ranger632
9 posts
Jan 14, 2006
7:40 AM
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What do you guys use for feed contains for your breeders? I use plastic milk jugs with a 2 inch hole cut in them. I feed mix grain and the birds still scatter the feed all over.
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Bluesman
Pigeon Fancier
632 posts
Jan 14, 2006
9:47 AM
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Ranger.In my Breeding Lofts I use the 4 foot galvanized feeders with the roller on top.This way they can,t sit on top of it.I use the regular chicken type feeders with the legs removed.They are approx.3 inches high x 4 inches wide.I also built one several years ago out of wood with dowel rod sides and hinged roof.It also is 4 feet long.Cost and time to build was to much.LOL.
In my kit boxes I use both the galvanized droppings pans(kind for rabbits) that are 18" by 24" x 1" deep and a fiberglass one that is 18" x 26" x 1".
I have used different things over the years but I like what I am using now.Whatever works that keeps the feed clean and keeps the waste to a Minimum. David
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Shaun
243 posts
Jan 14, 2006
10:21 AM
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David, I've experimented with all sorts of containers - including the ones you mention - and haven't found anything which stops the messy buggers flicking food here, there and everywhere. I want to keep the loft floor clean, but there's peas all over after every feed. I know some flyers use pellets, not least because there's no chance of the birds being picky - they eat them or starve. I've yet to go down the pellet route and use a very broad mix. Like children, they don't much like peas, despite how much I tell them they're good for them. They ignore me and so the peas go everywhere.
I've concluded that if they can reach food with their beaks, so they will make a mess. Such is life.
So the search for the perfect feeder continues...
Shaun
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Velo99
191 posts
Jan 14, 2006
10:32 AM
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I built two feeders out of 1x4`s and 1x2,32 inches long. Feeds a 22 bird kit.
I built an I beam with 1x4 then wrapped the bottom with a 1x2 to form a tray. The tray is 3/4 deep by appx two inches by the length of the feeder. You could add dowels if you wanted. I have used mine for three years now. Be sure you caulk the bottom so the feed does`nt fall thru the cracks.
I built mine in about 20 minutes.
YITS
V99
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Bluesman
Pigeon Fancier
635 posts
Jan 14, 2006
10:54 AM
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Shaun.I mix my 12% grain mix with 1/3rd 20% pellets.I like the pellets for all the little meds they have in them.My breeders will eat everything and let the pellets untill last.What I do is if they have feed in the feeder and feed on the floor they don,t get fed untill everything is cleaned up.As long as you give them what they want they will always be picky eaters.David
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fhtfire
292 posts
Jan 14, 2006
12:13 PM
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I use a Sanitary Wood Feeder (Pg. 74) from Foy's. there are four sizes 12, 24, 36, 48 inches. I use the 24inch for my breeders. It has a base with a lid and they stick there head through wooden dowls. I get minimal spillage and no contamination at all. THe item # is 1001-1004. Check them out...you might like them.
rock and roll
Paul Fullerton
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Shaun
246 posts
Jan 14, 2006
12:29 PM
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Paul, if you see the gable roof wood feeder, also on page 74, that's what I brought back from France with me. Pigeon stuff is cheaper there than in England, as the French aren't as stupid as us and won't pay throught the nose for stuff designed for chickens.
Anyhow, despite my birds poking their heads through the dowels and me not overfilling the trough, they still flick food everywhere.
Perhaps my birds are just messier eaters than most.
Shaun
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Shaun
247 posts
Jan 14, 2006
12:34 PM
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I've just looked again on P74 of Foy's catalogue the 'No Waste Feeder'. Now, that looks interesting - I can't buy it from England but I can copy the design. The birds see the food through the front perspex window. The holes in the perspex are just big enough to get their heads through, but not so big that the feed can get out.
Now, that might work.
Shaun
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ranger632
10 posts
Jan 14, 2006
6:20 PM
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Thanks for all the good ideas. I think Shaun has it right, pigeons are messy feeders.
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jerryf
11 posts
Jan 15, 2006
2:34 AM
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I use wooden dowel feeders with gable roofs. No feed contamination. I feed twice a day, so feeders are not over full. All feed is eaten with no feed slung about, I feed a 20% starter pig pellets, it a very small pellet, smells good--anise? I mix in a 1/3 popcorn in winter. My birds do well on it, really eat it with gusto. For good feaher quality I top dress with safflower seed, just a bit.
I too was avoiding using pellets as its been said the birds 'have to starve before they will eat pellets!' I found that not to be the case.
Its been said that pellets cause loose droppings....that was the case for 2 weeks and then the droppings firmed back up. So dry roosts and cleaner loft.
I use ACV in the water for their health. I read ACV eliminates the odor of the droppings--and its true.
Last Edited by jerryf on Jan 15, 2006 2:37 AM
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