I finally figured out how to stop my chickens from kicking all their feed out of the trough

For months, I was wasting so much money on feed because my six hens would scratch and fling it everywhere... I tried a deeper dish, but they just made a bigger mess. My neighbor in Springfield said to put a few smooth, fist-sized rocks right in their feeder. I thought that was silly, but I grabbed three river rocks from my garden and dropped them in. It worked instantly. They have to peck around the stones to get the pellets, which slows them down and keeps the feed in the bowl. I haven't had to sweep up a huge pile of wasted food in over two weeks now. Has anyone else tried something simple like this to cut down on waste?

2 comments

2 Comments

simonmoore1mo ago

Switched to a treadle feeder last year and it solved that exact problem. Mine were throwing feed like they were getting paid for it. The treadle makes them step on a plate to open it, so they can't just stand there and scratch. Took the girls about a day to figure it out. No more waste and it keeps the wild birds and rats out too. Best upgrade to the coop so far.

tessacarter1mo ago

Oh yeah, I read about that trick in an old poultry forum. Some people use big marbles or even a clean brick in the middle of a hanging feeder. The idea is just to break up the open space so they can't get a good scratch going. My aunt used an old CD as a baffle in her feeder, which looked ridiculous but she swore it worked. The rocks are probably a better idea, less likely to freak them out.