Goldie Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Hi Guys Currently use a trough feeder for 4 hens, and I'm having to top it up twice/3 times a day. As careful as we are, this occasionally means they run out and end up with hungry hens. They seem to eat so much more than I was expecting...probably use 1kg of food a day! Anyway, was going to try an outdoor feeder that can hold maybe 2 or 3 days of food, and be a bit less labour intensive for us! Thing is we've had problems in the past with a gravity feeder...I think our pellets are quite large and they don't pass through the holes at the bottom. This means despite the holder being full, once the small tray at the bottom is emptied, they're out of food Think I've narrowed it down to a 2.5kg Ascot feeder, which should hold a couple of days worth, but my worry is with a small feeder the holes won't be large enough. Then the next step up is a 6kg Blenheim feeder, I think that would last over a week, food wise, and the holes might be comparatively larger? But it would be an effort to lift it in every night away from pests. So my question is..does anyone have experience of these feeders? And could anyone tell me if the holes in the smaller Ascot are big enough to wiggle a finger under them? Or would you just go for the 6kg to hope the holes are larger, fill it up and be done. Thanks in advance Thanks in advance..who know I was this bad at decision making! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 they do seem to be eating twice as much as they should I've got a 3 kg feeder with 8 birds and I only just over half fill it and that'll last they 2 days if they are penned up all day 3 if they free range as they eat the feed out of the other layer pen what feed do you give them? as you say the pellets are big the Ascot should be fine it seems to have a good reputation I use a metal feeder in the on layers pen as it hangs from the perch so it needs the rain hat. the feed pan is adjustable all I have to do is move a pin to another hole to allow more or less feed into the pan but to be honest I keep it at the lowest setting so they have to work harder for the feed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I agree SJP sounds like they're eating an awful lot. I've just got a Feed a Chook from Australia for my 4 ex bats. It's great they're a no waste and the food doesn't come down the tube too quickly. I've ordered another one for my big girls, as they have just started wasting loads of food. The other feeder that people on the forum talk about, is the Grandpas feeder. I would have got one of those if the feed a chook wasn't so good. Check out both on the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 They are good feeders but I find them hard to clean if the holes gunk up. If you take them apart you may find you spend ages in a sweary mood trying to fit it back together again! A tent peg or similar is good for unjamming them I find the best combination is this (3kg feeder with rain cover) http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/info_07398.html A proper gravity feeder like this can be adjusted to make the gap at the bottom bigger or smaller to suit and they can be taken apart very easily if necessary Whatever you buy stand or hang it high enough so the chickens have to crane their heads over the edge to eat, you should find a lot less waste this way. If they havent been wormed recently that may be worth doing as having worms will make them eat more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
