Wasting feed

[Knittycat]

My 20ish day old chicks have started flipping their crumbles out of the feeder wasting lots and lots of feed. I know chickens are notorious feed wasters, but why are they just starting? How can I prevent it? They've got a chick size gravity feeder.

 

[teach1rusl]

Wow! Yours waited THAT long to start flinging and wasting??? You're lucky!!

I put my feeder inside a shallow dish of some kind (using a large planter base right now....anything that gives at least an inch clearance all the way around). That way the food that'd scratched or beaked out lands in the saucer and can still be eaten.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Try putting the dish on bricks or in a pie dish, that helps some but you are learning that chicks waste feed!!

 

[Knittycat]

The feeder is hanging about 3 inches off the ground from a bar across the brooder, so it's already elevated.

 

[Knittycat]

double post oops!

 

[Tuffoldhen]

If that's the case you are learning that chicks or chickens will waste feed doesn't matter what you do to prevent it.

 

[SIMPleChick]

Noticing the same thing with my chicks. I guess they ALL do it! I am going to try the bowl under the feeder and see how that works! Thanks

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
LOL! So true! So true!

 

[Knittycat]

Boo hiss. Darnit. They are wasting a LOT of feed.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Mine did that too when they were in their brooder, they took great joy in getting all they could out of the feeder and then even more fun scratching thru the shavings looking for it. I think a lot of it is boredom because this behavior went away when they moved into their large coop/run and they had more room and more interesting things to do.