home made chick feeders? any one got any?

[cluckin tractor]

i have ot a phrisbee upside down and a milk crate on top of that to keep the broody hens out with the chick feed inside the thrisbee. instinks have you know it i fill the frisbee to the brim and the chick gets in the middle and scratches half of it out

this is very wasteful and cannot think of any home made feeders to make for young chicks and able to keep the broody hen out

 

[chicky_mommy]

I haven't had this problem as I didn't keep my chicks with the broody hen past 2days, but my neighbor took one of those hanging metal bins you get for rabbits hung it inside an upside down milk crate and used that.

The crate lets in the chicks and not the hen, and the hanging feeder doesn't let them really get into the feed, of course this could backfire since some chicks wont eat if they can't scratch the feed...the other thing you might try is cutting the bottom off of a milk jug and not filling it all the way, of course you still have to put the milk crate over it to keep out your hen.

 

[cluckin tractor]

yer good suggestions might try it

 

[andalusn]

My feed store and other owners have always said that it was fine for the broody hen that hatched peeps to eat the same chick feed that they were eating since for her body condition she had been sitting on eggs for 3 weeks and more than likely had weight loss and the extra nutrients and protien would be good for her. I have a feeder that I hang just off the ground that is accessible for the chicks and momma hen too and just fill it and let it be. They can scratch the dirt but not make a mess of the feed in the feeder. Momma hens seem to be okay with this arrangement. I always offer some scratch on the ground and momma hen always shows the peeps the ropes and how to scratch and eat. It seems to work out.

 

[Marylizbet]

I copied the metal/plastic slide top feeders from the store. I took an egg carton, used the base, and cut holes from the top, and taped that onto the base. It worked pretty well. They stand on it and eat from it. Only problem with it is, the food goes onto the floor through some of the cracks. ~ Mary

 

[Christine21656]

I used what I had to make one, since I kept going to fleet farm and they were always out.
I had a small folgers container, drilled some bigger holes in it 1/2" probably. I think a little bigger would be better, but oh well. I hot glued it onto a plant suacer that is about 1" bigger on all sides. It works pretty good, and is nice that I can just open the top to put food in

 

[Noymira]

Quote:
That's a really smart idea!

 

[cluckin tractor]

yer ive got a bit of a metal lid for a continer and bight try that with the little holes in the container on top for the feed to get out

i normally feed the coccodi medicated feed and it says no laying hens should eat it