How big of a feeder/waterer do I need?

[ajay]

How big of a waterer/feeder do I need for 4 chickens? The guy at the feed store recommended a 30 pound feeder, knowing that we might get two more chickens in the near future. How long would it take before I had to refill it again? My hubby designed & built a beautiful coop, but putting two of those giant round feeders in there is a slight issue. We thought about doing a pvc feeder, but I'm nervous it won't hold enough. I want it to be able to hold enough food for us to go camping for a few days without having to worry that the chickens are starving and thirsty.

TIA!

 

[abejita]

I have 6 chickens and a 12lb feeder. If I fill it all the way up, I can go 7 or 8 days before I need to refill.

 

[dianaross77]

Oh Lordy! 30lbs feeders. I have 8 chickens 4 LF and 4 bantams. My feeder holds 7lbs and I refill it everyother day. I would say a 10lbs feeder would suffice or 15lbs depended on how long you wanted it to last. My waterer is a one gallon and sometimes lasts that long, they usually knock it over first. If it were me, I'd get a 2 gallon waterer and a 10lbs feeder.

 

[ajay]

Oh my goodness. Looks like I got suckered. Thanks so much for your reply. I will be returning my giant ones and buy new ones somewhere else!

 

[Chick Charm]

Or maybe, think of how long you could extend your next camping trip!

 

[ajay]

Quote:

 

[BellevueOmlet]

I would go for the biggest feeder you can fit without taking up too much space. That will limit the time you spend feeding them and make sure they never run out of feed. Waterers are different depending on the type you use. If you use waterer cups, you can hook them to a 5 gallon bucket but if you use a hanging feeder, you must clean it out often so having a huge waterer is not as effective.

 

[speedy2020]

You can build your own 5gallon bucket waterer/feeder. It is cheap and can hold about 30lbs feed. The bucket nipple waterer probably last for month without poop. You can have few weeks vacation without worry....