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

[henless]

When I made my feeder, I placed the elbow up against the outside of the bucket and drew a circle around the opening. I did this before cutting off the rim of the elbow. Then when I cut the rim off and slipped it into the hole, it was just the right height off the bottom. I've had no problem with feed filling up under the elbow.

I did this with my 5 gallon and 2 gallon buckets.

 

[Fuzzy Moto]

I saw mentioned in the thread early on that someone put and inch spacer inder the elbow on the inside to trace the location of the hole. So when I did it, I just put the end that was going through the bucket on the outside and had the end that I was cutting off on the ground and used that as he spacer. So maybe an inch and a half of space is left after I cut the bell off to fasten it on the end coming through the bucket. It seems to be working fine for my chickens.

 

[mechanic57]

I measured from the bottom of the bucket to the bottom of the elbow after cutting the elbow. Next time I will measure before cutting. Seems like that will give it more room to fill up. Thanks guys.

 

[pfields]

Off topic but we're one less rooster. I went out this morning to take the PVC covers off the feeders that we built due to rats getting inside during the night. He came up behind me this morning and spurred me on my right leg and then got me twice on my left leg. Went to the hospital for x-ray (to make sure spur didn't break off, doc's suggestion) and antibiotics/pain meds. On my left leg the spur went right behind my ankle bone and my shin bone. It's still bleeding and hurts like crazy.

 

[Calima]

Off topic but we're one less rooster.  I went out this morning to take the PVC covers off the feeders that we built due to rats getting inside during the night.  He came up behind me this morning and spurred me on my right leg and then got me twice on my left leg.  Went to the hospital for x-ray (to make sure spur didn't break off, doc's suggestion) and antibiotics/pain meds.  On my left leg the spur went right behind my ankle bone and my shin bone.  It's still bleeding and hurts like crazy.

I hope you feel better.

 

[pfields]

Thank you. My husband took care of the rooster so I don't have to worry about him anymore. I'm hoping my 20 week old BO won't be mean or he'll have to go, too.

 

[Cluckies]

Wow, hope you are better soon. Sorry you went through that.

 

[pfields]

Thank you. Had to go back to the ER later in the day due to swelling, bleeding and pain on my left ankle. I still can't walk without crutches. The other two holes seem to be healing okay. The pictures below were taken at the hospital before all the swelling set in.

It went in and out on my right leg.

This is the one that hurts the most.

This one went in right beside and under the bone. X-rays were good, no broken spur pieces.

 

[qhlover]

First off thanks to JetDog who I first saw posted about this incredible feeder. I've been using it for the past couple months and I will NEVER EVER go back to any other kind of feeder! I started out with the basic red/white plastic feeder that all the feed stores sell............ the chickens wasted more food than they ate so I knew I had to figure out something else. I then made a PVC tube feeder, but it only held a few pounds of food and seemed to need to be refilled all the time..... and I only have 5 chickens So then I read about the 5 gallon bucket feeder from Jetdog.................... And I've never turned back! This thing is SOOO easy to make and it will hold 25 lbs of pellet food!!! First thing you need is a 5 gallon bucket. You can purchase one at one of the home improvement stores, or if you want to save a few bucks like me you can get a used pickle bucket from your local fast food restaurant for free, or even try your local bakery for a 5 gallon frosting bucket. Next you need 3" pvc elbow (about $3 at Lowes) and a 3-1/2" hole saw (you can get the hole saw cheap at Harbor Freight). [COLOR=333333]Cut the end of the elbow off at the red line (see pic below) and then figure out where the hole in the bucket should be so that when you stick the CUT END into the bucket it's about 3/4" off the bottom. Silicone or pvc cement around inside and out, put the top on the bucket and you're set![/COLOR] I also added an "extension" to the end of the elbow that the chickens stick their heads in to get the food to make the hole a bit smaller and also so that they have to go farther in. This TOTALLY eliminated ALL spilled pellets! The "extension" adds about 1" deeper they need to go. See pictures below. I put the bucket on a few patio bricks to bring it up to about chest height on my chickens. My bucket only has 1 elbow but you could probably add up to 3 if you wanted to feed around the entire bucket. You can see the extension (3" PVC pipe that I added to the elbow in the picture below) Here is a picture of the bucket in my coop via my coop web cam. Picture from inside the bucket Here is the finished product sitting next to my 5 gallon heated water for the winter. There's a link in my signature below for instructions on the waterer. Another BYC friend of mine (LoneOak) suggested using a "Street Elbow" - I think his idea might work better. - [COLOR=333333]I used a street elbow in mine which has two different kinds of ends. I cut off the hub end and inserted the spigot end into the bucket. Then I cleaned up the hub end and put it over the spigot end (with the elbow still attached) and pushed it tight against the bucket. The hub fits securely over the spigot holding it all together without any fasteners or glue.[/COLOR] Once you make and use this type of feeder you will NEVER use anything else again!!!!!!!!!!

I made one of the 5 gallon bucket feeders love it and super easy

 

[mechanic57]

Pfields, that one on the ankle looks painful! My brother in law had to dispatch a rooster for attacking while he was re-filling their water. He was scratched up but lucky enough not to get punctures like that