2. Birds fed by going inside the feeders on top of the food or from standing around the outside of the feeders. The feeding times of birds inside feeders were significantly longer than those of birds outside. Different reasons to account for this are proposed for the 2 types of feeder.

3. The total number of birds able to feed together from a tray or pan changed as the birds grew. With trays this change in the number of birds was a steady decline. With pans the change was non‐linear and reflected a changing ratio of birds eating in to birds eating out. This ratio was influenced by pan design features and by competition for feeding space.

4. The data suggest that a linear measure of feeding space, as used in research trials and Codes of Practice for Welfare, does not adequately describe birds’ access to and use of feeding space. Implications for both research and the commercial industry are discussed.