Latest Feeder - Took Ideas From Everywhere!

[BreanneRN]

Can you tell us exactly how many chickens you have eating from this? And are they standard size? Without knowing, 11 days doesn't tell us much... Wishing you well with your next project and thanks for sharing this.

 

[jlwquilter]

You are right of course! I forget not everyone knows my story - lol!

There are 18 laying hens and 1 rooster/cockerel using the feeder. They are all standard size except for one larger light Brahma.

I do feed fermented feed morning and evening and that would be feed they receive outside of the feeder. They also get treats. But the bulk of their food comes from the feeder and someone is almost always at it.

 

[BreanneRN]

You are right of course! I forget not everyone knows my story - lol!

There are 18 laying hens and 1 rooster/cockerel using the feeder. They are all standard size except for one larger light Brahma.

I do feed fermented feed morning and evening and that would be feed they receive outside of the feeder. They also get treats. But the bulk of their food comes from the feeder and someone is almost always at it.

Thanks, I appreciate the info, looks like it is going well, then. Do wonder how long with no fermented feed or treats, but I am thinking that wouldn't reduce it by much more than half the days...

 

[jlwquilter]

The feeder holds about 65 lbs of crumbles. So if you have a good idea how much feed your chickens go thru in X number of days you can calculate coverage that way.

My neighbor came over tonight to see our changes. Without so much as a fair thee well she opened the feeder bin and started scraping/smoothing the food out! OMG! We had a little talk about her not doing crap like that - she’s done this kind of thing on the past a few times. Grr. She’s doesn’t understand boundaries.

Tomorrow I’m going to look at the feeder and decide what to do to get some info out of the experiment. I was too pissed to do it tonight.

 

[jlwquilter]

I’ve decided to leave the feeder as is and see how long the feed lasts for my set up. I won’t get to see how the waterfall action plays out this time -grr- but I can do that experiment next time.

 

[Cryss]

 

[jlwquilter]

Really behind in posting an update - sorry!

This is at 3 weeks of usage.

One feeder tube has reached waterfall point that it won’t fill anymore

Interesting how there’s definitely preferred feed tubes. The back ones nearer the wall vs front ones near open areas are preferred.

This is from today at 3 1/2 weeks. The preferred tube is now virtually empty. You can see light thru it.

At this point we filled the feeder bin up. Mainly because we are leaving tomorrow for a weeks vacation. Otherwise I would have gone at least a few more days to see how the last tubes waterfalled (waterfelled?).

I’ve been feeding a lot of fermented feed so this hasn’t been a true experiment of how long the bin feed would last but it does give me peace of mind that the hens will have feed of some sort for at least a few weeks. My chicken sitter will not have to mess with the dry feed at all while I’m gone. And say something crazy happens and my sitter can’t come over for the week I know they have food. And with 2 5 gallon cup waterers that should get them thru a week if pressed.

I did check the remaining feed in the bin before refilling. It was dry and no sign of any mold or damp.

I’m still very pleased with how the feeder is working out.

 

[BlueBaby]

Now if only you could design a good waterer that would last this long. We could just fill them up and go on a vacation, huh?

 

[jlwquilter]

Now if only you could design a good waterer that would last this long. We could just fill them up and go on a vacation, huh?

I’m going to work on that! Probably start really researching the toilet float valve solutions some people use.

After that it will be egg collecting- lol! I get 13-17 eggs a day from 18 hens. I have plenty of nest boxes but of course they all use the same ones. I am paranoid that an egg will get broken and that will start an egg eating festival.

Always something to fuss with and try to improve. It’s kinda fun!

 

[BlueBaby]

I’m going to work on that! Probably start really researching the toilet float valve solutions some people use.

After that it will be egg collecting- lol! I get 13-17 eggs a day from 18 hens. I have plenty of nest boxes but of course they all use the same ones. I am paranoid that an egg will get broken and that will start an egg eating festival.

Always something to fuss with and try to improve. It’s kinda fun!

Yes, there always seem's to be something or other along the line that everyone see's that can make an improvement with their various set up's. It will be interesting to see what you come up with!