We Compared 6 Automatic Chicken Feeders on What Happens Between Visits

Why the kingump 12-Port wins this category

Because it answers the question this guide is built around. Between visits, feed sits inside a deep port under a sealed lid instead of lying open in a trough.

That is the whole argument. A hooded port narrows the opening enough that a sparrow has to work at it and most rain runs off the lid rather than into the feed. Nothing else here manages the same trick at $53.99 while still holding 20 lb and giving you a choice of hanging or standing.

The metal body counts too. Plastic hoppers are lighter and cheaper, and rodents chew through them. Sheet metal takes that option away, which is the argument for paying more than the $35.99 plastic bucket here costs.

Living with the kingump 12-Port

The tripod is the part that makes it pleasant. Four height settings means you can put the feed line at the height of your birds' backs, which is the single easiest way to stop hens scratching bedding into the ports and standing in what they are eating.

It also lifts the hopper off the ground. A feeder sitting on soil pulls damp up into the bottom of the load, and damp feed is exactly the feed that bridges and stops flowing.

At 13 by 7.6 by 13 inches it is a small object for 20 lb, so it fits inside a coop or under a run roof without eating floor space. Filling it is a single scoop job rather than a two person lift.

Where the kingump 12-Port falls short

Capacity against port count is the honest weakness. Twelve ports is generous access, but 20 lb feeding a dozen hens is roughly a week, and less if the flock includes big birds. If you wanted a feeder you top up monthly, this is not it.

The maker's claim that 10 or more hens can eat at once is stated without a bird size. Twelve ports on a 13 inch body means the ports are close together, and heavy breeds shoulder each other off. Read it as twelve openings, not ten simultaneous large hens.

Hanging it is the option to think twice about. A metal feeder on a chain swings as soon as birds crowd one side, feed spills, and the swinging puts them off. On firm ground the tripod is the better choice, and on deep loose shavings the legs sink and you are back to adjusting it every few weeks.

Why the GADFISH 55 lb earns its place

Because it takes the design that works and scales it up without dropping back to an open trough. Feed still lands in an extended port, hooded and narrow, rather than in a channel any bird can stand over.

At 55 lb it holds close to three times what the kingump does. For a flock of ten eating roughly 2.5 lb a day that is around three weeks of feed, which changes the job from a weekly chore to a monthly one.

The material is the other reason it is here. Aluminium-coated galvanised sheet handles wet air better than plain galvanised, and the conical lid sheds rain rather than collecting it in a rim.

Living with the GADFISH 55 lb

The legs rotate and adjust, so you can set the feed line to your birds and re-level the feeder on uneven run floor. That is more useful than it sounds, because a big hopper leaning on soft ground tips its load to one side and empties unevenly.

The wide base helps here too. A 55 lb feeder that gets knocked is a mess to clear, and a broad footprint at 12.6 by 21 inches makes that much less likely than a hanging feeder would.

The locking lid is worth using every time. A conical lid that is not latched is an invitation to a determined crow, and the whole point of the hopper is that the stored feed stays clean.

Where the GADFISH 55 lb falls short

Eight ports for 55 lb is the imbalance. The hopper suits a bigger flock than the port count comfortably serves, so at first light and again in the late afternoon you will see birds waiting. If you keep a dozen or more, plan on a second feeding point rather than expecting eight ports to cover them.

Weight is the practical limit. 16.1 pounds empty plus a full load means it stays where you put it. Site it before you fill it, and site it somewhere you can reach with a feed sack.

Bridging scales with the load above the outlet, and 55 lb is the biggest column of feed of any port feeder here. Feed arches over the outlet, the ports run empty, and several inches sit still above them. A knock on the side clears it, but you have to remember to do it.

Storage life is the quiet one. Feed loses vitamin content over the months and picks up damp in a humid summer, so 55 lb only makes sense if your flock will actually clear it in a few weeks.

Why the Silaifu 2.8 Gal makes the list

Because at $35.99 it is the lowest price of any complete feeder on this page, and it still has ports rather than an open trough. The only cheaper item here is the Briidea kit at $33.24, and that is a motor with no container, so it is not a working feeder until you add one.

The legs are the detail that lifts it above a plain bucket with holes cut in it. They raise the feed line off the ground, which keeps damp out of the bottom of the load and stops birds scratching bedding straight into the openings.

The translucent body is a genuine convenience. You can see the level from across the run and refill before the ports run dry, which is more useful day to day than another few pounds of capacity.

Living with the Silaifu 2.8 Gal

It is a small object at 12 by 7 by 11 inches, so it fits inside a coop or under a low run roof where the taller hoppers here will not go.

Cleaning is straightforward. A plastic bucket takes a brush and hot water without any worry about scratching a coating, which is the one place plastic genuinely beats sheet metal.

Refilling is a bucket-sized job rather than a sack-sized one. For three or four hens that is a fill every few days, which suits a keeper who is home anyway and wants the feed covered rather than the trips reduced.

Where the Silaifu 2.8 Gal falls short

The missing port count is the real complaint. Every other feeder here tells you how many birds can eat at once, and this one describes the ports as no-waste and anti-scratch without ever saying how many there are. That is the number that decides whether your flock queues, so buy it expecting a small figure and be pleased if it is not.

Plastic is the material question. PP holds up fine against weather and washing, but rodents chew plastic and they do not chew galvanised sheet. If you already know rats visit your run, this is the wrong body.

Capacity in gallons is also awkward. 2.8 gallons is a volume, the other hoppers here are rated by weight, and the two do not convert cleanly without knowing your feed density. Treat it as a small hopper and check it often.

The clear bucket has one downside to go with its convenience. Daylight degrades vitamins in feed over time, so an opaque hopper keeps a long fill in better condition than a translucent one does.

Why the Proshine Solar Timer is worth the money for some keepers

Because it is the only complete feeder on this page where the feed is not exposed between visits. Silicone gaskets, a closed lid and a desiccant compartment mean the stored load stays dry and shut until the motor runs.

That matters if your problem is not waste but access. Wild birds cannot raid a sealed body. Rain cannot get to a sealed body. Feed only appears when you have told it to, for as little as a few seconds at a time.

The solar panel and 2200 mAh battery are what make it practical in a real run. Maker's figures put it at up to 30 days per charge, and the AC adapter is there for the weeks when a winter sky does not deliver.

Living with the Proshine Solar Timer

The programming is the part you will fiddle with. Six feeds a day is more than most flocks need, but the 0 to 20 second range is the useful control. Start short, watch how quickly the ground clears, and lengthen from there.

Three throw distances let you spread feed over a wider patch. That is worth using, because a tight pile means the dominant birds hold it and the rest wait.

The 12 L hopper is rated by the maker at 7 to 10 days for ten hens, which lines up with a flock eating around a quarter of a pound each a day. That is a fill roughly once a week, and the sealed body means a week-old fill is in better condition than a week-old fill in an open hopper.

Where the Proshine Solar Timer falls short

Feed size is the hard stop. 3 to 10 mm pellets, nothing wet, nothing powdery. If your birds are on crumble or you feed a mash, this feeder simply does not work for you, and no setting changes that.

Ground scatter is the second compromise. A sealed hopper protects the feed you are storing and does nothing for the feed it has just thrown. On dry hardstanding the flock clears it fast. On a muddy winter run, a fair share of every throw disappears into the ground.

Cost sits alongside that. At $179.99 it is the most expensive feeder in this guide, and what the extra buys is timing and sealing, not capacity. On volume alone the metal gravity hoppers here hold far more for far less.

Then there are the failure points. A gravity feeder has nothing to break. This one has a motor, a spin mechanism, a clock and a battery, and if any of those stop, so does feeding.

Mounting is unstated in the listing, so work out where it will sit and how it will be held before it arrives rather than after.

Why the Briidea Timer Kit is here at all

Because it solves a different problem from the rest of this list. Everything else is a feeder. This is the mechanism that makes a feeder automatic, sold on its own.

If you already have a lidded bin, a barrel or a bucket in the run holding feed, the kit bolts underneath it and turns it into a timed feeder. The adjustable mount is designed to fit most containers, and the extra 8 mm studs let you set the height so the spin plate clears the base.

That is a sensible way to spend money if the container is the part you already own. Buying the same function as a finished product costs a good deal more.

Living with the Briidea Timer Kit

Programming works the same way as any digital feeder timer. Up to six feedings a day, each set anywhere from 1 to 60 seconds, so you can start with a short throw and lengthen it once you see how quickly the flock clears the ground.

The spin plate is galvanised steel. That is the right choice for the part that pellets hammer against thousands of times, and it is the detail that separates this from the cheapest plastic mechanisms.

The low battery indicator earns its keep. On a timed feeder, a dead power source is not obvious until birds have missed a feed, so a warning before that happens is genuinely useful.

Where the Briidea Timer Kit falls short

The price is not the price. There is no container, no solar panel and no batteries in the box, so what you actually spend depends on what is already in your shed. Compare it against the complete feeders here only after you have added those up.

Feed protection is entirely down to your container. The kit has a flame-retardant ABS housing and a metal plate, and none of that keeps a rat out of a plastic bin. If your existing container is not sound, fix that first.

Scatter feeding brings the same trade as any timed thrower. A 5 to 6.5 ft throw is fine on dry ground and poor on mud, where a share of every feed gets trodden in before the birds find it.

There is also no port and no trough, so at no point is feed protected from weather once it lands. This is a mechanism for keepers whose run stays dry, not a fix for a wet winter yard.

Why the FULUPET 120 lb suits a big run

Because of the wheels. Every other feeder here stays where you put it, and a 120 lb load is not something you carry. Braked 360 degree swivel wheels mean you can fill it by the feed store and roll it out to the birds.

The capacity backs that up. At 120 lb it holds more than twice the GADFISH and six times the kingump, which is the right shape for a flock big enough that refilling is a real job.

The maker says it feeds 20 chickens for up to 14 days. That works out at about 0.43 lb a bird a day, which is well above the quarter pound a laying hen usually eats, so the claim is conservative rather than optimistic. For most flocks a full load lasts longer than stated.

Living with the FULUPET 120 lb

Site it under cover first and everything else follows. Under a run roof or in a barn the open trough stops being a problem, and the feeding edge that runs the 37.8 inch length of the body becomes an advantage because a dozen birds can line up without jostling.

The brakes matter more than they sound. A wheeled feeder that rolls when hens lean on it walks around the run and ends up somewhere you did not want it. Set the brakes every time.

Filling is a whole-sack job rather than a scoop one. The listing does not state how wide the top lid opens, so check that before you plan on tipping bags straight in. What the wheels do give you is the option of bringing the feeder to the sacks rather than the sacks to the feeder.

Where the FULUPET 120 lb falls short

Geometry is the honest weakness, and it is the reason this sits at the bottom of the order. There are no ports. Feed lies in an open trough with a high lip and nothing else, so rain gets in from above, sparrows and starlings feed freely, and hens bill feed over the edge onto the ground.

At $127.99 it costs more than any other gravity feeder in this guide while offering the least protection at the feed line. That is a fair trade only if you have somewhere covered to put it.

Weight and size are practical constraints. 33 pounds empty and 37.8 inches long means level ground, a wide enough gate and no steps between the store and the run.

Turnover is the last one. 120 lb is several weeks of feed for most backyard flocks, and feed that sits that long in a humid summer loses vitamin content and can pick up damp at the bottom of the hopper.