Hanging feeders?

[docdubz]

So I was having a pain getting my chickens to accept food from a metal hanging feeder. Theyve finally stopped being afraid of it but now I'm having a different problem entirely. As they eat their feed they consume what is in the little trough around the feeder but then no more falls into place for them and I have to physically go in and push it from the top. Im feeding crumbles and it's just sitting in a 10lb pile in the middle of the feeder. I've tried hanging it so that one side is lower than the other, I've tried piling the feed so that it's piled up against the walls rather than toward the center. I don't see any obvious deformities on the feeder that would stop it from letting feed out.

Is this a common problem with this type of feeder? It's one of the 15lb open top hanging feeders.

 

[David Barkey]

It doesn't seem to fall down naturally even with it set at the lowest hole. Originally I put mine at the higher one thinking it would help control the spillage but hardly anything fell through so I used the lowest. It's not terrible, but I do have to give it a good shake every couple of days to make sure it's coming into the tray.

Does it have a cone in the bottom of it or flat bottom ? Crumb consists of different size particles that will pack under the weight of the feed above . A flat bottom will cause the feed to lock up and not flow as well if not pellets . If it is flat bottom try sticking a upside down funnel (put piece of tape over the tip and refill . Hope this helps .
Dave

 

[David Barkey]

It's kind of a cone bottom. Not a steep one but enough that it should fall. I really don't get it and up until reading this thread, I just assumed it was because I don't hang mine (I have it sitting on a few stacked bricks) but obviously people who hang the same one have the same problem. It's not a huge problem because I'm in there several times a day anyway so I just give it a shake when I notice but it definitely should fall down on its own.

Put a steeper cone in it and hang it . Hanging will allow the chickens to "shake it" for you as they peck away at the food . Since I started with chicken and ducks this year I made my own feeders and waters . I have worked and reworked them several times to get the bugs out and these are some things I have found . Crumb will lock up if given a flat surface to land on . The more weight you have the worse it is (the fuller it is ). Hanging helps with critters and allow for a rain hat to be installed above the feeder on the chain (an old garbage can lid works great for this) .

 

[K0k0shka]

I had the same problem with the metal feeder. What was a bigger problem though (and the final nail in that feeder's coffin) was that the chickens started raking the food out with their beaks and onto the floor, wasting an enormous amount of feed. So I gave up on this type of feeder altogether (plastic might help with dispensing, but they can still rake it out and waste the feed). I tried the PVC elbow feeder next, but that didn't help - they raked food out of it, too. What ultimately worked, and what I still have and am very happy with, is aart's no-waste funnel feeder.

 

[Punkybrewster]

If you look on the side of the metal feeder near where the feed comes out into the tray, you will see adjusters to allow the feed to come down.

Is this the issue you are having?

 

[21hens-incharge]

I wonder if it isn't dispensing because of high humidity or feed getting damp.

 

[DMOTS]

Wow. This is interesting. I made hanging feeders out of 4" pic pipe and reduced it to 2" with 2 - 22.5* elbows and a small extension to keep them from scraping it out on the ground. It worked great but they still ate a lot. (20 Chickens) I made a custom feeder that holds 400LBS of food with the same concept of pipe combo's and I won't have to fill it up for 4 to 6 months. I'll take some pics and post them next time i'm out here.

 

[docdubz]

I have the same problem with mine and I don't even hang it. I have it sitting on a few bricks just on the ground and I was thinking maybe it happened because it's not hanging. I guess it's not worth it for me to hang it just to see if that helps.

At first I was not hanging mine. It seems to work slightly better when it is hanging but not enough to make it worth hanging it.

 

[SnootyHen]

If you look on the side of the metal feeder near where the feed comes out into the tray, you will see adjusters to allow the feed to come down.

Is this the issue you are having?

View attachment 2351831

It doesn't seem to fall down naturally even with it set at the lowest hole. Originally I put mine at the higher one thinking it would help control the spillage but hardly anything fell through so I used the lowest. It's not terrible, but I do have to give it a good shake every couple of days to make sure it's coming into the tray.

 

[Punkybrewster]

Yes. Its pretty normal needing a shake once in a while.
You may need to play around with the hanging height. I find if they are able to peck at the inside rim where it falls into the tray, they naturally jostle it on their own.