What feeders and waterers do y'all use?

[mechanic57]

5 gallon waterer with gamma lid and horizontal water nipples (amazon for the nipples)
View attachment 1126682
5 gallon no waste feeder
View attachment 1126686 View attachment 1126687

I have this setup but I use a 40 gallon water drum and a 55 gallon drum for the feed. I use a small stock tank heater that's rated for plastic tanks to keep the water from freezing in the winter. It has a built in thermostat so it doesn't stay on all the time.

 

[All Ball]

For the Louisiana climate, I have problems with fire ants, mosquitoes, and rats. I have a feed system very similar to the upright pvc with a small branch at the bottom to eat. In the evening I can screw on a cap to the bottom to cover the food and keep rats out. The branch is long enough to prevent scratching and throwing out feed. Ive tried several methods, including a trigger system where they peck the trig at the bottom of a bucket and feed falls into a pan below. That system was an ant and rat magnet.

Nice to know - but sorry to hear - about the rat magnet aspects of the trigger feeder - I am trying to transition to that right now as a way of providing feed that the wild birds can't get eat or poop in. The first girl learned it yesterday, so I was thrilled after several days of showing them and listening to complaints. My chickens did not take to a treadle feeder. I was hoping the trigger was something that rats wouldn't be able to figure out, or I could place it too high for them to get to, once the chickens are comfortable with the system...

I am also switching from pyrex bowls to a backyardflock.com cup feeder in a 2-gal food-grade bucket, once again to provide water that wild birds won't track around in. It's clear that, if left out and up, nighttime critters, either rats or skunks, are drinking from it, so I am starting to turn it upside down for night.

 

[forgetful]

I never witnessed rats using the trigger, although I believe it to be entirely possible, but any leftover crumbs in the catch pan attracted them, and my gluttonous chickens never pecked the pan clean before using the trigger to drop more feed. That was the main cause of rats and ants. I did not have a large flock using it, so maybe if I did they would have cleaned the pan and avoided the problems I received.

 

[rookhomestead]

We only feed what they'll eat in a day. Its in a deer feeder (gravity feeder) on a tree. A lean-to roof to avoid splashing when it rains. The ducks to eat in another area get 5 gallon buckets with (4) 2in holes about 1/3 way up. Everybody gets a kiddie pool since we've been raising ducks, and the water is emptied atleast every 2 days.

 

[All Ball]

I never witnessed rats using the trigger, although I believe it to be entirely possible, but any leftover crumbs in the catch pan attracted them, and my gluttonous chickens never pecked the pan clean before using the trigger to drop more feed. That was the main cause of rats and ants. I did not have a large flock using it, so maybe if I did they would have cleaned the pan and avoided the problems I received.

OK, that's helpful. So if I take the pan inside at night, that should solve the problem. Yes, I use crumbles and they definitely leave a lot of stuff!

 

[Chickassan]

Dog feeder and waterer, dog died years ago so i just recycled. Nobody tell the chickens they aren't all named biscuit.

 

[MarkLeavenworth]

 

[6PeckinChickens]

Dog feeder and waterer, dog died years ago so i just recycled. Nobody tell the chickens they aren't all named biscuit.

 

[6PeckinChickens]

I made this feeder after I saw the amount of feed they were throwing on the floor looking for the "golden kibble" at the bottom! There is NO waste with this feeder! Love that I only have to fill it about every 1 to 1 1/2 months!

I use this standard water dish. I want the nipple one but am afraid it might fail at some point and soak their bedding. We keep it in the coop because of the mice and mosquito abatement truck that sprays every night or two.