What's your favorite most efficient chicken feeder?

[Nicole01]

Right now I have a 5 gallon green bucket poultry feeder that was given to us, but I hate it. The chicks are spilling the food out everywhere and if I don't modify it or replace with a new one, I'll end up wasting feed. I give them access to the feeder for a few hours, then I'm blocking it off, so they eat what's on the floor. I don't want to be doing this, since the floor is covered with pine. I do have the feeder on blocks, but that's not helping.

What's your most efficient feeder that your using?

Thanks.

 

[teach1rusl]

Do you have your feeder raised (hung or on blocks) to back level??? That really helps with feed wastage, as it's harder to spoon feed over the edge...
I use one of the homemade bucket feeders and have two of the 7lb cylinder type gravity feeders. All are hung. I actually have less wasted feed from my bucket feeder.

 

[Nicole01]

I can't raise it too high, the little d'uccle can't reach it. Perhaps I can make a ledge for her??? I was thinking of installing slots along the bottom rim if possible to modify it.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Frankly, the old fashioned metal, long troughs, with the tumbler bar on top, available for decades through any TSC or farm store work pretty well. Very well, in fact.

 

[R.M. Hens]

Quote:
I was about to ask the same thing.

I just moved my big red and white plastic circle feeder on 2 cinder blocks because the waste was killing me. It has worked perfectly! About 2 weeks ago, I moved my 10 almost 3 month old RIR to my big chicken yard with the rest of my flock. I made sure to leave a little ledge for my little ones to hop on to get to the food. So far, so good! No more waste and everyone is eating properly.

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Is this the feeder you have?

http://www.superbowlfeeders.com/images/poult-pic2.jpg

If so be aware that this feeder is designed to keep the trough as full as possible or actually overflow.
This feeder was designed as a supplemental feeder to start day old turkey poults. It is a very bad design for chickens and especially for older chickens.

 

[Nicole01]

Quote:
Yes. That makes sense. I'll get rid of it then. Thanks.

I had it raised on wood blocks. I took it out for now.

 

[stcroixusvi]

My chicks are 8 weeks old, and I have switched them to this
http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...s-farms-hanging-feeder-15-lb-capacity-2167133

but it is sitting on blocks of wood in the middle of this
http://www.tractorsupply.com/livestock-feeders/behrens-utility-pan-3-gal-capacity-2171344

which gives it a place for the feed to drop into. I have noticed that although they still manage to spill a little, it is minuscule compared to the bell jar chick feeders I used. I will try to add a photo when I go out to feed them a treat this evening.

I am looking forward to seeing what others use.

 

[Nicole01]

I'm not sure if I should buy a proper bucket feeder or one of the long ones that sit on the floor. I think I'd prefer plastic, just because our winters can get brutally cold.

 

[KDK1]

I built this feeder out of scrap lumber I had laying around. It mounts on the outside of the coop with just the tray sticking inside. I drilled 1 7/8 inch holes in the tray board to prevent them from scratching in it and beak flicking. The front panel you see extends down slightly lower than the front board of the tray, this is important to pevent overflow. It's caulked inside and weather strpping around the lid (which isn't installed yet in this pic) = air tight except for the tray which prevents mold growth. It holds 50# of feed and there is ZERO waste.