Wasting WAAAAAAY too much feed!!!!!!

[newburt]

I have chicks in my outdoor brooder that will be three weeks old tomorrow ( monday ) and have had two other batches in there and had the same problem with them. I have tried the little auto feeders with the holes cut all the way around the bottom and now have graduated to the 7 lb hanging feeder and I am still having too much feed waste through the bottom of the brooder. I cant seem to get a handle on this. Any suggestions on another kind of feeder that is less wasteful? I get probably 1 1/2 pound of waste per 7 lb of feed. my brooder has a wire bottom so all the feed just falls through the bottom and I can see the waste and it just kills my soul to see all that feed go to waste.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

What are you feeding? A mash? Crumbles? You could try wetting the feed with water. Chickens actually tend to like it and it is harder to spill and much less dust.

If you like the wet feed you would look into fermenting. I do not use a medicated feed so if you are, I am not sure if you can ferment that or not.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

I have chicks in my outdoor brooder that will be three weeks old tomorrow ( monday ) and have had two other batches in there and had the same problem with them. I have tried the little auto feeders with the holes cut all the way around the bottom and now have graduated to the 7 lb hanging feeder and I am still having too much feed waste through the bottom of the brooder. I cant seem to get a handle on this. Any suggestions on another kind of feeder that is less wasteful? I get probably 1 1/2 pound of waste per 7 lb of feed. my brooder has a wire bottom so all the feed just falls through the bottom and I can see the waste and it just kills my soul to see all that feed go to waste.

Usually this happens to chicks this age and there's not much you can prevent.

 

[SobbaChickens]

I feed crumbles and have a hanging feeder, I raise the feeder to about back height of my chicks. I've never had any feed wasted and my chicks are 3.5-4wks old.

 

[farmboy22]

Put like an ice cream lid under it to collect the feed.

 

[mzgarden]

Our solution, after trying a number of different options, was to use plastic containers about the size of shoe boxes screwed to two strips of wood like skis. The wood strips keep them from tipping the boxes over, the sides are flimsy enough they don't try to roost on the sides, they are deep enough that they can't toss the food out as long as you don't fill them too high, big enough for multiple birds to eat at the same time and they're tall enough that they don't walk in them. We reduced the wasted feed to almost nothing.

 

[Jo Anne]

My can you post. A picture of your shoe box please

 

[mzgarden]

sorry for the delay, I'm travelling. I'll try to get DH to get a picture and post it.

 

[jak2002003]

get a feeder with holes in for them to put their heads in to eat.
Then they can't swish their beaks through it and throw it all over the place.

 

[JackE]

I feed crumbles and have a hanging feeder, I raise the feeder to about back height of my chicks. I've never had any feed wasted and my chicks are 3.5-4wks old.

+1
That's what I did also. Raise the feeder, that makes it harder for them to bill out the feed. Make them reach for it a bit.
Jack