Is a single-sided 12" trough large enough for 6 hens?

[Randall]

I'm building our hen house, and I'd like to mount a single feed
trough on the wall, with refill-access from the outside. I have
space for a trough that is 12" wide. I know this isn't wide enough
for all six hens to feed simultaneously. I've noticed that as
1-week-old chicks they do EVERYTHING simultaneously (oh look,
Lola's getting a drink! Let's all get a drink!)

Will this single feeder be sufficient? I'm not planning on a second
feeder in the run. They can just go back into the hen house and
get a bite!

Here's the sort of thing I'm considering:

 

[redoak]

It should work for 6 hens. My hens don't spend that long at the feeders. When they are the lower ranking hens on the pecking order don't eat, they wait until the other hens are done. Just make sure your feeders are always full.

 

[patandchickens]

You could probably get by with it if necessary, but bigger would really be better, so as not to worsen pecking-order issues. It is pretty easy to MAKE one of those yourself, out of wood (you can even convert an old drawer) and you could make it a bit wider.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Pye and Papa]

What a novel idea,being extremely new to chickens three weeks actually and 6 adopted chicks (2-3 mos. old) we are getting ready to build our coop. My husband brought up a good question how do you keep the outside vermin out of the feeder? a.k.a. mice weasels, and in my part of the country the list can go on. We have recently made the big mistake of housing them in my garden, well what used to be my garden. This to was my mistake,after searching for a good book on raising chickens I came across a book titled Chickens in the garden eggs in the kitchen,

first time I went just by title alone...won't do that again. Squirrels have come to the garden for the chickens feed,thank goodness they are not interested in chickens themselves.

Best of luck will be glad to hear how they did with the feeder.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
As with any kind of chicken feeder, the only way to verminproof it is to put it in a verminproof coop at night. (Weasels are very unlikely to eat chickenfood although of course they will eat *chickens*, but mice and rats and voles and squirrels and wild birds can run through a lot of food in a short time if you let them).

Some people keep their feeders outside, but either they don't have many rodents or wild birds coming into their run for various reasons, or they are just willing to tolerate the amount of loss.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat