Transitioning to a bigger feeder

[EMT-FF-Me]

Hello. I'm new to raising chicks, but not new to raising birds. I've raised parakeets, cockatiels, and three breeds of parrots. So, my question... My chicks are about 3-4 weeks old. They are emptying their chick feeder several times a day. I have spent a good week trying to transition them to their larger feeder, so I can be sure they are getting enough to eat. I have tried every trick I know. They'll eat out of it, but only till it gets down so far. They can still reach the food, so that's not the problem. And if I heap it up high so they can see it, they go right to it. But once it's out of sight.... I tried just making a conscious effort while I was off this weekend to keep it heaped up, thinking they'd maybe figure it out. When I checked on them before work tonight, they were acting hungry, so I put their chick feeder back in, and they went crazy. They were obviously hungry. I have tried every trick I've used with other breeds of birds, and I can't seem to "train" these chickies to eat out of the bigger feeder unless I "babysit" them. I've googled, I've scoured Pinterest... I can't seem to find an answer. I don't want them getting sick because they aren't eating enough, but, pretty soon, the ten of them will be big enough that either they'll hurt/kill each other for food, and/or I won't be able to keep up with refilling the chick feeder. Any advice would be very appreciated! Thanks

 

[EMT-FF-Me]

Please, can anyone help

 

[CrazyPetunias]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/simple-pvc-hopper-type-feeder I made one of these with supplies from the dollar store for $3. I used a plastic bowl and a tall spaghetti container. Their design works really good. The chicks will be able to see the food and it fills the bowl as they eat.

Hope this helps.

 

[la dee da]

What kind of chick feeder do you use? What is the larger one like? Did you raise the large feeder to be level with their backs, higher, or lower? Have you tried putting their favorite treat in the large feeder?

 

[EMT-FF-Me]

It's a larger glavanized one. Holds 12 lbs, I think. Right now, I have it on the ground, because I'm.not sure they can reach it if i raise it any, and to help them see the food. I have yet to figure out any treats for them, they shunned cheerios. I'm welcome to ideas, though.
Thanks to both of you for ideas

 

[speedy2020]

You can use milk carton and made feeder out of that for free. When they are getting older, it should be easy for them to learn by them self. Here are some photos of the one that I made for quail/chicks. The best one is in the middle. You just need only few larger hole (3-4) for large chick. It's refillable on top. The one on the right is single nipple water system for chick.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/i/5338851/a/6289806/how-to-keep-japanese-quail/

 

[la dee da]

My chickens don't like it when the food gets too far down, is the feeder adjustable? My newest feeder holds 30 lbs and it has three holes so I can adjust how high the food is in the tray. As for treats, my chicks loved it when I picked them some clover and broke it into little pieces. I wouldn't give them too much at once, though, because they could get diarria (but I'm a little paranoid). One of my chickens' favorites is whole wheat bread. I break it into smaller pieces and give it to them and they love it! I also put some water in old cornmeal mix to give it a grits consistancy and they went crazy for it. Corn is one of few treats my rooster will eat rather than sparing it all for the hens, so cornmeal might be a good thing to try for the chicks. Warm oatmeal is also a favorite. I've also heard of people putting chicken food in warm water and serving it as a treat. Do you feed them the same food in both feeders?

Are you sure your chicks are always hungry when they go crazy for the small feeder? Sometimes I would put some chick food in my hand and feed them some that way. They always had a full feeder and they still went crazy for the food in my hand (still do, to some extent).