What to do with "used" chicken feed

[the_peep_squad]

My chicks love to dig and kick. They end up kicking food out of the feeder EVERY DAY! I put a tray to catch the stuff kicked out. They continue to eat the food on the tray, but they also get shavings and poop in it. Is there anything I can do to "reuse" it? Can I try to filter out the poop and shavings or is it just something I have to deal with until they move into the coop? I will have a 2gal bucket gravity feeder in the coop.

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

Do you have any dogs or anything? They will probably eat it and eat the chicken poop too. Dogs eat everything.

 

[RojoMarz]

Mine were doing the same. I finally set the feeder inside a cake pan. This creates a moat of sorts, that contained the feed they were raking and scratching out of the feeder. Very rarely did any of the moat food get soiled...if it did, I'd spoon out that part. A couple times a day I would dump the moat food back into the feeder.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Chicks can be pretty wasteful. If it's just got some shavings in it, I'd be fine re-feeding it, but if it's gotten damp or has poop, better to just toss it out rather than risk mold forming.

 

[Folly's place]

As they grow, raise the feeders and waterers so that they are at about the back level of the smallest bird. Then change your feeders to larger deeper models, and wastage will decrease. Birds love to make a mess, and it's not going to be perfect, no matter what you try.
Mary