Best Chick Feeder 2026: Reel, Mason Jar & Port Feeders Compared (Plus Feeder-and-Waterer Sets)

Quick Answer: The best chick feeder for most brooders is a galvanized reel-top trough such as the Little Giant Metal Reel Top Ground Feeder ($16.99 for 18 in, $19.99 for 24 in on Miller Manufacturing’s store, November 4, 2026): the spinning reel stops chicks roosting and pooping in the feed, and it works from day one. For 6 to 12 chicks, a 1-quart mason-jar feeder base is the cheapest option (My Pet Chicken’s glass-jar-and-galvanized-base feeder is $9.99), and the RentACoop Chick2Chicken 2.5 lb port feeder ($24.95) is the one to buy if you want a feeder that wastes less and keeps working after the chicks move outside. Penn State Extension’s sizing rule is 1 inch of feeder space per chick in week 1, rising to 2 inches by weeks 3 to 8, so plan on a second feeder well before the brooder empties the first one.

A chick feeder has one job an adult feeder can’t do: let a two-day-old chick reach the feed without letting it climb in, scratch the crumbles onto the floor or sit on the rim and fill the trough with droppings. That’s why chick feeders come in only a handful of designs: troughs with a spinning reel on top, flip-top troughs with holes, small round bases that screw onto a quart jar, and newer port feeders that mount on the brooder wall. We compared 7 chick feeders and 4 feeder-and-waterer sets from Little Giant, RentACoop, My Pet Chicken, Farmight and Harris Farms on hole count, capacity, maker-rated chick numbers and price on the makers’ own stores on November 4, 2026, and lined them up against extension guidance on feeder space, feeder height and fill level.

Chick feeders by the numbers

• 1 inch per chick at the start, 2 inches by week 3. Penn State Extension lists minimum feeder space as 1 inch per bird in week 1, 1.5 inches in weeks 2 to 3, 2 inches from weeks 3 to 8 and 3 to 4 inches from 8 weeks on. University of Minnesota Extension gives the same 1 inch at first and 2 inches from 2 weeks.
• Chick feed intake more than doubles in 5 weeks. Hy-Line’s Brown commercial layer standard has chicks eating 16-17 g a day in week 1 and 37-40 g a day in week 6, and 1,039-1,114 g (about 2.3-2.5 lb) each in total by the end of week 6.
• A chick that can’t find feed loses weight fast. In a Poultry Science study (Noy and Sklan, 1999), chicks without access to feed lost 7.8% of their body weight in the first 48 hours after hatch, while fed chicks gained 5 g. Mississippi State University Extension notes the yolk is an energy source for up to 3 days, which is a reserve, not a reason to wait.
• Fill level matters more than feeder brand. Mississippi State says to keep feeders full in week 1, three-fourths full in week 2 and no more than half full after that. University of Minnesota and University of Maine Extension both say half full.
• Chicks need mash or crumbles, not pellets. Mississippi State: “Baby chicks are not big enough to consume pellets.” Every feeder below handles crumbles.
• Chick feeders last 4 to 6 weeks. Cackle Hatchery’s feeder guide says layer chicks can reach through chick-feeder holes for about their first four to six weeks; fast-growing broilers outgrow them in about two.

Our top picks at a glance

Prices are from each maker’s own online store on November 4, 2026. Harris Farms is now a Manna Pro brand, and Manna Pro lists a price but sells only through retailers. No affiliate links: we don’t earn anything from any feeder on this page.

1. Little Giant Metal Reel Top Ground Feeder — Best Overall

The reel trough is the design hatcheries use for their own chicks, and it’s the one most keepers end up with after trying a jar feeder on a batch bigger than a dozen. Miller doesn’t publish a chick count for the Little Giant version, but hatcheries rate similar reel troughs at about one chick per inch of length: Meyer Hatchery’s 20-inch reel feeder “feeds 20 chicks” and McMurray Hatchery’s 24-inch Jiffy-Reel is “ideal for up to 30 baby chicks.” On that basis the 18-inch is right for about 15 to 20 chicks and the 24-inch for about 25 to 30. Chicks eat from both sides, so a trough also gives far more edge than its length suggests when you work out Penn State’s per-chick inches.

The weak point is the open top between the reel and the trough: chicks can still kick bedding in if the trough sits directly on shavings. Set it on a scrap of plywood or a paver from the second week so the lip sits near the chicks’ back height.

2. My Pet Chicken Chick Feeder with Glass Jar & Galvanized Base — Best Budget

A quart jar feeder is the right size for a first, small hatch. My Pet Chicken rates its plastic 8-hole Farmight 1-quart feeder ($6.99) for up to 12 chicks during their first 4 weeks, and a galvanized quart base serves about the same number. If you’d rather buy the Little Giant version, Miller sells the assembled Little Giant Mason Jar Baby Chick Feeder (glass jar, galvanized 8-hole base) for $20.99, or the base alone for $12.99 to fit a jar you already own.

The limit is capacity, not design. A quart of crumbles goes a long way in week 1, but by week 5 or 6, 12 chicks eat around a pound a day (our calculation from Hy-Line’s 37-40 g per chick per day), and a quart jar will need filling more than once a day. Plan to add a trough or a port feeder by week 3.

3. Little Giant 20 in Plastic Flip-Top Ground Feeder — Best for Bigger Batches

Hatcheries count hole feeders at about one chick per hole: Cackle Hatchery describes its own 18-inch trough with 11 holes on each side as “enough for 22 chicks.” By that rule the Little Giant’s 28 holes cover a batch of 20 to 28 chicks, which makes it the best value per chick on this list. My Pet Chicken sells a smaller 12-inch Farmight flip-top with 16 holes for $5.99 if you only need half the size.

The trade-off against the reel trough: chicks can stand on a flat flip-top lid. The holes keep droppings out of most of the feed, but the lid itself needs a wipe every day or two.

4. RentACoop Chick2Chicken 2.5 lb Single-Port Feeder — Best No-Waste Feeder

Port feeders are the chick version of the no-waste feeders most keepers use for adult hens, and they solve the two biggest chick-feeder problems at once: feed scratched out onto the bedding and droppings in the trough. The cost is capacity and space at the feeder. One port serves only a few chicks at a time, so for more than about 6 chicks look at the Chick2Chicken 5 lb 2-Port Feeder ($36.95) instead, or use the port feeder alongside a trough. My Pet Chicken’s Farmight Dual-Port 5 lb chick feeder ($21.49) is cheaper and rated for up to 12 chicks, but My Pet Chicken says chicks must be 1 week old to use it.

Give chicks a few days with feed on a tray or in a trough before relying on a port. At 2.5 lb, the feeder holds about two and a half days of feed for 12 six-week-old chicks at Hy-Line’s intake rates (our calculation), or a week or more for 6 younger chicks.

5. Little Giant Round Metal Chick Feeder — Best for a Tiny Batch

This is the feeder for three to six chicks in a tote. It holds much less than a quart jar, so it needs topping up more often, but it’s stable and there’s nothing to unscrew. My Pet Chicken sells a similar galvanized 6 x 2 in feeder, sold as a chick grit feeder, for $4.99, which is a good way to offer chick grit on the side if you give chicks anything other than starter.

6. Harris Farms Chick Reel Feeder — Reel-Feeder Alternative

If your local farm store stocks Harris Farms rather than Little Giant, this is the equivalent reel trough. Check the length on the box before buying, since Manna Pro doesn’t publish it, and use about one chick per inch as your guide.

7. Little Giant Deluxe Plastic Hanging Feeder, 3 lb — Best Transition Feeder

This is the feeder to add at about week 4, when the jar feeder or reel trough starts running empty twice a day. It also gets chicks used to eating from a hanging pan before they move outside. Hang the new feeder next to the old one for a few days, as Cackle Hatchery advises, before removing the chick feeder.

Chick feeder and waterer sets compared

A matched set makes sense for a first hatch, because you buy once and the two pieces match. Here’s what each set actually contains, checked on the makers’ stores on November 4, 2026.

The Little Giant kit is good value on paper, but the heat source is the part we’d change: a radiant heating plate is the safer choice for most beginners (see our best chicken brooder guide). For the water side, a nipple drinker keeps water cleaner than an open fount; our best chick waterer guide compares the drown-proof options, including RentACoop’s 32 oz drinker at $17.95.

Harris Farms still sells plain plastic screw-on bases in the same quart size, but only as separate parts: Manna Pro lists the feeder base at $2.99 (plastic) or $3.49 (metal), the drinker base at $1.99 and a quart jar at $2.49. Those are list prices for retailers; we couldn’t confirm a shelf price.

How much feeder space chicks need, by age

Extension services agree on the starting figure and differ a little on how fast it should grow:

Put into a brooder plan, using Penn State’s figures:

Our arithmetic from Penn State Extension’s per-chick minimums. A trough that chicks reach from both sides gives roughly twice its length in feeder edge. When in doubt, add a feeder: crowding at the feeder leaves the smallest chicks short of feed.

How much a chick eats, and how often you’ll refill

Hy-Line publishes week-by-week feed intake for its Hy-Line Brown layer. Backyard breeds grow at different rates, but the figures give a realistic idea of how fast a feeder empties:

Source: Hy-Line Brown performance standards guide (December 2025). The weeks 7-8 average, pound conversions and 12-chick totals are our arithmetic. Over a longer stretch, Gail Damerow’s figure for Cackle Hatchery is about 20 lb of feed per layer chick in its first 20 weeks, which is the number to use for buying chick starter feed by the bag.

Setting up a chick feeder that stays clean

• Start on a tray for the first day or two. Mississippi State, University of Minnesota and Cackle Hatchery all suggest scattering starter on an egg flat, paper plate, box lid or paper towel so new chicks find it fast. University of Florida IFAS warns that bare newspaper is slippery and can lead to leg problems, so cover it with paper towels or a textured liner; our spraddle leg guide covers what happens when footing is too slick.
• Raise the feeder as the chicks grow. Penn State’s rule is to put the top lip of feeders and waterers at the birds’ back height. Cackle says the same about feeder holes. A paver or block under a trough does the job.
• Don’t overfill. Full in week 1, three-fourths full in week 2 and no more than half full after that, per Mississippi State Extension.
• Keep feeder and waterer apart. Wet feed cakes in feeder holes and goes moldy. Put the waterer a short walk away from the feeder, on the cooler side of the heat source.
• Use crumbles or mash. Chicks can’t swallow layer-size pellets, and every feeder here is designed for crumbles.
• If the feed is medicated, make it the only feed. Purina labels Start & Grow Medicated to be fed “continuously as the sole ration from day one until onset of egg production.” If your chicks were vaccinated for coccidiosis, use non-medicated starter instead; our coccidiosis guide explains why.
• Check every chick is eating. A chick standing apart from the feeder with a pasted-up vent needs help; see our pasty butt guide.
• Store the bag sealed. Keep opened starter in a rodent-proof feed storage container so it stays dry and mice don’t get to it.

Once the birds are fully feathered and outside, move them on to an adult feeder: our best automatic chicken feeder guide covers treadle and port feeders, and the DIY chicken feeder guide shows how to build a bucket port feeder for about $25, using the same medium ports that chicks can use.

The bottom line

The best chick feeder for most brooders is the Little Giant Metal Reel Top Ground Feeder, $16.99 for 18 inches or $19.99 for 24 inches: the reel stops chicks perching and pooping in the feed, it handles a batch of 15 to 30 chicks, and it lasts for years. For 6 to 12 chicks, start with a 1-quart mason-jar feeder like My Pet Chicken’s $9.99 glass-jar version, and add a trough by week 3. Buy the RentACoop Chick2Chicken 2.5 lb port feeder ($24.95) if you want less waste and a feeder the hens can still use as adults, the Little Giant 20 in flip-top ($15.99) for a big batch on a budget, and a 3 lb hanging feeder ($20.99) for the move from chick to pullet. Whatever you choose, plan for 1 inch of feeder space per chick in week 1 and 2 inches by week 3, keep the lip at back height, and fill no more than half full once the chicks are two weeks old.