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

[nguyenkinhphuc2]

I was just talking to someone the other day about making a no waste feeder for their homestead and the 50 or so residents they have. I was thinking that it might be possible to make a large box out of some T1-11, say, 8 feet long 2 feet deep and 2 feet tall, with street elbows every 6 inches around the box. Hinged lid, lined with plastic or metal and pitched at the bottom, so that the feed falls towards the elbows.

Or, maybe picking up a few 55 gallon drums, and going about it the same way as a bucket feeder, but with a lot more capacity and elbows.


Thoughts?

That's a good idea.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

It's hard to beat the hanging metal feeders, since they will last nearly forever if you keep them dry, and hold up to 30 lbs of feed

It wouldn't be too difficult to build something similar with buckets or stove pipe

I inherited maybe a hundred feeders like these, but after I'd already bought several from the feed store (EXPENSIVE!). I sat one morning and watched my flock empty three of the 30 lb galvanized feeders. Buh-bye 90 lbs of feed. That was the day I started working on DIY feeders.

I'm not sure why store-bought chicken feeders and waterers are so ... crummytastic. I honestly have not found one off-the-shelf product that worked, and I've tried a bunch. Sure, I've made some work with "tweaking," but in my opinion these products cost enough that they should at least be functional. Maybe I'm strange or stupid, maybe my chickens are, but I have a hard time believing we're just not normal or clever enough to use a store-bought chicken feeder or waterer.

 

[jimmywalt]

I inherited maybe a hundred feeders like these, but after I'd already bought several from the feed store (EXPENSIVE!). I sat one morning and watched my flock empty three of the 30 lb galvanized feeders. Buh-bye 90 lbs of feed. That was the day I started working on DIY feeders.

I'm not sure why store-bought chicken feeders and waterers are so ... crummytastic. I honestly have not found one off-the-shelf product that worked, and I've tried a bunch. Sure, I've made some work with "tweaking," but in my opinion these products cost enough that they should at least be functional. Maybe I'm strange or stupid, maybe my chickens are, but I have a hard time believing we're just not normal or clever enough to use a store-bought chicken feeder or waterer.

I think we all have fallen for the junk the store sells. Then we get sick of wasted food, or refilling water and then we come here and find others who feel the same and who have created "almost perfect" ways of feeding and watering.

I am sooooo happy with my "Jetdog 5 gallon bucket feeder" (Jetdog is a guy here who I first read about this from), and my heated automatic waterer.

I hear loud and clear what you are saying.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

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[LeslieDJoyce]

It would take a LOT of birds to empty 3 of those 30 lb feeders in one day.

Either they ate it all, or the feeders weren't properly set up, and they simply spilled it on the ground, in which case they will STILL eat it, simply given the time to do so

The idea that it's "wasted" because it's been moved a few inches is false

I've used one with as many as 25 birds and it usually lasts a couple of weeks
I hang it high enough they have to reach up a little rather than leaning down over it.
If they spill some, I don't refill it until they clean it up.

I don't find $20 overly expensive for a product which will last decades, and I bought my first one for just $10

I had about 60 birds at the time. Honestly, they just beaked it out of the feeders, and no, they never ate it off the ground. What they did was bury it in the litter. I eventually had to shovel it out of the coop. It was nasty.

The notion that the birds will clean up feed from the floor ... in this case crumbles ... is lovely. I really, sincerely wish it were always true. But I'm certain there is a reason the poultry experts say feed makes expensive bedding -- and I'm confident that reason isn't about me.

That said, the birds do clean up whole grains and pellets, so switching to those was part of the solution.

I'm reminded here of the little local appliance store that tried to convince me I didn't know how to close the refrigerator door properly and that's why the brand new refrigerator wasn't working ... I invited them to come to my house and show me how to "properly" close a refrigerator door ... and I remember very well the conversation they got to have when they tried to use that line on the man of the house, who I made sure was here when they arrived for my lesson.

I think the whole thing is equal parts funny and frustrating. The issue makes me a little giddy. And I am SO grateful for clever people here at BYC who are solving these problems for people like me.

 

[Primo]

Good post leslie, I watched my 8 birds kick out half the feed in one of these in a day, Then when I raised it to the "proper" height so my rooster couldn't shovel it out, guess what, the shorter hens couldn't get it. There is no way in heck I am going to be spending my time withholding feed and then trying to guess when I think they might have it all cleaned up (especially if you are feeding in a coup full of shavings) But the mice and rats visiting the run sure were happy. I want things to work like clockwork. What works for some and their setups won't necessarily apply to others.

I am having a garage sale this weekend and will gladly put that tin can out for sale with a $5 sticker on it. To each his own

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

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[Primo]

If you simply clear away the some of the litter directly under the feeders, it won't get buried
There are easy solutions to all these things
That's how I got my first one for $10, and have used it for a decade without all these problems

I completely disagree with you, and if you are in Dallas this weekend I will gladly give it to you for free.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

If you simply clear away the some of the litter directly under the feeders, it won't get buried
There are easy solutions to all these things
That's how I got my first one for $10, and have used it for a decade without all these problems

Studies show that the deep litter method improves performance of poultry... but means you can't have a designated bare spot(s) in your coop for spilled feed. Furthermore, studies show that spilled feed hurts poultry performance.

We could literally keep up this conversation for days. One simple solution at a time. But why?

I'm happy you're happy with your off-the-shelf poultry feeder. Lots of people aren't.

 

[McKinneyMike]

Studies show that the deep litter method improves performance of poultry... but means you can't have a designated bare spot(s) in your coop for spilled feed. Furthermore, studies show that spilled feed hurts poultry performance.

We could literally keep up this conversation for days. One simple solution at a time. But why?

I'm happy you're happy with your off-the-shelf poultry feeder. Lots of people aren't.

There is always more than one way to achieve the same goals in life. No one is ever 100% right or 100% wrong. We have choices