[massa]

hi, im not sure if i will be able to get an exact answer to this because i know there are lots of factors that will effect it but i only want a rough idea! i am getting 10 ex bats and dont know what size feeder and drinker to get! i dont want to be filling it up several times a day! the hens will have access to a 30ft by 30ft and 8ft high fully enclosed run and have a coop 6ft by 8ft i was looking at the 12kg feeder and 12 litre drinker will these be big enough? or how long will it last (ish) thanks massa

[Fisherman]

Massa
Each hen will eat about 130 -160 grammes of food per day (10 Hens = 10 - 12 Kg per week).
Each hen will drink about 200ml of water per day (10 hens = 14L per week).

Therfore you should only need to fill your 12kg feeder / 12 litre drinker roughly once per week but this depends on spillage, waste, evaporation etc.

I use a treadle feeder and an automatic drinker supplied from Wells Poultry. The drinker is fed from a header tank which is filled up every couple of weeks. I believe they don't work well when its' freezing though. Feed wise your hens wil eat 10 - 12 Kg of layer pellets per week, less if they are free ranging and / or provided with greens and corn. I have 5 hens and use a 10Kg treadle feeder and fill it up every 2-3 weeks. The reason I went this way is so I can get away for a couple of weeks without burdening friends and family too much.

Hope that helps.

[massa]

thats good then i do intend to go up daily but want the feed and water to last so im not filling up every 2mins! this is the ones i was looking at are they any good?  http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DELUXE-12kg-FEEDER-12Ltr-DRINKER-POULTRY-CHICKENS-/290456201724?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry

[Fisherman]

They look fine especially being on legs and size wise they will be no problem. Some people prefer hanging types assuming there is something to hang them from. Others will advise on whether they are a good price. 

[GrannieAnnie]

Not the cheapest price for those Massa, but they are British made so are good.  I was going to see if I could get them to you cheaper, but I've just realised the feeder has a rainhat, so in that case, it's not a bad price.

They are robust as we use them ourselves!

[massa]

if thats a fair price i think i will go for them then! i think these can be hung also if the feet are removed and the rain hat from the feeder! my other question would be should i keep the food and water in the coop or the run?

[joyfull]

I like to have more than one feeder and drinker just to make sure they can all get access to them 

[GrannieAnnie]

Yes, without the rain hat they can both be hung!  And the feeder has the rainhat so it can go outside.

Our drinkers are always outside but most of our feeders are inside.  Depends on the size of coop.  Some people prefer the feeders to be outside, but then you have to either remove them at night or cover them in some way to stop Mr Ratty having a midnight feast!

[hillfooter]

Hi Massa,
Personally I wouldn't want to put more than 4 days feed out in an open feeder at a time and as this covers a long weekend that seems a reasonable period.  Fishermans numbers on the feed are probably more in line with larger pure breeds and are a bit over for a battery hybrid.  Probably a daily feed intake of 100 to 120 grams is about right for a hybrid.  

I checked a couple of my houses recently which had Legbars and Vorwerks which are medium sized L/F of similar size to a battery hybrid and they consumed around 110mg.  If you use a figure of 120mg per day which I think is a safe figure (and one I usually use when mixing wormer), for 10 exbatts that's 4.8kg so a 6kg feeder should cover you for typically 5 days and be a safe margin for the target of 4 days.

An approx rule of thumb for water is that consumption in ml is about twice the feed consumption in mg.  So Fisherman's number of 200ml per bird is about right.  That's 2 ltrs per day for 10 birds or 8 Ltrs for 4 days.  I'd  personally go for two 6 Ltrs drinkers so that should one be knocked over which can happen there's still one.  

So in summary I'd suggest 1X 6 KG feeder and 2X 6Ltrs drinkers.  These should last about 5 days, though I would aim to refresh the water every 2 days max if you can and only go beyond that in exceptional circumstances.  In Summer algae growth starts to limit the length of time you can go.

Feeders should be hung at back height to discourage rodents and protected from rain so under cover but not in the house.  You shouldn't encourage the chx to unnecessarily visit the house during the day trailing in mud and causing additional fouling which soils the eggs and the house.  A house is for roosting in and for laying in the nestboxes only.  Drinkers should not be hung as they will be knocked against causing the water to spill and be quickly wasted.  Drinkers should be in the run again at back height to reduce soiling and mounted on level legs or bricks.

Regards
HF

[hillfooter]

Hi massa,

Just looked at your suggested feeder and drinker and I've some misgivings about these.


1 The feeder can't be hung when the rain hat is on so that's completely useless.  Standing it on the ground it will be a rodent feeder and hanging it it will need to be without the hat so under cover.  No good in my book

2 The drinker (and feeder for that matter) use red plastic and the red pigment in plastic (and some paint) is susceptable to fading and isn't UV resistant (I think it absorbs UV more than other colours towards the blue end of the spectrum) so the plastic goes brittle after prolonged exposure to the sun.  I never buy anthing red plastic which is for outside use for this reason.  All plastic is susceptible to UV to some extent unless it is specifically UV safe.  I've found the green plastic drinkers and feeders to be better for resisting UV than the red ones.  I've used both in the past and believe me some can go very brittle and shatter easily after just a couple of years.

See
http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Plastic_Poultry_Drinkers_over_4_Litre_Capacity.html

The bucket style green ones are the ones I use and they last a good while but the red ones (the bowls) and mushroom shaped green ones (the reservoirs) go brittle quickly.  I've had experience of all these types.  

I'm not suggesting Wells are the best source just using them as a convenient example of these drinkers which are available from many suppliers.  It is imperative that drinkers have handles to carry them and they can stand inverted on a flat surface for filling purposes (surprisingly some don't so are a devil to fill).  I wouldn't go for a drinker of the wellie filler type which is bigger than 6 litres as they are heavy and awkward to handle and invert after filling.  When the inevitable happens and they come apart as the bayonet hasn't engaged properly there's a lot of water to fill your wellies!
Regards
HF

[joyfull]

HF, the plastic with those drinkers is thicker and more pliable not like the sort that goes brittle (I have 6 of those 13 litre ones) I get mine from Grannies and she buys them direct from the manufacturer. I use the Blenheim 6kg feeders (again made by the same company) and are of the more superior plastic type of material (not sure of what type of poly stuff it is), the thinner ones do certainly go brittle and crack especially in winter. The red though I assume will fade like all red does although mine hasn't yet.

[hillfooter]

HF, the plastic with those drinkers is thicker and more pliable not like the sort that goes brittle (I have 6 of those 13 litre ones) I get mine from Grannies and she buys them direct from the manufacturer. I use the Blenheim 6kg feeders (again made by the same company) and are of the more superior plastic type of material (not sure of what type of poly stuff it is), the thinner ones do certainly go brittle and crack especially in winter. The red though I assume will fade like all red does although mine hasn't yet.

I should say I've had no specific experience of the ebay feeder and drinker plastic re their UV resistance just the cheaper ones which are shown on the Wells site and are generally availble in many outlets.  So as Joy has I bow to her more diect experience of their durability however the point about the top hat and the general susceptibility to UV being red still applies and a colour towards the blue end or plastic which has UV protection added (which the ebay ones might have) are best.  Perhaps Grannie being in touch with the manufacturer might know on the UV resistance point.  Basically it's just an added component in the plastic which protects it though it adds costs so is never used on cheap plastic.

The biggest rogues on this point are the swimming pool accessory suppliers as they often source cheap stuff from China which invariably goes brittle after two seasons and swimming pool stuff is always used in the sun so there's no excuse not to use the right materials.

[joyfull]

sadly not having a pool I can't help with this - I do have a beck at the side of me though should the urge to take a dip ever arise 

[Wild Pony]

I use for my water Eliza Tinsley/Stockshop galvanised drinkers that come apart with a handle on the top, you just slide the top over the bottom half and bayonet twist it into place. A good drinker if you have to walk from the tap. I used to have all sorts of mishaps with the red and white drinkers that you had to fill upside down, plus they cracked in bad weather.

I tend to feed everyday into galvanized pans as I don't like to have alot of food hanging around. So old earthenware planter saucers work well and can be kept scrubbed.

[GrannieAnnie]

Although the red does fade a bit with time, like Joy says the plastic is a superior grade to the cheapo ones, and is more pliable.  I will ask the manufacturers about the UV resistance.

The green and white ones I have weren't cheap, but were still from China and do crack after a couple of years.  I've bought the very cheap economy yellow and white ones and they are terrible.

I like these bigger 12 litre drinkers because in the summer water can evaporate and the chickens drink more!  I like to know they have plenty of water.  The legs raise it up 3 inches from the ground so helps stop contamination, and not once since being used has one been tipped over.

also when they have been filled, because of the design, you get very little spillage when you tip them up the right way.

I agree that with the feeder having its rainhat on you can't hang it up,.  You could drill a hole in the top for a hook, but the water would seep into the feed anyway.  As some of you know, most of our feeders are kept inside, but that is my personal preference.  I do not have a rat problem inside the houses, just sometimes outside!

I've just spoken with the manufacturers as they are a BRITISH company  and they said yes, the red is the most susceptible colour to UV rays, but these ones do have more UV stabilisers in them than other colours.  They've been in touch with their head office and they are going to try to send me a copy of the chart, so if they do I can perhaps provide you with more info on that subject.