****** DIY chicken feeder pipe! ******

[WVDoug]

how many chickens do you have? i spent half my childhood on a dairy-farm in N Wisconsin. One of many chores was taking care of the chickens about 50 or so, but that was a lifetime ago and whole different setup. We just built our coop this winter and recently moved our 5 chicks out there. We plan on expanding at some point but starting small. I like the idea of the multipvc when i get more chickens it would be overkill at this point lol

I only have 24 hens and a rooster using the 5 into 1 system right now. I have 11 chicks to add, but will be building a separate coop for the Easter eggers (5 hens, a rooster, and probably 5 chicks) soon, I hope.

 

[UtePassChickens]

Thats Awesome!

 

[Duck Drover]

Does anyone else have trouble with the build-up of dust in these U-shaped PVC feeders?  We made a couple, and while I like the idea of them, the one with crumbles doesn't work well.  First, the feed doesn't seem to flow as well as the one with pellets.  And second, there's always such a build-up of dust from crumbles that I have to scoop it out by hand to expose more of the crumbles.  I have this trouble in regular store-bought feeders, too, but I have yet to find crumbles that don't have a lot of dust in them.  Any thoughts on how to alleviate this problem?  We're thinking of cutting out the bottom of the horizontal tube and replacing it with screen in hopes the dust will fall through but are worried this will cause more friction and restrict the flow of the feed even more.

We use a 4" drain insert in the bottom of our wye to let the dust fall through and to let any moisture out.

 

[TerryH]

I opted for the individual 4" S&D pipe feeders. They have a 45 and a street 90 together on the business end and a plain cap on top. Nothing is glued. I used a single stainless crew on the 45 to 90 connection. Everything else works great as is. I have 3 of them mounted on a couple of pieces of plywood with 2 hole clamps so they are adjustable height wise. That way if can have the perfect height for our littles and easily raise them as they grow. The plywood backers also space the pipe off the wall so the top caps clear. Seems to be working well.

The 2 hole clamps don't fit tightly around the S&D pipe so I made some 1/4" blocks to take up some space. Makes the clamps plenty tight now.

The goofy chickens keep digging out the pine chips under the feeders and then they can't reach the feeders so I cut a piece of 4x4 for a solid step.

 

[WVDoug]

I opted for the individual 4" S&D pipe feeders. They have a 45 and a street 90 together on the business end and a plain cap on top. Nothing is glued. I used a single stainless crew on the 45 to 90 connection. Everything else works great as is. I have 3 of them mounted on a couple of pieces of plywood with 2 hole clamps so they are adjustable height wise. That way if can have the perfect height for our littles and easily raise them as they grow. The plywood backers also space the pipe off the wall so the top caps clear. Seems to be working well.

The 2 hole clamps don't fit tightly around the S&D pipe so I made some 1/4" blocks to take up some space. Makes the clamps plenty tight now.

The goofy chickens keep digging out the pine chips under the feeders and then they can't reach the feeders so I cut a piece of 4x4 for a solid step.

Looks great!
They're probably scratching the chips out because they're dropping food there.

 

[Gsnake35]

This isn't a pipe feeder but i thought i would show it anyhow. it works well and follows the same methodology as the pipe feeder. I used scrap lumber to make it. the clear part is a lid to a tote so i can see the feed level. holds about 40 pounds. the metal feeder was in there as that is what the chicks were used to. that has since been taken out. sorry i don't have a clearer picture or one close up but i am making one now for a friend and i can if anyone is interested. I fill from outside the coop from the 4 inch pvc coming out of the top.

 

[BeardedWalrus]

Here's a feeder I thought up last week. Wish I could have seen all these other neat ideas before I started. I used 4" PVC and used a Dremel to cut/shape the holes. It will hold about 20# of feed. I also did not glue my fittings, because you just never know when you might need a 4" 90....and it holds together fine without it.

 

[WVDoug]

Here's a feeder I thought up last week. Wish I could have seen all these other neat ideas before I started. I used 4" PVC and used a Dremel to cut/shape the holes. It will hold about 20# of feed. I also did not glue my fittings, because you just never know when you might need a 4" 90....and it holds together fine without it.

Looks great!
I can't help but think after the chickens peck at it thousands of times it will eventually come apart. Maybe put a screw in each lower joint just to be sure. If you need to use the parts for plumbing you can turn the pipe so the holes don't overlap.

 

[UtePassChickens]

although I am bias to the bucket for the feeding area, I love all the ideas out there.....I find it funny.....however, it seems the intelligent of today's world... seem to be the family chicken farmers!

 

[QuailCrestFarms]

I see I made a mistake using 2", I had an issue with the feed getting stuck. Any issue with this occurring with the 3"?

O, I like the bucket feeder as well!!


I like my pipe feeder because I fill it from outside my coop