Unsecure chicken perches

[LuckyChickenLover-]

My two and a half week old chooks are in the habit of having a dustbath in the chick crumbs that I give them. They kick out most of the food before they get a chance to eat it, which means that I am wasting a lot of food and sometimes the chooks get hungry before I realise that the bowl needs refilling.

 

I put the food in a small ceramic bowl, which the chooks can climb into. I did think about buying a chicken feeder like this , so that they couldn't climb in the food, but it wouldn't fit in the brooder box, and I thought that by the time I moved the chicks into a bigger box, my eglu would have arrived so I could use the grub and glugs.

 

Should I give the chooks a seperate dust bath to bathe in? They have wood shavings which they like to dig in but I wasn't sure if I should give them sand or something.

 

Thanks

~Lucky Chicken Lover

[Falkor]

depending how many chicks you have I would think one of these would be suitable the feeder in the pic you posted looks a little big for chicks TBH

[Redwing]

You need something with a grid to stop them flicking food out

 

These are good but can come apart

 

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Eton_Plastic_Feeders.html

 

or this green one

 

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Jam_Jar_Chick_Feeder_1kg.html

 

or these (I use these)

 

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Economy_Chick_Feeder_troughs.html

[LuckyChickenLover-]

Thanks, but I don't think any of those will fit in the brooder box .I only have two chooks so I didn't think I needed a particularly big brooder so I just used an old unused hamster vivaruim thing. Would it work if I put a small piece of chicken wire over the bowl somehow?

[Redwing]

the troughs are only 30cm long, if they wont fit in the brooder maybe a review of the size of brooder is in order? chicks need space to get away from the heat. for up to half a dozen chicks the minimum brooder size I would use is 40 x 30 for up to 3 days old, 80 x 50 up to 2 weeks and 100 x 60 up to 6 weeks then a 4 x 3 pen till completely ready to go outside

 

You can put chicken wire over the bowl yes, make sure its all tucked in and keep the dish topped up or they will rub their faces on the wire

[LuckyChickenLover-]

The brooder is 50cm by 20cm and there are two two-week-old chicks in there. We're going to move them into something bigger in the near future though.

[Raina]

As i type this one of my chicks is in its food dish having a dust bath lol

[Redwing]

Those feeders may look big but they are diddy honest! the round ones are probably 4 inches across and the trough is about 30 x 5cm

[LuckyChickenLover-]

Okay I'll get one as soon as I can