BackYard Chickens › Coop Designs › Simple Pvc Hopper Type Feeder

Simple Pvc Hopper Type Feeder

jeb251
By: jeb251
Posted 9/12/10 • Last updated 9/12/10 • 47374 views • 35 comments

 

 

                   my simple $5, 5 minuet feeder   

 

 

 

 

 Hi all,

I made the first one of theese about two years ago, now I have about ten of them of different sizes, they are so easy to make and they work great

I take a piece of three or four inch pvc pipe what ever length I need or that will fit in the space IO intend to put it and cut about a two inch notch out of the end

 

a closer shot of the notch

 

 

then I put two screws in the pipe with the notch facing forward through the 5 inch sewer cap to hold the whole thing together

 

 

a closer look

 

then I put two screws in the pipe with the notch facing forward through the 5 inch sewer cap to hold the whole thing together

 

 

then I make a hanger hole with a smaller hole just abouve it so that it doesnt fall off

 

 

this one is used in my brooder so I put two holes in it so that I could adjust the height as the birds grow

 

the mounting screw

 

 

closer look at the mounting screw

 

 

 and here it is mounted on the screw in side the coop

 

 

here is what I like about these feeders

 

1. they are easy to make (takes about five mins)

2. they are simple to use

 

 

 

3. they can be moved easily

4. they can be made what ever size you need without taking any more time

5. they are very very cheap

 

 

I cant think of anything I dont like about them

 make one for yourself, if you dont like you only have $5 and 5 minuets in the whole thing

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (35)

Kay56 2/16/12 at 9:45am
Thanks for sharing! I shall be making a few of these.
marxmail 2/19/12 at 4:20am
great idea... I am going to home depot today! Thank you.
CrazyCatCulby 2/23/12 at 5:52pm
I am inspired...I really need to invest my $5 and 5 minutes!!!
strutncrow 2/26/12 at 7:25pm
i had been thinkin of something like that but you brought it to life thanks i will be makin atleast two of them
bwalden 2/29/12 at 7:22pm
I like this design. i have looked at several on here as well as Youtube. This seems to be a simple design. Just what i am looking for. Thanks for sharing.
KimKimW 3/14/12 at 9:43am
Love this! Going to make a few of these for my coop. It will match the awesome PVC waterer idea I stole from here as well!
Thanks so much!
schamberfarms 3/14/12 at 4:29pm
Thats a great feedre been thinking of doing this myself glad to know it works good.
pudellvr 3/29/12 at 6:12am
I built this yesterday for my adult hens. I really like it. It holds a good amount of feed. I used pipe hanging straps to secure the feeder to the wall and put a screw through at the height I needed it to be.
bwalden 4/2/12 at 1:11pm
I've built one of these since I last posted on this thread. It works great! Thanks again!
kengland 4/12/12 at 8:24am
Where on gods green earth do you find a 5" sewer cap? 6" is too big for a 4" pipe I think.
pudellvr 4/12/12 at 8:29am
Lowe's. It's at the end of my plumbing isle.
Chickarella 4/13/12 at 3:07pm
Ohh my. I have been looking to make exactly that, but did not know how. Thank you soooo much. Does it have to be open at the top in order for the food to flow easily? Can it be capped?
pudellvr 4/13/12 at 4:23pm
Yes, I have put caps on mine and the food flows freely. Unlike those with the curve in them. This is great for preventing the chickens from billing out the food onto the ground.
jykmoy 4/17/12 at 1:46pm
Do the feed drop directly into the Cap? Your photo doesn't show the notched portion you had originally cut. Does the Cap sit on the floor, and you move it up as the chickens grow? Does the design minimize the feed that is knocked on to the floor of the coop? I'd like to see if I can keep as much of the feed in the cap and not on the floor.
CSisley 5/1/12 at 11:45am
First off let me start out by saying I had one of those feeders you hang from the ceiling and it is awful when it comes to food waste. The food sits so close the rim that the food just flies out when the hens peck. The only way to get them to clean up after themselves is to not feed them so they have to hunt for the food. I'm not real keen on making my hens hunt since some of them are visually impaired and it isn't their fault they can't see.
Things I love about this design:
-The best thing I like about this design is that you can decide how deep to make the notch so you can decide how close to the rim you want the food to be. I've found that this design significantly reduces the amount of food left on the floor.
-It takes up less floor space because it is so upright but it holds more food than my old feeder which took up more floor space. Yes, only two hens can eat at a time but when you let your hens eat as much as they want whenever they want this isn't an issue because they will simply eat at different times.
-Its simple design allows for easy cleaning.
-Easy mount and dismount. I modified this design slightly by putting a notch shaped like this ----O using a drill and jigsaw, (tale end up) 1/4 from the top and bottom for stability. I figured how far from the floor I wanted the feeder to be and put the two mounting screws in accordingly. It literally takes me less than 10 seconds to mount or dismount this feeder which is awesome.
-Filling it up is nice depending on how long you make your pipe because if you make it long enough there is no stooping down involved in getting it filled. I made a funnel with a large hole that I hang above the feeder so it's easier to get the food in the pipe without spilling it.

One possible downside: I'm not sure where they got their sewer caps but when I went to Lowes they only had 6" ones that were $11.51. I just looked on the Lowes website and there is another type of 6" sewer cap that is $5.22 but the $11.51 was the only one I saw when I was there and at the time I didn't know any better and got them. I already had the pipe so that wasn't an expense but I'd find it difficult to buy the supplies for just $5.00.
jykmoy 5/1/12 at 7:58pm
I've just started with a couple of baby chicks. They are about 3 weeks old now, and already they are tossing the feed around all over the place when feeding! So much of the feed winds up in the watering unit that I have in the box with the chicks. Will definitely graduate to using your 4"PVC pipe to save on feed! I've had chickens before and saw the waste, so am glad you are here!
ourfunnyfarm 5/16/12 at 4:23am
love this idea! thank you!
jykmoy 5/16/12 at 8:51am
The last photo you have here shows the cap near what looks like a 2x2 perch or roosting pole. What is that? How many inches off the floor is the cap ???
m.r.heavenlyhens 5/25/12 at 6:59am
Even I could make some of these!!
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