Chicken keeping is both a hobby and a great investment. But it doesn’t come that easy as many people would make you believe. Instead, it requires passion, commitment and enough knowledge about taking care of them.
When it comes to looking after your birds, the first thing that should cross your mind is how to feed them. That’s exactly what we are going to talk about. So, what are the 5 best chicken self-feeders?
Chicken feeders come in different types and sizes. Choosing the best one depends on a number of factors such as cleanup, cost, size and weatherproofing. All these factors will help you determine the best chicken self-feeders among dozens available on the market today.
Sometimes you may choose to let your chickens free-range. At some point, you will require one or several chicken feeders. These essential feeding equipment play a critical role in every aspect of supplementing the diet of your birds.
As a poultry farmer, you will find many options out there and this can be the hardest part of choosing the best chicken feeder. But that should not worry you anymore now that we’ve narrowed down our searches to the top five chicken feeders you may have an interest in.
Top 5 Chicken Self Feeders
This Automatic Chicken Feeder comes with all the best features that you cannot ignore. This automatic feeder is designed to keep away pests and prevent the rain from messing with your birds’ feed.
Although expensive, this poultry farm equipment has a large capacity that enables it to serve a large number of chickens at the same time.
This treadle feeder can hold up to 20lbs of chicken feed, which is enough for 6 chickens, lasting ten days utmost. No wonder it’s a well-known brand of chicken self-feeders with a good reputation.
This top-of-the-line chicken feeder is effective in preventing food waste. As such, you will end up saving more money on food than before. Besides, this automatic feeder can be used both indoors (within the barn or chicken coop) or outdoors regardless of the weather conditions or pests.
Unlike most other treadle chicken feeders, Grand’s Feeder comes fully equipped with side guards. These features are included in its design to prevent your birds from eating out of the sides.
Without side guards, your birds can end up getting their heads stuck if the front feeders happen to step off during the feeding time. The brand has been in use for more than 20 years, thus earning the trust of many chicken owners.
2. Harris Farms Hanging-Poultry Feeder
Simple in design and easy to use, Hanging-Poultry Feeder has all the features that make it ideal for feeding several chickens. Although inexpensive, this automatic chicken feeder has a large capacity to handle 30lb to feed 30 to 50 chickens.
This simple hanging feeder is known for its effectiveness when it comes to serving more birds. In addition to that, it’s easy to install, adjust and maintain. You can hang it by simply adjusting the hanging height depending on the breed and age of your flock.
Crafted from galvanized steel material, this automatic chicken feeder is strong and durable much to your delight. It comes with additional safety features like rolled edges.
This will ensure that your birds are not harmed when feeding. Its convenient hanger comes in handy to make your work easier when moving the feeder from one location to another.
Given that the galvanized steel isn’t rustproof, it is advisable to use this feeder indoors. Make sure that it stays in the chicken coop away from bad weather conditions.
Here comes the best design of a poultry feeder that you can install in an enclosed run. The Wise-Cage Poultry Feeder comes with a capacity of 20lb to meet all the feeding needs of your birds.
In fact, this chicken self-feeder is regarded as one of the best designs for all types of coops or runs. This is because you can access it from both sides, thus making your work easier.
The Wise-Cage Poultry feeder is quite a practical type of feeder that requires you to mount it right inside your chicken coop. Once you hang it from inside the coop, this feeder allows you to fill it from the outside.
Likewise, you may mount it directly to the nearby structure such a fence to give your free-ranging birds easy access to food whenever they feel hungry.
Featuring a rain hood, this chicken feeder can keep your chicken feed dry for a very long time. Apart from that, it has a rolled lip that plays the role of discouraging your birds from scratching when they are feeding.
You will find it to be quite useful for chickens kept in the caged runs. In addition to its capacity of 10lbs, you can buy another 10lbs extender and upgrade it to achieve a larger capacity.
4. Royal Rooster Chicken-Feeder
The Royal Rooster Chicken-Feeder is a state-of-the-art poultry feeding equipment that combines simplicity and functionality in its design.
Most importantly, it comes fully equipped with a chicken waterer that matches it in appearance. Your birds will have easy access to both water and food at the same time.
The innovative vertical design of Royal Rooster Chicken-Feeder tells it all. This is because it enables you to provide your birds with enough food and water while keeping it in an elevated position to prevent spillage. With this automatic feeder, your chickens will never go hungry or lack water at any given time of the day.
To use this feeder, you need to hook it straight into a fence (mesh fence). You can also fix it to a solid wall in a hanging position using its brackets. A single set is enough to serve 4 to 6 chickens at the same time.
This is due to the fact that the feeder has a capacity of 6.5lb coupled with one gallon of water capacity. The two farm equipment (waterer and feeder) are made of high quality, durable and ultraviolet stable PVC materials so you may use them outdoors or indoors.
5. Little Giant Plastic Poultry Drinker
Little Giant Plastic Poultry Drinker comes with unmatched simplicity not found in any feeder on the market today. This little feeder is suitable for outdoors and indoors, thanks to the inclusion of a weather hood in its design.
With its fold-out legs, you can elevate it so your birds can access their meal without straining themselves. This means you elevate it to meet the feeding needs for different ages and breeds of chickens. At least every bird in your flock will have a share of their favorite meal when feeding them using this simple feeder.
The hooded lid on this feeder helps to keep chicken feed dry in all weather conditions. Also, the feeder has scratch guards in place to minimize wastage of food when your chickens are feeding. This way, you will be able to save more money in the process and channel the savings to other projects on your farm.
Apparently, Little Giant Plastic Poultry Drinker is regarded to be the best choice of automatic feeder if your budget is small. Despite all that, this poultry feeding equipment has all the features that will make it convenient while feeding your birds at home.
So, if you are a new chicken owner, this is one of the assets you need to invest in as you increase your flock. Even though its capacity is small, the Little-Red Hen Feeder will always serve you better as you advance your skills in chicken keeping.
Related Questions
What do you have to consider when looking for a chicken feeder?
There are several factors to consider when buying the best chicken feeder for your birds. The most important one is the size of your chickens.
If you have 3 to 5 birds, then you need a smaller feeder that will serve the number. But if your flock is larger, then you need a feeder that has a larger capacity. Other factors include the price, design and where to use it (either indoors or outdoors).
Why should you look for a chicken feeder in the first place?
Chickens can feed anywhere as long as they can access food. This does not mean that you overlook the idea of providing them with a functional and reliable feeder.
The main work of the feeder is to prevent your birds from messing their food which in turn attracts pests and predators or increases your food cost. In this regard, a good chicken feeder will help you save your expenses on food and keep the environment around your chickens clean and tidy.
In Conclusion:
Chicken self-feeders come in handy to help you feed your birds at the right time and with the correct amount of food. The main advantage of using this poultry equipment is that it minimizes food wastage as well as keeping the coop or run clean throughout.
That explains why there are different types of feeders and each has its own unique features to suit different people. In this case, ensure that you go for the best product that meets your requirements in the best way possible.
Below is a Pinterest-friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your Backyard Chicken Board!!
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