[Lewjam]

Hey all,

Girls have been settled in for a few weeks and im just starting to think about refining some of the equipment i bought.

Im just wondering what you use to feed pellets to your girls?

I have my pellets in a hopper (like the water hoppers most people use but for food)  - the problem is they love to scratch through it with there feed and so it just gets chucked every where.

They have got through far more food then I was expecting as most of it seems to end up on the floor…

How do other people feed pellets?

How much should a growing bird eat (13 wks)?

Should I not add more until they eat what’s on the floor or keep topping it up?

Thanks allot

Lew

[joyfull]

have you got your feeder raised up on a few bricks or a breeze block? this helps stop scratching the pellets out. Or you could hang the feeder up. my feeders have scratch guards in so they have difficulty getting feet into them - although they have been known to use their beaks to flick them out  .
Be very carefull with food left on the floor as it can go mouldy after getting damp and give them health problems  .

[hillfooter]

As Joy says don't leave feed on the ground to go mouldy and stale.  IOt will also attract vermin and possible disease. 

Having said that I tend to let my feeders run completely out so that they will often hoover up the spillage if it's not been left a longtime. Infact I never have to sweep up dropped food and I specifically manage things so this happens.  I never put out more than 3 days supply so provided the weather has been dry and the food is well protected from rain they will do the house work for me.  I try to ensure feeders are clean between fills and will wash them if at all soiled.  Any feed dust in them I empty into a dish which I put in their run so I always refill from empty that way I know there's no stale feed in their hopper. 

Continually topping up is a poor system in my opinion.  An ocassional top up maybe justified if you are in a hurry but let it run out or nearly so and tip out the dregs into a bowl or dish for them to finish off and you will have no waste and clean conditions.

HF

[Davenports]

I had the same problem but with layers mash.  To resolve the problem we changed their feed to pellets and stand the hopper in a giant square plant pot tray.  To stop it filling with water we drilled drainage holes on the bottom of the tray.

It is large enough for the hopper and 9 girls to stand in it to get at the pellets - in fact I ensure some pellets are spilled into the tray for the girls at the lower end of the pecking order.

It is easy to clean with a quick spray with the hose pipe.

http://www.hg-hydroponics.co.uk/plant-pot--growing-media-trays-330-c.asp

[Lewjam]

Bought a new one with mesh to stop them scratching in it. Put some big rocks in it to stop them dlnocking it over!  I'm sure they were giving me dirty looks for stopping them being naughty

[Lindeggs]

The breeder where I got my pullets would put fresh feed in for two days, then on the third day would leave them to clean up all the food off the floor.  The floor was always dry, so he knew the stuff on the floor was dry and no more than three days old.

One of my girls in particular (a Light Sussex) just stands there spinning the hanging feeder with her beak, flinging food all over the floor.     She seems to think this is great entertainment. 

My main problem is wild birds eating the chicken food.  Eventually I will invest in a treadle feeder but for now I have to settle for feeding all the neighbourhood birds as well as my own.

[Dominic]

I've got a 1 litre drip feeder, they still manage to get their feet in and flick the food around.
They do it with the water too, which is even more annoying.

[Lardman]

I hang my feeder from the roof around chest height on the birds but they still flick about 50% of the food on the floor. I wouldn't mind if they then ate the food from the floor but they wont (even if I don't refill the feeder).

They also throw the grit out of the container looking for shell, but wont take just shell from a separate container   

[compostqueen]

I hung my feeder on an radiator clothes airer from Wilko which stopped one of the girls scratching the food out with her feet. To do it she'd have to be a contortionist 
It just hooks over the netting of the run and the feeder hooks on to that (it's a Glug from Omlet)