Spilled food in deep litter

[mrkep]

I am using the DLM, and under the feeder is almost solid food, 6" deep. I scooped a bunch of it out today and threw it into the run for them to clean up, then I filled the hole with fresh shavings. So is this a common thing? I know the little darlings are not the neatest eaters

they seem to scratch as much as they eat. I am not too concerned about wasted food as much as drawing varmits to a food source.

 

[lynxs1981]

I just leave it. It gives them something to dig though.

 

[lorrir]

I have two feeders in the coop. I also use the DLM. My feeders are on cider blocks and I only use pellets. Keeping the feeders on the cinder blocks gets them a couple of inches above the litter. I haven't had any problems with losing too much feed. I have used crumble in the past and have lost more than I cared for. So cinder blocks and pellets work the best for me.

 

[xxSonja]

I also have this problem, even with my feeders up on wood blocks. They were tipping the feeder off and feed was going all over the place, so i nailed the darn thing to the heavy block! Lol but now they just flick it out everywhere anyway

we do tend to get alot of mice around the coops, but my 2 cats do their part in keeping numbers down. Plus Ive found that the chickens and ducks being in the coop are a big deterrent anyway.
I just try to keep the place as clean and tidy as possible.
Also If im not using a coop i empty it complety, litter and all.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

It helps to let the feeder go empty for a period each day to encourage them to clean up what they've spilled. Perhaps feed them in the evening enough to last through the next early afternoon and let the feeder go empty until you fill it again.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I actually throw scratch in the coop sometimes so that they will dig everything up and around. But i don't keep my deep litter quite that deep anymore.

 

[MakNugget]

I have an ABS feeder with 2" holes and found adjusting the angle of the hole helped reduce spillage. I see the girls pick through the litter (10" now) daily for spilled feed (and who knows what else) so I'm not concerned about it. It gives them something to do while they come up with todays set of chicken profanities to greet me when I come home from work.

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Do not do DLM but do use a hanging feeder which really helps with scratching and billing feed out.

 

[catdaddy66]

Quote:
That makes me feel a lot better! I thought I was a bad parent for being a few hours late with the food. Mine actually don't spill a great deal, but I do scatter BOSS and cracked corn in the shavings in order to get them to scratch it up. Seems to do very well.

 

[jen5680]

I took one of those plastic ice cream containers and cut out a hole in the lid and set it in a pan and they hardly ever spill anything now!! Someone had posted a feeder they made like this for turkeys that helped with waste and I jsut took the idea and made it smaller. Love it!