The chicks hate the bucket......

[anotherusername]

Because of the tiny size of the brooder (one of those rubbermaid style totes), I didn't want to fill it up with a bucket feeder straight off, so I waited until I got them in the coop to switch them to the bucket feeder and they hate it. Well maybe not hate it, but I put it in there a few days ago and have been monitoring their eating progress. I see a few of them eating from it, but nothing compared to the standard little feeder that I started them on.

Thinking they would switch to the bucket, I pulled out the little feeder and hoped they would get use to the bucket, but after a day of not seeing much activity, I refilled the little feeder and put it back in and they gobbled it down. Did the same thing yesterday, pulled the little feeder, would see a couple of them stick their heads in getting food throughout the day/night, but not much.

So I decided to feed them again today with the littler feeder and they attack it like they were starving...

How long is acceptable to "starve" the little girls before I give up on the bucket idea and go back to a feeder where they can see the food? They are about a month old at this point. anybody else unable to get them to switch? Do I need to slather the inside of it with something tasty to convince them to stick their heads in and see the food?

If I can't get them to switch I'll try the PVC tube feeder, but I like the idea of the bucket better as it can hold more food/keep out the rain (not that we get much in SoCal).

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Have you tried to sprinkle their food around the openings of the bucket? This way perhaps they can see where the food is and get curious and look in the bucket

 

[DreamsInPink]

What type of bucket are you using? Do you have any pictures?

 

[azjustin]

I always notice a massive reduction of food consumption when I switch a group from open to auto feeders, because they're no longer able to waste a bunch of feed! As long as the feed level is dropping, they're eating.

Anytime I fill any feeder, there is always a frenzy. Same with treats, they act like they're starving to death!

Chickens aren't exactly the sharpest tool in the barn, but I would never discount their ability to find food and water.

 

[anotherusername]

What type of bucket are you using? Do you have any pictures?

a white plastic bucket.


Similar to the other bucket systems out there with a PVC 90 (5 of them as I have 14 chix) or so cut/glued into place so there is a 1/2-3/4 on the bottom to allow feed to be eaten/fill the gaps. The holes are big enough for all the chicks without going to big that they could ram their body inside. I think I got 1 1/2" to start. Figured I would do a new 5gal bucket with bigger holes once I let them outta the coop and they were full size.

I've seen a few eating from it, but very little in comparison to the http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Plastic_Chicken_Feeder.html type of feeder. My concern is the starvation thing. With 14 chix there is no way for me to easily identify that all of them are eating.

 

[anotherusername]

I always notice a massive reduction of food consumption when I switch a group from open to auto feeders, because they're no longer able to waste a bunch of feed! As long as the feed level is dropping, they're eating.

Anytime I fill any feeder, there is always a frenzy. Same with treats, they act like they're starving to death!

Chickens aren't exactly the sharpest tool in the barn, but I would never discount their ability to find food and water.

Yeah they do seem to be pretty dense... I'm hoping they warm up to us a bit more as time goes by. Whacky chicks. I'll keep trying with the bucket. See if I can convince them its awesome. Maybe they need a sign pointing to the holes that says "Food Here".

 

[DreamsInPink]

How old are they? Sorry if you already said... Do you think they're too young?

We are probably going to do something similar. Though we just have normal feeders and none of ours seem to waste much. Is a lot of waste pretty much the norm?

 

[anotherusername]

How old are they? Sorry if you already said... Do you think they're too young?

We are probably going to do something similar. Though we just have normal feeders and none of ours seem to waste much. Is a lot of waste pretty much the norm?

They are about a month old. I don't think they have much waste. The stuff they do knock about they seem to clean up. Or at least when they were in the brooder and the kooky chicks would stand on the edge of the feeder and kick the food about (??????????), I don't see them doing anymore in the coop. Not sure if its just a bigger area to be crazy in, because they dig/kick/be whacky in all the shavings now.

Anyway if they are "wasting" a bunch out of the feeder into the shavings, I think they are picking through to clean it up now. When I accidentally, or purposely spill across the shavings/in a pile while filling the feeder, that seems to be gone the next time I look.

Who knows, maybe there is a ton of food under/in the shavings. Not too concerned at this stage in their life. Just want to get them switched to a bucket feeder. I was at the feed store today looking at the other options, and they definitely have bigger feeders that I could switch to versus what they have now, but I'd like a semi-sealed container that would keep the rain out. I'm in SoCal so we don't get much rain, but I'd like to fill it and ignore it for a week because I'm lazy (or while on vacation) and need 1 less thing to deal with in my life.