Are you talking chicks or chickens? I really like my big hanging feeder that is underneath the coop itself. Works like a charm and a lot less waste since it is situated about 10 inches off the ground and not exposed to the weather elements. My full grown chickens can't get in it to scratch.
If they are babies I don't have a solution. Sorry.
K
My hens feeder I placed inside a dish with 4 inch sides. They push food out, then it goes into the other dish. The 4 inch deep dish I empty back into the chicken feeder every few days. Since I started doing this they waste almost no feed.
I have an old wooden feeder that has a trough at the bottom. The chickens have to stick their heads into the trough to get any feed, it's too tall for them to stick their feet in it and scatter it all over. So far they haven't wasted any feed at all.
I made a feeder and it works great! I saw it on the web somewhere?
If you use the square bucket that kitty litter comes in, you just drill holes near the bottom of two sides (opposite each other) I made them about 1" triangle. And then put the bucket on a baking dish (you can screw it on there) I used a cookie sheet that was 11x16? & mounted it so the holes are on the longest side. I put it in the pen on top of a cement block. It holds a lot of feed -10lbs or so -so they can't knock it over!
They do poke their beaks in if it starts to get low and it starts to flow again and it keeps them busy too!
I'll try to take a pic and post it tomorrow.
P.S.-it holds enough for a sleep away if the opportunity presents!
I tried a lot of things but, what works best for me is a simple large plastic dog bowl. They can't turn it over. The hanging type they just root feed out onto the floor for some odd reason.