I can I prevent so much food waste?

[cmom]

 

[vermontgal]

With 4 birds @ 13-14 weeks, I am still just using my original metal mason-jar chick feeder, which has 8 openings. I am now using a larger jar from fruit juice instead of a mason jar. I put the base inside a disposable aluminum pie plate (from pre-made pie / pie crusts) and this catches the feed that they bill out. They do also eat out of the pie plate. It's not perfect, but it cuts down waste maybe 50%. I don't really have any plans to get them a bigger feeder; this seems like it will work fine.

 

[foxcrossing26]

Someone wrote: "my solution was to use 3 inch pvc pipe. two straight sections joined together to form an L by a third piece that can slip off. it has a cap on top. 4 holes were drilled in the bottom straight section about golf ball sized so the chickens could stick their heads in it. "

I like this idea -- I made a feeder from a 64-oz plastic juice jar and a plastic planter saucer, but my girls throw the feed out of the saucer onto the ground and waste a lot! Could I make this PVC feeder in a T shape and fasten a wire handle to the top so it could hang? I want a hanging feeder to help prevent the mice from raiding it. Although I dont know how much that helps -- I just moved a nest box last week and found a mouse nest underneath it! Yuk!!

 

[ChickaD]

Yeah, isn't it annoying to find out that we're handing out free lunches to rodents?

 

[chickenbike]

Hi and Wecome!

I use a 7lb baby pig feeder as well. Does yours have the adjustable slide plate in it?

In mine I can adjust how tall the opening is where the food slides through from the hopper portion to the tray area. When I had the height too high, the chickens did just as you described......scraping and throwing food out using their beaks. I had to adjust it a few times, but now it's at just the right width that they peck and dispense just enough food so there's about 1 cm of food in the bottom tray area at all times.

I have not had any more spillage since fine tuning the spacing.

 

[rebecca10782]

LOL Chickens are sooo messy! When I feed mine oatmeal while they are roosting, they fling it all over me. When they are done about half of the bowl is all over me.

 

[ChickaD]

I hear an oatmeal mask is supposed to be good for the complexion!

 

[lsherack]

What great idea's. My chickens waste so much, sounds like they all do if we let them. Thanks.

 

[ChickaD]

Isherack,

 

[brandywine]

In addition to the good suggestions on feeders here -- don't pick up after them.

Let the feeder go empty, and they WILL eat what they've billed onto the floor.

My girls are in the Clean Plate Club, because about once a week I let the feeder stand empty for several hours. They have access to acres of pasture, so they will not starve.

Since I use a deep litter system, I'm not "cleaning out" the coop and discarding their food. I seldom find any feed in the litter when I rake.

If the feed tray fills up with fines -- which are hard for the chickens to pick up -- I just dump 'em in a dog bowl, add water, and give them a wet mash. They act like it's this great treat I'm giving them, and polish it off in minutes.