I hope I'm not the only one finding half of the junk on the market place for poultry is just exactly that, JUNK!!! Those expensive metal feeders might work for pellets but they sure don't for crumbles. The cone shaped bottom is not near steep enough for crumbles due to the crumbles dust. But certainly the designer knows that lots of poultry owners use crumbles. There is no excuse for such a lousy design. I have to constantly shake my sixty dollar feeder for the food to get within reach for my girls. The waterer's are a built in invitation for the girls to roost on. Something is really wrong with this picture. Dealing with pooped on waterer's and fouled waterer's and feeders is not what I call fun. It's a nusiance and I told my local feed store owner I woud no longer be buying from him until he notified the makers that half of their designs are junk that does not function according to the design. He looked shocked, I buy a lot of product from him. Tell me why they can't make a cone shaped waterer. Poop, Poop, Poop. It's all Poop. They can do better, but if they won't I'll design my own. I'd like to hear from you what isn't working and maybe put our heads together to see how we can make it work better. Personally I am working on my own feeder that will feed twenty birds at the same time, that I won't have to shake all the time. Then I am going to spend this winter redesigning my coop with strategically placed waterer's that can not be fouled. I love my poultry but I hate poopy waterers that just don't work for me. There has to be a better way. Haystack
Design Flaws in waterer's and Feeders.
Hay, I feel your pain! Here's a review I wrote for a heated poultry waterer. For some reason the site that sold them didn't want to publish it. I wonder why!!!
Heated Poultry Waterer
Considering that this is a product one needs when the temperature drops below freezing, it's hard to understand why it would have been designed to fill upside down, from a small stoppered hole in the bottom, requiring the user to flip it over before plugging it into an electrical cord. This requires dexterity, often lacking when fingers are frozen, and hesitation or a slip of the hands results in the unit losing most of its liquid contents while it's being turned, forcing the poor user to start all over again and refill the thing.
Also, when it's cold outside, the plug that the unit's prongs fit into sometimes gets wet and then freezes, rendering it very difficult to insert the prongs into the plug. Again, this is not something anyone wants to play around with at 4 degrees with a windchill making it feel in the minus range. Compounding these frustrations is the relatively small capacity of the fount - three gallons - making it necessary to go through all this torture once or twice a day. After getting soaked repeatedly and freezing my fingers, I have just ordered a heated base which I will use with my galvanized 5-gallon waterer which conveniently fills from the top and doesn't require acrobatics to set up.
By the way, to keep the squabbles over feeding down, I spread my pellets out on four large concrete slabs laid out in a row. If the feed is concentrated in a small area, my chickens get very territorial and peck each other. I have no idea why they do that, since they have a huge field to roam in, but there it is. When I'm feeding cracked corn in the middle of the day I lay that out in a very large semi-circle for the same reason.
My birds don't sit on top of my waterers. The plastic ones I use have either a cap with a handle on top or are the typical galvanized metal with a handle on the top.
I use the waterer with the cap on the top and it sits on a box that is heated,and for the food dh built a box on the wall that hold over 50lbs of feed,I get no poop in my waterer.It is very irratating when you pay good money for something and it does not worrk as stated.I just bought a wireless digital thermomator with two sensors one sensor goes in the big coop and the other in the little coop,will make it nice to know the temp in the coops this winter when it gets down blow zero,then I can put a heat lamp in if it gets to cold.Hay do you have room in your coops to make wall feeders?DH put slanted tops on so they can`t sit on them and poop.
When perching on top was a problem, my waterers wore conical dunce caps (could have been included in the design!) My pet peeve are the feeders that fill from the bottom and have to be totally empty before refilling in order not to spill all the remaining feed.
I feed my girls in big rubber horse bowls. thier water is in teh same. No problems so far.. i got rid of the hanging waters.. they were just roosting on them.
Green: That wall feeder is exactly what I am building right now, it will include a full eight foot sheet of plywood making the feeder eight foot long and three inches wide with a six inch deep feeding trough that the girls can't scratch in. I built one before and it worked well, Don't even ask me why I went to store bought junk?
Porkpal you hit the nail on the head when you said the connical shape could have been part of the design. We all have different size flock, coops, and therefore different size and type waterers. There is no reason for many of these lousy non effective designs. It seem as though none or few at least of the designers have ever raised a bird. Thanks so much for the feed back. I know we can help each other as we share what works best and I so appreciate your input. That is why I consider all the forum family as friends. Your the best.
Greenhouse: I love your article and I believe more of us shoud write the manufacturers and give them the what for about their designs.
This message was edited Oct 17, 2009 7:08 PM
This message was edited Oct 17, 2009 7:13 PM
Well well well! Don't I feel blessed?
I kept putting off buying those expensive items for my chickens, thinking I just couldn't afford it. So I took the gallon containers I buy my bottled water in, cut about a fourth of the container away, leaving the handle and bottom in tact. The hole is big enough for them to get their head in and get a drink, and too flimsy for them to roost on. It doesn't get poopy or even dirty really. The handle makes it convenient to refill.
The old dog house works as a feeder. Tip it up and put the bag in there, open it and sit the doghouse back down. It keeps it dry too.
There is a tray from my old refrigerator by the faucet and do my best to keep it full of water. Of course, these are backyard chickens, and I don't have that many. Everybody has a different situation to deal with.
Ok, so I'm not very fancy, but it works for me so far.
I was honestly looking forward to buying those expensive feeders and waterers. Now, I'm having second thoughts about that.
Thanks Haystack. You may have saved me some money.
Sometimes it's hard to get a picture of what one is saying, any pic's that could be shown for those of us who aren't very visual would be a plus, I'm trying to see the doghouse with the feed bag and wondering how that works without the food getting very stale? You did get a snicker out of me LFJesus. I'm glad If I saved you even a buck, but mine is already spent. LOL. Poultry is a very big business and it's taken me a long time of problem solving to really feel I'm getting somewhere. I hope that collectively we can help newbies to save money and avoid some of the pitfalls that the industry never attempts to deal with. Again I feel like the imput helps me to think outside the box and I thank you. Hay
Hi Haystack,
Sorry if I didn't explain things well. I'll try again.
The doghouse is the size for a large dog, in a rectangular shape, with the entrance in the front, like an arch, just a regular doghouse with the peaked roof. When it is empty it doesn't weigh much, so I just lift the top part up where the hole is facing the sky. In that position I can lower the 50 lb sack of feed down in there. Then I open the sack and lower the house back down. All done. It can rain or snow and the feed is safe, except from the sparrows and squirrels.
The water containers I'm talking about are like a plastic milk jug. I just take a knife and cut a big opening in it, till about halfway down. You could cut it in half, but keeping the handle helps.
I don't expect anyone to do what I do. lol :D Whatever works for us, works. As long as they get their food and water, that's the main thing.
The water in my area is unsafe to drink, so I buy a lot of bottled water and have too many of these containers, so why not use them? I've also been using them for winter sowing.
I'm a beginner, but I'm learning.
Hay I want to see your feeder when you get done,take pictures please.
LFJesus I got the pic, thanks for your patience. Now I see two potential problems and that is what i'm not sure about. If you just open the bag, how does it not become stale before it gets eaten? Secondly I have over a hundred chickens, how can they get to the food without having a mad house? I don't care if your a begginer your one of us and I love having you on here. Keep up the great work.
Green: Your hubby and you both are doing so well and I smile everytime you post. You make me feel challenged and thats a good thing. I will post a pic when I get it finished. I have some ideas that are really out of the box for waterer's so we'll just have to wait and see. I'm going slow as I have my hands full right now. I have a granddaughter that has been doing drugs and she has come to live with us to try and help put her life back together. These kids and their drugs??? Drives me nuts but I love her and must put a stop to this destructive life style. I'm plan on working her sober. Shes 24 and won't find life easy here. We all stay busy and busy hands don't have time for trouble. LOL. Haystack
Hay, lots of luck with your granddaughter. Work and keeping a close eye on her should help. What a shame that drugs have impacted so much of that generation! It seems to be an epidemic.
Oh Hay I will keep her in my prayers as well as you and your wife,God bless you for taking on this task.Your right about busy hands!Thats whats wrong with a lot of our young peaple today they have nothing to do so they get into trouble.Thank GOD that she has grandparents like you two.Can`t wait to see what you do for waterers.I have learned so much here and I know I have grown when I can give advice to someone on here that asks a question.THIS RAISING CHICKENS IS SO MUCH FUN!