Make your own - No waste - 5 gallon (25# feed) bucket feeder for about $3

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gailmaison said:
could I do this with a square kitty litter type bucket ? Only because I have lots of them but also they have a hinged lid...I can never get the lids off the round pails without breaking fingernails galore, and I would rather not have to buy another bucket to get the screw on lid....
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I as kicking around the kitty litter bucket ideal myself. I have added a few more birds to my flock. But since they are usually free range I am not ready to build another coop, and don't want to crowd them. My wife's brand of kitty litter has a smaller pour spot section of lid so I am considering mounting it in the side of the coop with that smaller lid outside of the coop. Keep me from having to enter the coop on days I have to delay letting the girls out.
Will use this great tutorial as a guide, and post the results.
 
jimmywalt said:
Well you could make 10 of them if you had to. Make each with 2 pvc elbows for feeding (20 chickens could eat at once).

The elbows are about $2.50 each, so 20 would cost you $50 bucks. You can get the buckets & lids free from your local hamburger restaurant (they come with pickles in them), or your local bakery (frosting buckets).

10 feeders at $5 each is a DEAL!
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Couldn't you just grab a truckload of free drywall mud buckets, clean them up, and use them for feeders. I find them free pretty much everywhere any construction is going on.
 
Chickengene said:
Couldn't you just grab a truckload of free drywall mud buckets, clean them up, and use them for feeders. I find them free pretty much everywhere any construction is going on.
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"For free" is not the point: I poured the Meat-Bird crumbles into a rubber bowl only once. Half of it was wasted because my ducks trashed it all over the place and another quarter was spoiled because they pooped into the bowl. With those "put your head into a hole to get food" feeders at least they cannot sit in their food.
 
gailmaison said:
could I do this with a square kitty litter type bucket ? Only because I have lots of them but also they have a hinged lid...I can never get the lids off the round pails without breaking fingernails galore, and I would rather not have to buy another bucket to get the screw on lid....
Click to expand...

Chickengene said:
I as kicking around the kitty litter bucket ideal myself. I have added a few more birds to my flock. But since they are usually free range I am not ready to build another coop, and don't want to crowd them. My wife's brand of kitty litter has a smaller pour spot section of lid so I am considering mounting it in the side of the coop with that smaller lid outside of the coop. Keep me from having to enter the coop on days I have to delay letting the girls out.
Will use this great tutorial as a guide, and post the results.
Click to expand...

One thing to bear in mind with the kitty litter buckets... most litters have a scent to them that is VERY difficult to get out of the plastic. I use them for feeding my cows, but any longer term storage of feed in them, and it picks up the odor. I have tried bleach, baking soda, and let it sit for days in the sun... but the smell stays, permeates the feed, and I’ve noticed my cows don’t like to eat feed that has been in a stronger smelling bucket, even for a short time
 
jimmywalt said:
You can put 3 of these elbows around the bucket............ So "serves 3" at a time.
smile.png


And if you have 20 birds you can make a few buckets if you feel they all need to eat at the same second.

My 5 chickens are doing fine sharing the one hole. I watch them sometimes on the wifi cam in the coop and have never seen any fights.

I wouldn't use this for chicks, but only for 18 weeks and older.
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Since the opening seem to point away from each other, why couldn't you put say six of these ports around a bucket.
 
aart said:
Some folks put caps over the fittings at night...or put it up where rodents can't get at it.
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I just attended a chicken seminar at my county Farmer's coop, and the Chicken Man said he feeds his birds twice a day.
Do most folk do it that way?
I have noticed a couple mouse droppings in the feeder I leave hanging inside the coop. I did surprise a mouse on the rim of it one evening.
I also have a feeder hanging in the outdoor run part that seems to feed the wild birds and neighbor's flock more than mine.
Not sure I can do the twice a day feed thing because of other time constraining, required activities.
 
Chickengene said:
I just attended a chicken seminar at my county Farmer's coop, and the Chicken Man said he feeds his birds twice a day.
Do most folk do it that way?
I have noticed a couple mouse droppings in the feeder I leave hanging inside the coop. I did surprise a mouse on the rim of it one evening.
I also have a feeder hanging in the outdoor run part that seems to feed the wild birds and neighbor's flock more than mine.
Not sure I can do the twice a day feed thing because of other time constraining, required activities.
Click to expand...
I believe chickens should be free fed(feed available every hour they are awake).
Rodent problems can make that frustrating, but they are usually only active at night so putting the feed up at night can help.
Other things should be done if you have rodents freely habitating your coop.
Trapping, storing feed in metal can, clearing things they can use as shelter/nests, etc.
 

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