Feeders Hate Me

[Disheygirl]

I have had zero luck with feeders. I graduated three of my pullets - now 16 weeks old - to “adult“ feeders (pictures below) a few weeks ago and both have been major fails. I’ve tried crumbles and mash (or whatever you call the pulverized dry version - almost like a cornmeal consistency but grower feed) and have had the same problem with both. They eat out of it and the food gets stuck - it doesn’t fall down like gravity should work. I have to take both of them off the wire and pound them into the ground to get the feed down. It’s pretty annoying, since there isn’t a bunch of food within beak’s reach to start with, and I have to do it a few times a day. They are also on grass, so not starving, but no chance this will be Ok when my next five graduate from the growout pen, and I’m also mad that I spent so much on junk.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I have one of these ASCOT FEEDERS (google image)

You can get them with legs or no legs.
It's really good, and the whole flock can gather round it to eat together.
It can hold 2.5kg of feed

You can check this out:
Best chicken feeders

 

[kerbotx]

In my experience, gravity feeders work best with pellets; I use shallow pans with a brick in the center for crumbles. Another problem I think is plaguing you - too few birds on the feeder. It may work by gravity, but it still needs some movement, some vibration, even for pellets, to get those particles to shift downwards. It should work better when you have all the birds on it.

 

[Callender Girl]

Don't feel like you're alone. I have had NO luck with gravity feeders, not even the ones that came with one of my coops.

 

[3KillerBs]

I was talking about just this very issue with a chicken owning friend yesterday.

My metal hanging feeder seems to work better with pellets than crumble but the plastic feeders work better with crumble than pellets.

This one for pellets:

This one for crumble:

The metal one is completely hollow inside so that the pellets fall straight down into the deep pan. But crumble sticks at the bottom of the pan instead of rolling out.

The plastic one has a cone molded into the bottom directing the crumble into the pan but the opening is too narrow for pellets to fit easily.

Experiment with brands and styles of feeders (including homemade ones), until you find something that works for your choice of feed.

 

[blackdog043]

I've used crumble and pellets in DIY no waste elbow feeders for a few years, without any problems. I could see having problems with mash not wanting to fall down though. It could also have something to do with it being a single straight pipe. My feeders are 5 and 7 gallon buckets with 4 elbows.