Help - Chickens wasting feed!

[WestVermont]

Thanks, I'm Cheeep! I Built just about all my set up with re-purposed stuff.

It's not being cheap...it's being resourceful and not wasting money... would love to see pics of your resourceful coop... if you are willing to share your ideals with us or me.

 

[gabrielle1976]

I will be going thru and reading this as well . Seems like between the chickens and the quail digging and flinging and my son wanting to play in the food and feed the birds when there out playing ect I go thru probly 25% more feed then they actually eat.

 

[WestVermont]

Allow your son the chore of filing feed.. I do this with my 3 yr old (as long as the birds are friendly and don't attack him). If he does not follow directions or messes around make him stop and skip a feeding or two if he is like my son it will get him to do it as you tell him and you both will enjoy this chore and learn care and compassion for the flock.

As for your chickens I hope that someone hear gave you just the right advice and your issue improves or is solved.

 

[debir1966]

Update:

Since switching to the old metal gravity feeder and pellets, we are having alot less waste! However, when we were feeding out the last of the ground mash, they were wasting just as much as they were in the other feeders. I have noticed, also, that the pellets are turning into powder in the bottom of the feeder, I don't know if this is because of them breaking them up when they are eating or what. I may try crumbles next bag and see if there is any difference.



You can see the powdery stuff in the base of the feeder - this is 100% pellets! They do seem to still be eating it just fine, though I can't imagine eating such a fine food myself (would seem hard to eat).



You can see there is very little waste! No piles of food on the floor, and just a little around the feeder. I am still considering designing my own where they would have to stick their head INTO the feeder to access food, diminishing the problem of "flick waste" which seems to be only waste issue we are having with the pellets.

If I can get another feeder working, I still want to change back to the mill grind non-GMO feed... for one it is cheaper ($16.00 a bag for non-GMO vs $20.00 a bag for the Layena Pellets), and for another I prefer it personally because of our decision to try an limit GMO in our, and our livestocks, diet.

 

[popsicle]

Update:

I have noticed, also, that the pellets are turning into powder in the bottom of the feeder, I don't know if this is because of them breaking them up when they are eating or what. I may try crumbles next bag and see if there is any difference.

I don't think you will see much difference with crumbles, except perhaps more powder. I feed pellets and usually at the bottom of the bag, and eventually at the bottom of the feeder there is some powder. I generally assume this is stuff that breaks off the ends of the pellets as the bag is moved around, and as the pellets a moved around in storage/feeders/ect. I've had much less waste (from bird-mess and powder) since switching from crumbles to pellets. I also would prefer to feed the local organic feed, but am also still working on figuring out how to get them to eat the complete-balanced ration rather than picking out the best parts.

 

[debir1966]

how to get them to eat the complete-balanced ration rather than picking out the best parts.

That was my problem also popsicle! With the pellets, there is no yummy parts to pick through so the little bit of waste we are still seeing is from flicking the food when they eat. This spring (when there is not a foot of snow on the ground the the temp is warmer than 25 degrees) I am going to have my husband try and make a feeder using a five galon bucket with a pvc pipe in it. We will cut oval holes (probaby 4?) around the bottom of the bucket, at least 3 or 4 inches from the bottom, just big enough for the chicken to comfortably put their head in and out. The pvc pipe will be the gravity feeder part. I am hoping that by them being in a semi-enclosed area to eat, there will be less flick waste and they won't be able to pick through it as easily. We will see LOL, I will post pics and updates when we do it.

I got this idea from a post on here with a simular home-made feeder.

 

[jeffmaggie]

Try this. Very easy to make and saves 80%

 

[jeffmaggie]

This is something that I came up about a month ago to solve my anxiety regarding the epic waste of feed that is "normal" for chicken feeding. I was going through a large feeder every other day. Most of it ended up in the dirt, and the chickens didn't seem too eager to eat it. Rather, they'd act all hungry and trick me into filling the feeder.
So after months of seeing all this waste money fall on the floor and morph into dirt, I came up with this idea of a gravity feeder system. It's not only efficient because everything gets sent back up top, but it's incredibly clean too. Not a spec of feed on the floor. EVERYTHING goes into the collection receptacle.
It works via gravity. Place the source on top of a wire mesh screen floor, that sits over a funnel, which sits over a collection container.
I'm not trying to sell anything and I don't have any plans, just done from my head, but you will get the idea and be able to make your own. Please check out the link to several of my chicken videos on this topic. Thanks, Jeff
I've made 4 video variations so far.
DIY Zero Waste Bulk Gravity Chicken Feeder/Waterer Saves Money $$$

DIY "No-Waste" Gravity Chicken Feeder - SAVES $$$ MONEY

DIY ZERO-WASTE GRAVITY CHICKEN FEEDER!!!

DIY Bulk Gravity Chicken Feeder Recycles All Food - Zero Waste!!!

 

[debir1966]

thanks jeffmaggie! Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this thread.

We changed to pellets and the waste pretty much ended. They are cleaning up anything that gets flicked to the floor (we also played with feeder heights, etc) and I am having very very little waste.

What I did discover is that this year I raised our meat turkeys separate from our chickens - and they waste! They waste terrifically so I think that most of the waste was coming from the turkeys, not the chickens.

I have not switched back to the mash feed for the chickens yet, however, to test this theory, but I am planning on doing so next year as I would like to start feeding the private mill non-GMO feed again!

I will let everyone know what happens. I like jeffmaggie's design and may have my husband build me something like that as well as trying my original idea of the bucket with the head holes cut into it.

 

[Shabana]

Yup was having the same problems in the beginning

My feeder is a smaller version of the above mentioned home made one with the large deep pan bolted to the bottom, the trick is to have the pan deep enough and large enough so they don't bill it out.

In one of my other pens I use a really large plant pot water catcher which is also deep enough and stand the feeder in the middle. Every time I fill the feeder I tip the billed food from the pan back in so no waste at all.

In addition to this, during the winter I give them warm oats/layer pellets/left overs in washing up bowls.
I also use the rubber feed bowls for water during the winter as they are easy to get ice out of them and saves my nice waterers from potentially cracking. To save money
though washing up bowls from the pound shop are ideal

Good luck x