Everyone knows that chickens love eating, and it is easy to witness as you can see them exploring, searching, and picking the new things the entire day. If you already have a feeder installed at your place, you can spot them pecking at the grains. It is a healthy activity for them. The more they eat from nature’s bounty, the more it will be better for their health. However, it doesn’t mean they get all the desired nutrients from whatever they eat. You have to give them nutrient-rich feed based on their age, sex, and job in the backyard.
For feeding them, you can explore through all the varieties of chicken feeders, such as Dine A Chook Chicken Feeders, available on the market. The commercial feeds are easy to choose based on the developmental stage of your chickens. You can read the product’s packaging for details. One of the best things about these feeders is that they offer all nutrients in accurate proportion for a flock, whether it consists of babies up to eight weeks old, teens up to eighteen weeks, or so.
However, you may still wonder why you need a chicken feeder. In simple terms, chicken feeders contain chicken feed. They are nothing but vessels only. The feeders come with openings that help your chooks to eat their meals. Some DIY experts believe in creating their chicken feeders. If you wish, you can also give it a try. But remember building it is not as straightforward as a dog’s dish bowl. Another challenge is chickens are not easy to manage. They can bring about a container to access their food. Hence, you have to be creative and specific with design. Also, you have to make sure the feeder is durable, steady, and spacious enough for them.
To avoid all the unnecessary hassles, you can, therefore, focus on the choices available with retailers. If you manage to make the right choice, you can enjoy various benefits.
Benefits of choosing the right chicken feeder
Safety of the food
Whether your pen is located afar or not, it can attract uninvited visitors. They can be raccoons, rats, and so on. Since they can be a danger to the life of your flock and their food, you have to find a feeder that can protect their feed. For instance, you can pay attention to the range of dine a chook feeder. It can safely store flock’s feed.
Cleanliness
To ensure your chooks are healthy, you have to feed them clean and nutritious food. Commercial feeders feature designs that can keep their grains safe in any weather. The risks of moisture and germs are nearly non-existent with them. Also, since chickens don’t stand in the feeding trays, the meals don’t get soiled. So, regardless of how naughty your flock is, you can have some relief in this matter, for sure.
Wastage prevention
Scattered grains and other feeds form a common sight at most of the coops. It mainly happens when you use your hands to feed them instead of feeders. When you install a chicken feeder, you don’t need to worry about spillage. For instance, if you get dine a chook feeder, you can rest assured of this factor. Its design is such that your chickens get only a regulated supply of feed to avoid food fights and wastage. If your pen houses a bully chicken, then buying more than one feeder makes more sense.
Durability
Some feeders use commercially approved plastics in chicken feeders to help them serve you and your chickens for long. Their body can look like a PVC material. But they are different. The use of ASA plastic materials in them ensures their protection from harsh Australian sunlight and brittleness. So, if you invest in a sustainable model, you can expect it to be useful for your needs for many years.
Feed contamination
Some feeders have unique designs to ensure that only chicken heads can get inside the feed bay and nothing else. Due to this, chickens don’t get to walk on them or poop in it. Hence, the food remains safe from the danger of contamination.
Safe and friendly structure
There are many types of chicken feeders in the market. But you cannot trust them all. You have to pick the best one based on their specifics. For example, the ones that don’t use toxic chemical adhesive or cement for putting the system together can be most trustworthy. Then, if you don’t want to spend on maintenance, it will be ideal to focus on designs that come without moving part. Otherwise, you may have to replace or take care of it. Some chicken feeders come with moulded mounting hooks so that you can hang them even on the most difficult cage wire without any tension.
If you don’t want any hassle with this, then moulded hooks are a better option compared to the ones that need screwing. Plus, with moulded hooks, you don’t need to stress over rusting issues. Besides, choose something that has a nice carry handle and a lid that you can lock. Lockable lids don’t let rodents and the rain to enter. And the moulded handles make it easy to take your feeder from one place to another.
In essence, there are several advantages of picking the right chicken feeder for your poultry pen. From the last point, you also must have got an idea of what features can make your selection most practical and useful. So, if you want to raise your chickens safely, then make sure to buy a proper one from a reputable company. Only trusted stores should be your shopping destination for these items. Else, you cannot rest assured about their quality.
Also, when you explore all the options, focus on those products that allow easy installation. Check their height and select one that is perfect for your flock. Some companies provide a product warranty of up to five years or so. You can go with them to have a safe purchasing experience.