That's so funny. Yes mine are free to come into their coop and eat whenever they want but they seem to prefer to free range, coming in once in awhile to eat. I guess because it's out all day they take it for granted, because when I come out to throw treats to them they came running full bore (it is hilarious to watch) to get to me. I feed them different things as treats but usually it's leftover greens or veggies that haven't been cooked yet. They eat pretty much anything (even chicken soup) though I don't like to give them anything sweet (except fruit) or processed.
My feeder is homemade and all I did was drill large holes near the bottom on the sides of a 5 gallon bucket (that has a lid), drilled a hole in the bottom of the bucket and through a large, heavy duty plastic plant saucer (about 4 inches wider than the bottom of the bucket) bolted the two together, raised the feeder up on a platform about 5 inches and filled with feed. I put the lid back on after filling it to keep the feed clean and I have a gallon milk jug attached to the top to keep my gals from roosting on it (so they don't poop in the feed). It's not the prettiest feeder but it works very well!
Of course it would not help keep other birds out, but I don't have that problem here. On my BYC page, on the "My coop" page there is a picture of it (3rd one down).
