What is happening to our chicken feed?

[urbanfarmer101]

I am feeding a lot of super fat squirrels! They carry a lot back to the tree. My cat and dog both like crumble.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I remove all food at night into a covered metal pail in the garage. And I have a repeating mousetrap in the run.

 

[firsthouse_mp]

We definitely feed the squirrels, wild birds and our Beagle....somehow they all seem to get at the chicken food. While it's all penned in, the chickens do spill, kick up food which can go through the enclosure, and I see wild birds on the other side of the fencing quite a bit. It's frustrating, but we have tried a few different things, all to no avail. A different feeding system might be better, but it will require some engineering and some thought as to what will work best with your set-up. We are STILL jiggering with our system after 3 years!

 

[swimmer]

We were going through a lot of feed also. I didn't think we had mice, but went out at night, and it was a feeding frenzy in the outdoor run. I set three traps every night and caught three mice every night. Never had a problem until the cold/snow came. I put the 5 gallon feeder away at night. It's amazing how much mice can eat. Set some traps and see if you catch anything. I put a 5 gallon bucket upside down over the traps so the dog and hens don't get snapped in them.