of it. i only have to refill it every other day . they have two of them but they usualy only eat from one of them

the bar keeps them from scratching it all out and wasting it. they are almost 2 wks old.

 

[chauqg]

Raise the feed up to the level of their back, or a bit higher to keep chicks from throwing it around with their beaks. Worked for me with 25 birds.... When when you can switch to pellets that will also help, but I don't think you can get starter pellets. Good luck!

 

[felidaet]

Last year I started out using the round feeder with the quart jar and noticed them going through (wasting) a lot of feed. I switched to the long metal feeder and noticed significantly less wasted feed. This year I will start with the long metal feeder.

As was already suggested, raise the feeder to the height of their back. This should help too.

 

[Armageddon]

I started with long metal and found they wasted it...switched to the quart screw-on much better for me.....they don't waste food.....but they are eating 3-4 quarts of food a day.....probably more if I was home during the day......

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I favor the plastic reel-top feeders such as what I have pictured above. They can't get in and scratch the feed out once they're more than a few days old and they can't get on top of it to poop all over it so there is less cleaning.

Just be sure not to fill them more than two-thirds full. It won't entirely eliminate the feed waste, but you should be able to cut it down a lot from what you're dealing with now.

I've tried every type of chick feeder I can find and have never been able to entirely eliminate feed waste. Cut it down to a minimum yes, eliminate it completely, no.

.....Alan.

 

[write2caroline]

I have determined it is just impossible for them to eat and not scratch up a mess. I have a bit better luck with the feeder being up higher. The chicks however even insist on pooping in the food. They want to sit on the feeder. Some times I just give up and empty the old feed into the brooder and reclean and fill again.
Caroline

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

I was having the same problem I raised to level with their backs and they still did it so I placed on the bricks where the feed is a dish towel/paper towel under a pie pan with high sides now when they bill out it doesn't make it out of the pie pan and what does make it out the dish towel catchs it,then I just pick up the towel and place it into the pie pan they scratch and yet don't waste feed.