No waste bucket feeders for chicks of all ages.

[SarahGfa]

Ya it isn't a big deal with a handful of chicks but.....
I hatch 30-35 or so a week. That adds up quick and spilled feed can add up to quite a bit when dealing with hundreds of chicks and juveniles.

Including "street elbows" "2"" and "about 4 weeks old" is exactly the info I'm looking for.
Thanks

This is what I use. I cut the socket end off, and slip it over the narrow end. Makes the elbow a little shorter. but I think some people use it as is. The longer the reach, the less waste, but could be hard for small birds.

 

[Windrider]

I've also made a few feeders about like the bucket funnel one. I used a bucket in a bucket with a PVC type funnel.
They either still pulled feed out or throw too much trash in.

Fair enough. It might not work for smaller chicks.

I believe aart found that the key to preventing the feed from being kicked out was the plastic hose around the opening in the bucket, which made a lip, plus the long reach to get the feed, if the openings in the funnel were calculated correctly to spill out only a little feed at a time. For smaller birds, like my bantams, I scaled everything down (bucket openings and reach), which you could do for youngsters too.

I believe that correctly-made PVC elbow feeders use the same principle, so what you are really looking for is the correct scale for younger birds.

 

[The Moonshiner]

so what you are really looking for is the correct scale for younger birds.

Exactly.
I'm sure with some experimenting I could get something that would work but was looking for someone that already had worked out the calculations so I didn't waste any buckets or buy fittings that ultimately didn't work.

 

[K0k0shka]

I remember following a thread by @K0k0shka where she had a smart-ass cockerel who kept billing out extravagant amounts of feed, and her search for a truly waste-free bucket feeder to foil his billing habit. Took me a while to find it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-and-questions.1356048/page-66#post-23067900

If you read the posts before the above one, she tried a couple other popular PVC elbow feeders that were useless before finding @aart's article with the feeder that worked.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-waste-free-funnel-bucket-feeder.67218/

I used the principles of aart's design and modified them to make a hopper style feeder to save space in my little beach-city coop. I know you have a hella lot of birds, but you could probably modify it the other way and use a plastic trash can instead of a bucket to feed your horde.

Aww I miss that guy! He sure did waste a ton of food with the first couple of feeders, but he was so smart and likable that I forgave him quickly

aart's funnel feeder is absolutely solid when it comes to food waste. Not a single crumb leaves the bucket. Yes, the hose pieces around the openings are key, as is the depth the chickens have to reach into. I still use that feeder and love it. I haven't tried making a scaled down version for chicks though, so unfortunately I can't help with that. I don't hatch often and when I do, it's only a handful, so I haven't bothered to come up with a special feeder for them.