The best chicken feeders for 10 chickens

For ten hens the pick is Grandpa's Feeders 40 lb treadle feeder: forty pounds is about sixteen days of feed at this flock size, and the treadle lid shuts rats and wild birds out completely rather than merely discouraging them. If that is more than you want to spend on a feeder, the VEVOR 40 lb treadle uses the same principle in cruder hardware, and a 30 lb port feeder with a locking lid is the best non-treadle option.

Ten birds is the flock size where feeder choice stops being cosmetic. Two hens will eat out of almost anything; ten hens arrive at the feeder at the same time, scoop feed onto the floor if the ports sit at the wrong height, and empty a small hopper fast enough that you are refilling every few days. A flock that size also goes through enough feed to keep a rat population alive.

The arithmetic that sizes the feeder

A laying hen eats roughly a quarter-pound of complete feed a day. Ten hens is therefore about 2.5 lb a day, or 17.5 lb a week — which means a 20 lb feeder is an eight-day feeder, not a monthly one. The table this site uses throughout the feeder cluster runs the numbers for every flock size.

Read the ten-hen row and the sizing decision makes itself. If you want to fill the feeder once a fortnight you need 35 lb of capacity or more. If you do not mind a weekly top-up, 20 lb is fine and cheaper. There is no husbandry advantage to the bigger hopper — it is purely how often you want to carry a bag out to the coop.

Port count matters as much as capacity at ten birds

Hens feed as a group, with a pronounced peak in the late afternoon as they fill their crops before roosting. Penn State Extension's laying flock guidance treats continuous feed access as the baseline, and a feeder with too few openings for the flock quietly breaks that for the birds at the bottom of the pecking order — they wait, or they do not eat.

The rough working figure is one port per two to three hens, so ten hens want four or more. A twelve-port feeder is not overkill at this size; it is the reason the lowest-ranked hen gets fed. A single-opening treadle feeder is the exception, because it holds its lid open for as long as a bird stands on the plate, so the birds queue rather than compete.

The picks

Two treadle feeders, a locking 30 lb hopper and two high-port-count options, all sized for a ten-bird flock.

#1 · Ten or more hens, filled fortnightly

$269.95·on Amazon

#ad How we are funded · Price as of October 10, 2026

Grandpa's Feeders Automatic Chicken Feeder, 40 lb

Grandpa's Feeders

8.4/10★★★★☆Assessed on specs and owner reports

The 40 lb version of the same treadle mechanism. For a flock of ten or more it halves the number of refills and still shuts rodents out completely.

Published specifications

Capacity	40 lb
Mechanism	Treadle — bird weight opens the lid
Rodent resistance	Rat and rodent proof (manufacturer claim)
Waste	No-waste design (manufacturer claim)

Specifications per Manufacturer figures as published on the Amazon product listing, as published at the date above.

What it does well

• 40 lb is roughly two weeks for ten hens, so refills become fortnightly
• Same closed-lid rodent exclusion as the 20 lb model
• Deep hopper means less chance of the feed bridging and jamming

Where it falls short

• The most expensive feeder on this page
• 40 lb of feed sitting in a feeder in summer will go stale before a small flock finishes it
• Large enough that it needs a sheltered spot inside the run

Our rubric

Waste control

10.0

Capacity

9.0

Rodent resistance

10.0

Weather resistance

9.0

Value

4.0

#2 · Treadle performance at a third of the price

$94.90·on Amazon

#ad How we are funded · Price as of October 10, 2026

VEVOR Automatic Treadle Feeder, 40 lb

VEVOR

9.0/10★★★★◐Assessed on specs and owner reports

A galvanized 40 lb rainproof treadle feeder with a lockable lid, at a fraction of the premium brands. The mechanism is cruder, but the principle — a closed lid rodents cannot open — is the same.

Published specifications

Capacity	40 lb
Mechanism	Treadle, rainproof
Lid	Lockable
Material	Galvanized steel
Waste	No-waste design (manufacturer claim)

Specifications per Manufacturer figures as published on the Amazon product listing, as published at the date above.

What it does well

• Galvanized steel body, published — not plastic, so rodents cannot chew in
• Lockable lid stops a clever raccoon lifting it
• 40 lb capacity at roughly a third of the premium-brand price
• Rainproof, stated

Where it falls short

• Budget treadle mechanisms are stiffer, so the training period is longer
• Galvanized steel will rust at cut edges after a few seasons outdoors
• Heavier than plastic when full — about 40 lb of feed plus the feeder

Our rubric

Waste control

9.0

Capacity

9.0

Rodent resistance

9.0

Weather resistance

9.0

Value

9.0

#3 · Thirty pounds of feed in a lockable metal hopper

$37.99·on Amazon

$39.99 5% off

#ad How we are funded · Price as of October 10, 2026

Tgeyd 30 lb Feeder with 6 No-Waste Ports

Tgeyd

8.2/10★★★★☆Assessed on specs and owner reports

A heavy-duty 30 lb metal feeder with six no-waste ports, adjustable height and a locking lid. The locking lid is what lifts it above an ordinary port feeder — it keeps rain and raccoons out of the hopper.

Published specifications

Capacity	30 lb
Feeding ports	6
Lid	Locking
Height	Adjustable
Material	Heavy-duty metal

Specifications per Manufacturer figures as published on the Amazon product listing, as published at the date above.

What it does well

• Locking lid keeps the hopper dry and stops raccoons helping themselves
• 30 lb capacity means fortnightly refills for a six-hen flock
• Adjustable height lets you set the ports correctly as pullets grow

Where it falls short

• The ports themselves are still open at hen level, so rodents can reach the feed in them
• 30 lb of feed plus a metal hopper is heavy to reposition
• Port diameter is not published

Our rubric

Waste control

9.0

Capacity

8.0

Rodent resistance

6.0

Weather resistance

9.0

Value

9.0

#4 · Twelve ports for a big flock at feeding time

$53.99·on Amazon

#ad How we are funded · Price as of October 10, 2026

Metal No-Waste Feeder, 20 lb with 12 Ports and Tripod Stand

Generic

7.2/10★★★◐☆Assessed on specs and owner reports

A 20 lb metal hopper with twelve ports and a four-height tripod stand. Twelve ports ends the feeding-time scrum, and adjustable height keeps the ports at hen shoulder level, which is what stops the scooping.

Published specifications

Capacity	20 lb
Feeding ports	12
Height settings	4 adjustable heights
Material	Metal
Stand	Tripod, included

Specifications per Manufacturer figures as published on the Amazon product listing, as published at the date above.

What it does well

• Twelve ports means a dozen hens eat at once instead of the bottom birds waiting
• Four published height settings — port height is the real variable behind feed waste
• Metal body resists chewing better than a plastic bucket conversion
• Free-standing, so it does not need a hanging point

Where it falls short

• Open ports do not keep rodents out overnight
• A tripod on soft ground sinks and tips; put it on a paver
• Dimensions and gauge are not published

Our rubric

Waste control

9.0

Capacity

7.0

Rodent resistance

4.0

Weather resistance

7.0

Value

9.0

#5 · A hanging feeder that still controls waste

$54.99·on Amazon

#ad How we are funded · Price as of October 10, 2026

KOL Hanging Metal Feeder, 20 lb with 12 Ports

KOL

7.0/10★★★◐☆Assessed on specs and owner reports

A 20 lb hanging metal feeder with twelve ports and no assembly. Hanging it at hen shoulder height is the oldest waste-control trick there is, and the ports do the rest.

Published specifications

Capacity	20 lb
Feeding ports	12
Material	Metal
Mounting	Hanging, no installation required
Lid	Not published by manufacturer

Specifications per Manufacturer figures as published on the Amazon product listing, as published at the date above.

What it does well

• Hanging keeps the ports off the floor and out of the bedding
• Twelve ports for a dozen hens
• No assembly — out of the box and hung in a minute

Where it falls short

• Needs a strong hanging point inside the coop or a covered run
• Lid type is not published, so assume it needs shelter from rain
• Swings if the birds crowd it, which spills feed

Our rubric

Waste control

8.0

Capacity

7.0

Rodent resistance

5.0

Weather resistance

6.0

Value

9.0

How they compare at ten hens

Treadle or ports: the real decision

Choose a treadle feeder if you have, or might get, rats

A treadle feeder keeps the feed behind a closed steel lid that only opens under the weight of a bird. That is the only mechanism in this category that genuinely excludes rodents, and USDA's Defend the Flock guidance treats rodent and wild-bird control as biosecurity rather than housekeeping. The cost is that hens need a week or two to learn the plate, and that the mechanism is one more thing that can jam.

Choose a port feeder if rodents are not your problem

Port feeders are cheaper, have nothing to go wrong, and at twelve ports they feed a ten-bird flock faster than any treadle can. They do nothing about rats. If your feed lives in a sealed steel can and the coop sits on a clean slab, that may be a trade you are happy with.

Where to put it

• Ports at hen shoulder height. A feeder on the ground gets scratched into the bedding. Most of the feeders above adjust, and that adjustment is the single biggest lever on waste.
• Under cover. Wet feed cakes and molds. A rainproof lid helps; a roof over the feeder helps more.
• In the run rather than the coop, if you can. It keeps feed dust out of the coop air and makes the feeder easier to reach.
• One feeder, not two, unless there is bullying. A second feeder is the fix for a hen being kept away from the first, not a default.

What ten hens also need sized up

Feed is the chore that scales most visibly with flock size, but it is not the only one. Ten hens drink roughly a gallon a day in warm weather, which is beyond what a small fount can carry — waterers for larger flocks runs the same arithmetic for water. They also need about 20 sq ft of coop floor and 100 sq ft of run, which is the figure behind our ten-hen coop roundup.