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

[pegm]

My hens are still billing feed out of the new feeder, does it need to be higher maybe?

 

[jetdog]

Put it so the hole is about as high as their backs.

 

[pegm]

Thank you...

 

[pegm]

Raised it up more, still scraping out some, but not nearly as bad as their old drop feeder!! May try to raise it even higher, I do have two larger and two smaller birds, RIR and BO, 2 EE's. The EE's are the only ones I see eating out of it. But I haven't sat and watched them for long periods of time either.

 

[ki4got]

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?

THANK YOU!!! i'd been trying to figure out a way to make a feeder from a galvanized trash can... this is it!

granted to make it horse proof i'll also have to anchor it down somewhere, but much better than buckets the horses can roll (free ranging horses AND chickens)

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

actually, I don't like them. I refuse to put food in the coop for them to dump into the bedding, which they will given the chance, so the feeders are all outside in the pen. which is uncovered. even the cone covers leak, so I end up with wet feed anyways...

the plastic bucket is a great idea (I would seal around the pipes to keep water from leaking in the crack) and to prevent problems with only 1 feed port, I don't see why you couldn't put feeding ports all the way around it. yes the cost is more, but even at $20 this is an easily cleaned method of feeding multiple birds at the same time...

I also feed fermented feed (which eats galvanized metals), and can see where that might be handy too, to keep the FF from getting dumped onto the ground.

Gosh sometimes I just scratch my head and wonder why I even come to this website.

I wish I could have just posted this thread (since I'm the OP) and then locked the thread. I posted this to help those that might find it useful. Instead there are those that feel they need to disagree with what is posted regardless of the thread.

We have to agree that not everyone will see the world the way we see it. That's what makes BYC a great place to learn things.

Maybe some day the website owner will set up a way were someone can post a suggestion and then not allow any comments................. We could always hope.

it's called an article... anyone can create them and people may comment but not like a thread that encourages back and forth communication. see my sig for my genetics article, as an example.

 

[pegm]

I know they are using the feeder, as there is feed under the ports, but the hen with peepers on cannot seem to see the food port. I tap and tap, she looks and looks, then turns away. I am not too concerned, I am also feeding FF, so there is plenty for her to eat, and when the peepers come off (hopefully forever) she will get in there and eat. I know the EE's are using it, haven't seen the BO using it yet.

 

[enola]

The peepers keep her from looking forward. If you throw out scratch feed a hen with peepers is not going to be able to see a lot of that either.

Take off her peepers long enough to let her learn to eat st the ports. Then if you have to put the peepers back on her she will know where the feed is and not have a problem unless the port hole is too small.

 

[pegm]

Now that's a good idea! Thank you!

 

[yogifink]

um, what are peepers?

 

[Primo]

um, what are peepers?

I had to look it up as well. Apparently people stick these little blinders on hens to keep them from pecking at each other. Think horse blinders. Found it very amusing