Plastic feeders serve an important role in helping you to provide chicken feed to hens without creating a lot of mess. Hanging feeders, as opposed to ground feeders, help maintain high levels of hygiene as it prevents chicken droppings from getting mixed with the feed and requiring unnecessary cleaning and maintenance. However, what seems to be a bigger dilemma among farmers is what kind of plastic material that should invest in: plastic or galvanised steel.
Chicken feeders are available in plastic or galvanised steel, each with its own benefits. While the former is much convenient to store mash feed, there are many advantages to galvanised feeders that make it a much better option. In this post, we explore the top benefits of galvanised feeders over plastic ones.
More Durable
Galvanised steel is made by adding a protective coating of zinc to the iron or steel to resist rusting. Although they may be a bit more expensive than plastic feeders, galvanised feeders do not rust or do so after many years. The higher durability enables greater worth of your money, saving you from replacing your feeders on a frequent basis.
Also, galvanised steel feeders tend to be more robust and resistant to hard impact upon falling or other accidents, unlike in the case of plastic ones. If you have galvanised steel feeders, you won’t have to worry about breaking it accidentally.
Blocks Sunlight
Drinking water that is exposed to sunlight for long periods makes it habitable for various kinds of harmful bacteria, such as algae, that not only burden you to do more cleaning and maintenance, but also makes it a lot easier for chickens to be put at risk of illnesses and diseases.
The galvanised steel lid on feeders prevents exposure to sunlight and the buildup of algae and other harmful bacteria. On the other hand, plastic, under high temperatures, can soften and compromise in its quality. This can particularly be an issue if you live in a very hot area and. In this case, galvanized steel feeders can be a better option for you.
Easier To Clean
The longevity of galvanised steel feeders makes it a lot easier to clean and maintain in comparison with plastic feeders. Depending on what type of chicken feed you provide to your chickens, the hardened surface of galvanised steel will ensure that the chicken feed does not stick as easily, making it a greater choice for storing pellets and crumble feed.
Should the galvanised steel feeders become stained, cleaning the surface with ammonia cleansers and rinsing it with freshwater can go a long way in keeping the feeder strong and durable.
There are many advantages of galvanised steel chicken feeders that can make it a worthy investment to raising your chickens on the farm. However, there are other important factors you should consider such as the age and number of your chickens, type of chicken feed you use and your backyard space. For more information on our range of poultry feeders, please click here.
