my hens spill more food than a toddler -- help!

[msjones]

How on earth do I stop my 3 goofy birds from spilling almost ALL of their feed each day?

They have a small, plastic, 3 pound feeder hung from a hanging-plant bracket. The tray part of it is about level with the top of their backs (they're about 4 months old).

Every day they dump the feed. They jump on the feeder, get under it and then stand up, bicker over the food and ram into it (over and over), and their food is all over the ground.

Does it matter? Should I just put in on the ground in the first place? Why do they need the feeder since they love pecking around in the dirt so much anyway?

Or, can you suggest a way to stop the darn feeder from swinging around so darn much?

 

[msjones]

bump

 

[Dar]

Quote:
shhhhhh bump is a bad 4 letter word...

but to answer your question

try a heavier feeder that they cant dump over most chickens weigh more then 3lbs so its a walk in the park for them

alos what are you feeding?

if my ds puts scratch in the feeder by accident and the hens figure out that if they tip it a bit the good stuff comes out they will do the same empty the whole thing


do they free range at all?

they could be doing it out of boredom too

i take a metal kabob stick and push it down the middle of a broccoli and hang it form the coop my my chickens cant get out for a day it gives them a "toy" to play with

 

[msjones]

Sorry about the bump, just re-read the rules...won't happen again.

 

[fldiver97]

Try a wall mounted metal feeder (got mine at the farmers co-op) , they can not knock it over. They also can't jump into or on it. So it stays clean and most of the food is contained.....Or check out the 'homemade' pipefeeders that some people made for their chickens. It's in the 'Feeding&Watering Your Flaock' section and made from PVC pipe and joints from hardware stores and then wallmounted

 

[mdbokc]

I have always wondered why people write "bump" as I have seen it on several threads. Now I understand it. I see in the Don't Rules #6 this issue addressed. But do people really type in "bump" or do the moderators change what they wrote to that? Just curious is all.

 

[silkiechicken]

Many times people just write in "bump" or post something that does not contribute to the thread, such as a smillie, a "hello", etc, to bring up their post to the top. If mods see excessive bumping, the offending bump post is usually removed.

 

[G Wiz Ranch]

Don't refill the feeder untill the food on the ground is eaten. No waste.