LOTS of feed being wasted

[BigECarter]

My pullets were terrible with the crumbles. Much better now that they are larger and on pellets. I have a diy feeder based on The Chicken Chick's design (she has a website, easy to google). We did put chicken wire over the trough until one of the hens got a small scratch on her comb. We took the wire off - maybe it served its purpose by breaking their habit of taking out the feed.

 

[lvp1963]

I bought a round type feeder I could raise off the ground. I raised it just enough so they could still feed without jumping on it. It saved me a ton of money on food.

 

[subhanalah]

I seriously do not think it is an issue of any of us being "strong enough to do it."  I just don't think it's a cullable offense.  It's like Steve Martin's joke about death penalty for parking violations. 

But I will certainly not breed hens that bill out feed.  I don't trust their that their extravagant view of feed isn't inheritable.  However, it seems to lessen if they get to free range on grass and have better things to do than stand around the feeder picking all the blue M&Ms out of the bowl.  

Typo edit.

what you just described is culling the hen. Removing it from your breeding pool.

 

[DraigAthar]

I bought one of these and a bucket to make a trigger feeder. It works amazingly well, and it's fun to watch the chickens use it, too.

http://triggerhappychickens.co.uk/

 

[TeaChick]

My 8 8 week old chicks have one of those feeders that has the little feeding holes around the bottom and a jar on top. I used that for my last batch of chickens and never remember them wasting a lot of food....my recent guys, however, are spilling it left and right! There is as much food as there is shavings in there! It doesn't help that one of them perches on top of the food, I suppose. My question is - how do I stop them from wasting it and can I let them just eat the food that is in the bedding?

Yes, they can eat food out of the bedding. If they're old enough for scratch grains, that's actually a good way to get them to turn their own litter.
I got my chickens to stop wasting feed (and to stop spilling their water all over their bedding/litter) by combining the two. I put equal parts of feed and water in one container (with sides low enough they can reach to eat out of them). That's something you can't do with the feeder you described, but it will eliminate feed being wasted. Filling the container half full (I use a 2-3# Smart Balance tub) of feed and water allows the container to right itself if they knock it over (like by perching on it).
Hope everything works out, Hon!!! =)

 

[pdirt]

I seriously do not think it is an issue of any of us being "strong enough to do it." I just don't think it's a cullable offense. It's like Steve Martin's joke about death penalty for parking violations.

But I will certainly not breed hens that bill out feed. I don't trust their that their extravagant view of feed isn't inheritable. However, it seems to lessen if they get to free range on grass and have better things to do than stand around the feeder picking all the blue M&Ms out of the bowl.

Typo edit.

I very much agree. I think a feeder that is not just an open dish is essential to keep the billing out deal to a minimum. We have a treadle feeder (lid opens up to reveal feed when weight of bird steps on the lever platform). I have installed a thin piece of plywood that has golf-ball sized holes drilled into it...it allows the birds to pick feed from the holes but they have no room to bill through the feed. They don't really like it, but it has made a HUGE HUGE difference in our feed bill. I knew they were wasting a lot of feed, but I had no idea it was so much until I solved the problem. They are also free ranging now, which helps (and 50-70%) of their feed is in the form of fermented feed, but I installed this thin feed-meter board long before they were free ranging this year and it was making a big difference then as well.

 

[MadAngler]

Take a pop bottle and make a sleeve that fits below the jar to the bottom of the feeder. Then cut out 4 notches about 1/4in to 1/3in tall and wide on the bottom so the it doesn't fill up so full. My buddy did the same, but with a SOLO cup.

That is what I did.
I cut a thicker plastic cup like those souvenir cups you get a baseball/football games.


Here are some pictures:

 

[MadAngler]

One more picture. This is the final layout. The result is that the feed is only 1/2" deep rather than full to the top. It is much harder for the chicks to sweep the feed out of the feeder and onto the ground:

 

[DevaughnWifey]

I finally put mine in my trough feeder. & it helped already. Mine are only about 10 days old

I have 25 3-week olds with a trough feeder... I still have A LOT of waste. Good luck with your situation though!

 

[Dizzydog]

I use a small pig feeder like the one pictured. The opening can be adjusted to allow only a little feed to come out at a time and the trough is deeper to hold food in. It also holds a lot of feed if I need to be gone over a weekend.