Eggshell Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 I've had a FeedR for a while. It's great; no wasted feed, stays dry, no slugs, you can see how much is left, and the chickens got used to it very quickly. My only problem has been that occasionally they managed to twist it sideways enough for it to come undone, so I have an extra rubber band to keep it in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chooksRCute Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 I'd love to see a UK based supplier of Dine a Chook/Wet a chook products - I had to buy mine via ebay from Australia. Thy look like the dogs doo dar! I only have the 6 chooks, max 8 next year if I get round to extending the run. These are going on my Christmas wish list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Keeping chooks is certainly not a cheap hobby or even a cheap way of getting eggs! Don't ever try and work out the 'cost per egg' is - we did this once and it worked out to be £s, not pence, by the time you add up all the equipment, food, medications and treats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyAndBobby Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 I've had a FeedR for a while. It's great; no wasted feed, stays dry, no slugs, you can see how much is left, and the chickens got used to it very quickly. My only problem has been that occasionally they managed to twist it sideways enough for it to come undone, so I have an extra rubber band to keep it in place. How long did it take before your hens started using the FeedR. Ours are still terrified of it, and if I don't have an other food source in the run, they aren't eating at all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Didn't take too long. Mine were rather curious so they took to it quite quickly. You could try and put some grains of corn in the little opening to entice them. They did struggle a bit with finding the whole and tried pecking the pellets from the side. I showed them the whole a few times by fiddling a few pellets out of the opening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggshell Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Yes, mine tried to peck through the sides at first too, but they found the opening pretty quickly. I have one chicken who is more adventurous than the others with new food; the others will try when they see that it hasn't eaten her! They were all eating out of the FeedR on the first day. Perhaps try a few mealworms left temptingly on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieDust Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 I have gravity feeder/drinker combo. However, just bought some second hand Glug and Grub for the sin bin as Lily is demolishing the water container every day. Luckily the crate is inside the run so no birds will get in and nick her food! Love the Dine a Chook stuff DM. If I had a bigger run I would certainly use those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyAndBobby Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Hmmmm. OK, thanks all. I have tried putting some corn in the opening and they ate that and haven't touched it since. I will keep trying the corn thing and hopefully it will tempt them. Should I remove all other food sources from the run to 'encourage' them to use it? Or are they more likely to not eat at all rather than overcome their fear and start using it if it's the only source of food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Generally speaking, if it's too much of a faff,then they won't bother unless there's no other option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...