Today’s subject is automatic chicken feeders.
Automatic feeders offer several huge benefits over traditional (gravity) feeders; firstly they help reduce waste and secondly, they keep the feed fresh for longer.
What’s not to like?
They have been around for a while now, so in this article, we are going to look at what options there are for your hens.
After reading this article you will know all there is to know about automatic chicken feeders so you can make sure you get the right one for your flock.
Our Pick: Automatic Feeder
The Best Chicken Feeder
Grandpa’s Feeders Automatic Feeder
- My favorite chicken feeder.
- On-demand feeder means your hens will have access to feed all day round, which ensures optimal laying and healthy chickens.
- It also helps to eliminate feed spillage, keeps pests away, and as a result, means you save on feed costs.
Automatic Chicken Feeders: What to Consider When Choosing a Chicken Feeder?
The first thing you need to consider is the size of your flock; this will determine the size of the feeder you want to purchase.
Remember that each hen will eat ½ cup of food each day.
You will also need to consider why you need one:
- Is it to cut down on the number of times you refill the feeder?
- Is it to prevent vermin from accessing the feed?
- Are you planning to go on vacation?
You also need to consider the ease of set-up and operation; both for yourself and the hens.
This will include the amount of time you will need to spend training the hens to use it.
It’s no good buying an expensive feeder if the hens can’t or won’t use it.
Once you’ve made clear why you want one, you will be better placed to buy a suitable automatic chicken feeder.
FEEDER | TYPE | OUR RATING |
---|---|---|
Grandpa’s Automatic Chicken Feeder | Automatic | See Price |
RentACoop’s Treadle Feeder | Treadle | See Price |
Miller: High Capacity Poultry Feeder | Semi-Automatic | See Price |
RentACoop’s Chicken Feeder Bucket | Bucket | See Price |
Royal Rooster: Tube Chicken Feeder | Tube | See Price |
Types of Automatic Chicken Feeder
Automatic Chicken Feeder
The Best Chicken Feeder
Grandpa’s Feeders Automatic Feeder
- My favorite chicken feeder.
- On-demand feeder means your hens will have access to feed all day round, which ensures optimal laying and healthy chickens.
- It also helps to eliminate feed spillage, keeps pests away, and as a result, means you save on feed costs.
Grandpa’s Feeders have been around for 20 years, so they have experience!
Their feeders are durable, all-metal construction, and waterproof.
The feeder operates on a treadle basis; the hen steps on the plate and the feed becomes accessible to them in a trough area.
Once your hens get the hang of it (and they do have training tips and videos), you can fill it up and forget about it for a while.
The feeders come in two sizes (20lbs and 40lbs), with the 40lb variety lasting a flock of 12 for up to around 7 days between refills.
It is designed to keep rodents and other critters away from the chicken feed; so it will help reduce waste and keep pests away.
Treadle Feeder
THE BEST TREADLE FEEDER
Grandpa’s Feeders Automatic Feeder
- My favorite chicken feeder.
- On-demand feeder means your hens will have access to feed all day round, which ensures optimal laying and healthy chickens.
- It also helps to eliminate feed spillage, keeps pests away, and as a result, means you save on feed costs.
This item is similar to Grandpa’s feeder but around half the price.
The reason it is cheaper is that it isn’t entirely built from metal; it has several plastic sections.
However, it is still watertight.
In addition to the feeder, they do provide instructions and training videos on how to set it up and train your hens.
They have four sizes available: 11lbs, 17.5lbs, 26.5lbs, and 44lbs.
For a flock of 12 hens, you should get either the 26.5lb or the 44lb feeder.
Feeder Bucket
THE BEST CHICKEN FEEDER BUCKET
RentACoop’s Chicken Feeder Bucket
- The feeder can be placed outside as a waterproof design keeps the feed dry.
- Each bucket can last for a week with a flock of 8 chickens.
- Stops food spillages into the run.
Whilst you wouldn’t class this as a true automatic treadle feeder, it costs about half the price and offers a lot of the benefits still.
It has a 20lb capacity and can be purchased with either 1 or 2 feeding ports.
We would always recommend you get 2 feeding ports; this reduces the chance of any bullying.
This means that it keeps the feet dry all year round, however, it doesn’t prevent pests from getting access to the feeder.
If you are getting an automatic feeder to eliminate pest problems then you’re better off with either Grandpa’s Feeder or RentACoop’s Treadle Feeder.
Semi-Automatic Poultry Feeder
THE BEST SEMI-AUTOMATIC CHICKEN COOP FEEDER
Miller: High Capacity Poultry Feeder
- A semi-automatic feeder that uses gravity to dispense feed.
- Made from galvanized steel so it can be left outside.
- Helps save you money on feed bills by reducing spillage and waste.
This product is essentially a large feeder (25lb) suitable for inside use only.
It is all-metal construction and is one of the most affordable automatic chicken feeders around.
Unfortunately though, as with all other gravity-style feeders, there is no way to keep rodents out of the feed.
We would only recommend this feeder if you have a secure inside location to store it and don’t have an issue with pests.
So again if you are having pest problems try a true automatic feeder listed above.
Pail Chicken Feeder
THE BEST DIY CHICKEN FEEDER
Fast DIY Chicken Feeder Poultry Feeder, Easy Installation
- Less Waste and Save your feeding costs: The automatic gravity-fed design allows the constant feed to be workable and minimizes the fodder waste, spillage, and mess to save your feeding costs compared to the traditional feeder.
- Long-lasting Use: Wider roof design for better Rainproof+Firm connection/seal design. to keep food dry & clean always even if on rainy days, also the strongest connection & rubber seal will deter rodents and vermin.
- Easy Installation: Just need the container & a drill, no additional hardware is required. Comes with a 3-inch hole saw enabling you to assemble the feeder in only a few minutes.
- Versatile and Convenient: Fit ANY container that you plan to use, buckets, barrels, bins, troughs, etc. Make your DIY chicken feeder as your wish.
- Come with 8-pack chicken feeder ports and a 1pack Hole Saw in one package.
Tube Chicken Feeder
THE BEST VERTICAL CHICKEN FEEDER
Royal Rooster: Tube Chicken Feeder
- Gravity-style tube feeder which keeps the feed dry in all weather conditions.
- Helps to reduce waste with grid cover over feed.
- Can fix straight onto existing hardware cloth.
Whilst not considered a ‘true’ automatic feeder, the Royal Rooster chicken feeder is essentially a combination of a gravity feeder and an automatic feeder.
It is a tubular feeder that is capable of holding around 6lbs in feed.
The plastic is UV resistant, has a slim profile, and comes with a hook and brackets if you need to mount it.
This feeder is an affordable alternative if you have a small flock of no more than 6 or so.
3 Reasons to Buy an Automatic Chicken Feeder
There are three really outstanding advantages that an automatic chicken feeder offers over a regular feeder.
Decreased Waste
With automatic feeders the feed is stored inside the feeder; so you eliminate waste because it reduces spillage and stops it from spoiling in the rain.
Vermin Control
The treadle-type feeders do the best job of keeping vermin away.
Perhaps the biggest advantage here is that it prevents wild birds from accessing the feed as they won’t know how to operate the automatic feeders.
This will cut down on the risk of your hens catching a disease.
Vacations
Having a reliable feeder makes going away for a few days much less stressful.
However, if you’re planning on leaving your hens for a long amount of time you should still get someone to come and check-in from time to time.
Alternatives to Automatic Chicken Feeders
The Best Hanging (Gravity) Feeder
Miller Galvanized Hanging Poultry Feeder
- Large capacity means it is ideal for 12 chickens comfortably.
- Small feed section to prevent chickens from sitting on top of food.
- Strong galvanized steel will withstand harsh winters.
If you don’t have the money to buy an automatic feeder there are still several other options for you.
The simple gravity/hanging feeder will suffice for most people.
They aren’t very expensive so it means you can place several around the coop and run.
This will mean your entire flock can access the feed without the need to worry that a bully hen is blocking access to the feeder.
The hanging feeders come in a variety of sizes, even up to 50lbs.
They are easier for hens and people to operate and have no feed flow problems.
Automatic Chicken Feeder Summary
Whichever feeder you decide to buy you need to make sure that it is going to be reliable and consistently work well.
When you first move your hens over to an automatic feeder, they will likely need some encouragement. Give them a bit of time and they will get the hang of it.
You should keep a close eye on them and test them for a couple of months to ensure it is problem-free before going away on vacation and hoping it will work!
We hope that this has helped you in the search for a better feeder for your flock.
If you have any experience with these feeders, let us know in the comments section below…
I have the gravity feeder and the waste is horrible. It is like they use their heads to knock the food out on the ground. I also made my own tube feeder using large black PCV pipe. Same problem. They knock out the food, this one I use only for black sunflower seeds
I’m so glad I stumbled upon this article! As a beginner farmer, I’ve been struggling to find the right chicken feeder for my flock. This post has been incredibly informative and has given me a better understanding of what to look for when making a purchase. The pros and cons section was particularly helpful in making my decision. Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Interesting read! I’m thinking of buying an automatic chicken feeder for my flock and I appreciate the information on the different types of feeders available. Can’t wait to read more about maintaining them in the future posts. Thanks for sharing!