Design for Sheep-Proof, Bulk Poultry Feeder

Regenerative Agriculture needs a better option for a commercial bulk chicken feeder.

Regenerative Agriculture champions adding multiple species and moving them to fresh ground. You can find videos that show Joel Salatin’s layer hen paddock of electric netting on the same farm as pigs, cows, and turkeys. But what about combining animals into one paddock, especially for homesteaders or small-scale farmers who don't have the manpower or time to keep up with two or more paddocks of animals?

Can you keep sheep and chickens together?

Feeling that strain, I decided one day to just put the chickens and sheep together. It sounds novel for some reason. But why not? Chickens are precision nabbers of tiny insects, particles, and seeds, so why not give them a shot at barber pole worms or their larvae, which are a leading cause of death in sheep? Putting chickens and sheep together allows a homesteader or farmer to get more value out their land, fencing, and time. You can get fresh eggs and market lambs from the same paddock. One water bowl. One fence energizer. Lots of fertility getting worked into your soil. Combining paddocks also allows for your sward to get longer rest periods than it would have if you had two or three paddocks, one for each species, rotating through it.  

Can you raise meat chickens and sheep together?

Yes! Take it a step further and put your Freedom Ranger and Kosher Kings in with your Dorper ewes. Go ahead and raise meat ducks and layer ducks as well.

We need a bulk chicken feeder that keeps out sheep.

But if you have ever had sheep, you’re probably thinking, “Is there a chicken feeder that keeps out sheep?” This was my challenge. I wanted to combine my operations, so I searched online for ideas. I found a few designs, but wondered where I could find one that works well in a pasture, or in rotational grazing. Where is a chicken feeder that keeps the chickens out of the rain and safe from hawks while they eat? After seeing a lot of inadequate DIY options and commercial chicken feeders that did not check all the boxes, I designed one. This feeder checks all of those boxes, feeds ducks, even young chickens at four weeks of age, and it keeps the sheep out. The most some do is just try to reach the feed trough, but the sheep guard prevents success, and they move on.  

We need a bulk chicken feeder that is mobile.

Commercial chicken and duck feeders can offer bulk, but we need a mobile bulk feeder. This feeder can easily be pulled behind a four-wheeler or riding lawn mower. It can be pulled by hand if you are strongly built and if you let the birds empty the feeder before you move it.

We need a poultry feeder that is easy to fill and holds plenty.

I needed an efficient poultry feeder that saved me time. Hauling feed out to a feeder, of any kind, is best done as little as possible. This bulk, commercial chicken feeder holds approximately 300 pounds of peanut meal/milo feed. It pulls easily from paddock to paddock, and it is very easy to fill. Once the lid is slid out of the way, the wide-mouthed feed trough ensures that you don’t accidentally spill feed as you fill it up. Previously, it was so annoying to spill feed as I tried to precision-pour it into narrow feed troughs. 

We need a bulk chicken feeder that is heavy duty.

This bulk feeder will also save you money because it is designed and built to last. Plastic, store-bought feeders become brittle in the sun’s UV light and can easily be broken by a cow’s kick or a rowdy ram lamb. Steel feeders slowly rust and let rust flakes into your chickens' feed. This feeder is heavy duty and made of thick wood and steel. Empty, it weighs around 200 lbs. So let the sheep rub on it to their hearts’ content. Let the calves get rowdy. Being wood also makes it adjustable because boards and pieces can easily be added with screws.

This Construction Guide is for You

Add this item to your cart, then checkout, and we will email this guide to you. If you have any questions, email Dillon at farmstore@movingfeastfarm.com