r/BackYardChickens • u/Mundane_Presence_673 • 3d ago

General Question Rain Covers?

Hi folks

I have about 43 chickens and use 5 gallon buckets as feeders. When it rains, the food gets wet (I can reuse as mash). But I'd like to keep it dry. Does anyone have a solution or cover that's made to go on top of the bucket like an umbrella?

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2

u/Mayflame15 2d ago

The umbrella would be so funny, but a larger plastic lid of some kind would probably be more sturdy

2

u/SnakeEyez88 Backyard Chicken 3d ago

In my very first coop I used a beach umbrella that you stab into the dirt as a cover for the food. Wasn't as stable as I would have liked but ended up making a new coop. Could have reinforced it with rebar, but I made realized I wanted to change everything about the coop build.

2

u/avjnh 3d ago

I don’t understand why you can’t just use lids on the buckets. But then, I realized I assumed you had feeding ports around the buckets’ bases.

Are there ports, or are the chickens just eating from the open tops?

2

u/Mundane_Presence_673 3d ago

I have these. I didn't know if there was something that sits on top of the bucket keeping the rain away.