Hanging feeder problem...feed wasn't being dispensed into tray.

[cmjust0]

So, I've got one of the 10lb plastic hanging feeders from TSC. Most of the time, it works fine.. Yesterday, however, I went down to the coop and found that the tray had been picked clean and it had probably 9lb of feed still in the hopper. I shook it a little and WHOOF...out came the feed. Chickens were clearly hungry, as they knocked each other out of the way and ate like greedy little pigs.

I figured that either the feed got a little humid and swelled, or I hung it a hair too high to where they couldn't really "chest bump" it and knock it around to make it dispense feed. Or, both perhaps.. Or I could be wrong on both counts, and it could be something totally different.

Has anybody else had this happen and figured out how to keep it from happening again?

I did drop it down a few chain links after I shook it, and I watched them eat for about 10 minutes or so to see if it would run out again.. The tray stayed full with 28 angry/hungry chicks knocking around on it. So...maybe it was just too high?

 

[Judy]

I use the same kind, it is humid here, and this has not happened to me, at least not yet....

I'd look at the feed closely to make sure there isn't a clump that somehow got wet. You certainly don't want them eating feed that has been wet and then sat around a while!

If it all looks good, maybe the lowering will solve the problem. Mine is low enough they can and do bump it, now that I think about it.

 

[Boondachs]

LOL I JUST got back in from shacking mine to let the feed drop....think its humidity along with the "dust" that builds up.

 

[cmjust0]

Quote:
The feed itself was clean and not wet...when I shook it, it dropped right down. Plus, like you, other folks apparently use these feeders successfully when it's humid. I can't help but think some enterprising company would have designed a better system by now if a little humidity was enough to render the good ol' hanging feeder useless.

That said, I think I'm with you here...I don't think it's humidity.

Quote:
If mine's the same way this evening, I'll take it down and clean it good to make sure it's slick, but lemme ask ya....

Is your feeder actually hanging, or do you have it elevated on bricks/blocks/wood/etc? And, if it is hanging, where is the lip in relation to the chickens? That is...shoulder high, where they peck downward at the feed?...or head high, where they basically can stretch a bit and peck at it?...or somewhere in between, perhaps?

What I'm trying to determine is whether this problem occurs more when the feeder is A) elevated on a fixed surface and/or B) placed closer to "head high." If so, it would lead me to believe that a hanging feeder is designed to be just that -- a hanging feeder...one that needs to be bumped and jostled occasionally to ensure proper feed delivery..

 

[Boondachs]

It's hanging.... it's ohhhhhh about 4 inches off the ground atm.... I have a large mix of chick sizes, some its head level with, some are leaning down for it.

 

[cmjust0]

Well, the feeder worked just fine yesterday after dropping it down an inch or so.. I really think the problem was that I had it too high and they weren't able to bump around on it, so the feed just kinda...stuck.