Keeping food in feeder?

[LoneOak]

I agree with jetdog above, the 5 gal bucket feeders with 90 degree elbows work great. There are a couple topics about them here that show you how to build one or do a YouTube search for chicken feeders.

 

[enola]

Could someone post the link on how to make this buckrt feeder.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Could someone post the link on how to make this buckrt feeder.

 

[enola]

Thanks

 

[chickenluver555]

I will try raising it! Thanks for everyones help. I don't think I have a moisture problem, because the feeder is above concrete, instead of bedding. It could be that they get rowdy in their coop, and want to be let out to free range. Though I don't always have time to put them in their outdoor pen all the time. Now that I have solved the feed problem, I have a new one. One of my hens stopped laying! Ugh!

 

[jimmywalt]

Try making one of the bucket feeders, 5gallon bucket with two 90degree elbows you could put 3 but the idea is they can't fling the food out as they have to stick their heads in the elbow, put a little food on the edges of the elbow mine were eating in less than 5 minutes and it holds a month worth of food for my 4 girls.

Jetdog you beat me to the punch............. And the credit for this invention goes to you! You need to put a patent on this! It's PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To the original poster................. If you make this feeder I can 99.9% guarantee that you won't have ANY wasted food or food on the floor!

You can purchase the 5 gallon bucket at a home improvement store for a couple bucks, or if you're cheap like me, you can stop by your mom & pop hamburger restaurant and ask for an empty pickle bucket with lid.... Near me they give them away for free (I have about 20). You could even try the national hamburger chains too! The 90 degree elbow will cost under $3 bucks, so you can make it CHEAP!!! You'll never go back to the commercial feeders - Guaranteed!

I added an "extension" to the end of my elbow where they stick their heads in to prevent them from tossing food out. Works PERFECTLY. The 90 degree elbow is a 3". I have 5 chickens.

Below are some pics:

Raised by 3 bricks in the coop -








Weight inside (pic below) to hold elbow in place while caulk around inside and out was drying.



Picture from webcam inside coop - I can monitor if it's full or empty this way.

 

[the foot]

Keep the feeder high and always check for moisture getting to the feed. You may not know how it happens, but sometimes the feed gets wet. If that occurs, immediately change the feed out and try to determine the source of moisture. I don't mind my chickens spreading a little feed around. The important thing is to make sure you hang the feeder where the area below the feeder is free of moisture. Then you won't have a problem with the feed smelling bad.

 

[Gecko Chick]

Your problem isn't the same as mine--I had wild birds in the feeder and we were spending too much time dealing with them--but your solution might be the same. I purchased a couple of different feeders and found this one to be the best: http://www.chooketeria.com/Welcome.html. Wild birds can't get in and the food stays dry. You don't have to feed them multiple times a day, just once every couple of days. No rodents can get in, either. We've had it for 3 months and we love it. Took a little bit to get the girls to figure it out but they're fine with it. Good luck!

 

[eggsulli]

I've noticed that my flock tends to be very messy and wasteful if I feed them crumble, but when I switch to pellets there really isn't any waste. I have 4ea 5 gallon feeders hanging, and there really isn't any food that gets spilled, the few pellets that do fall out, are usually eaten right away.

 

[ruralgirl]

Are you feeding mash? Or crumbles? When I was new to chickens a quarter century ago, I fed mash which was constantly strewn out of my hanging feeders. It was like the girls were having a blast playing with the stuff instead of eating it! But as soon as I switched to a good sized crumble, the problem was 80% reduced. To further eliminate the behavior, I raised the feeder (as others have said) until I found the perfect height AND I closed the body-to-tray gap to its smallest size. If your feeder is like mine, the tray is suspended below the feed-containing cylinder by three wire hooky thingies which allow you three choices of gap depth. If the gap is too open, the hens can have a field day slinging slurry, but if it's closed up to its shortest depth, they'll have to work for it. Another advantage to crumbles is that it's easier for them to eat it off the ground when it does spill, as opposed to the mash which just mixed into my dirt floor.