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

[Alaskan]

at my home hardware store they have little collars, designed to slide over the pipe... they work perfectly, no cutting required, and are what I used.


See the duct tape in the picture? That was so that I could adjust how far out the collars sat. It worked great, you can see a little bit of dust where the collar joins the pipe elbow, but VERY little, almost none, on the ground.



(that potato looking thing is a rock... just sitting on the ground)

 

[lynnehd]

Yes, try a recycling store like Restore (sponsored by Habitat from Humanity).
I found a shorter piece at ACE hardware in their PVC section. They charged by the foot.

I wonder if they would let you get a shorter piece?

 

[pfields]

So my smallest bird. Is able to get in there and drag feed out. So I'm experiencing a lot of waste. She's not a banty...but she's the smallest of my Australorps.

How do I stop this spillage?

Try raising or lowering the feeder. That along with changing to crumbles really fixed out waste problem.

 

[sierranomad]

Great suggestions...Thanks!!

 

[WthrLady]

also, the adapter to make the hole able to take a threaded ean out cap adds a coue of inches as well.

 

[Alittlehelpplz]

That is a great post!

 

[henless]

The
The OP suggested insterting a short (couple inches) piece of pipe into the elbow fitting to lengthen the distance the chicken has to reach to get to the food. This should also allow for putting a cap on it overnight to keep out rodents.

Problem is, I'm only aware of this being available in 10' lengths (almost $30) and I only need a few inches. Anyone else have this problem? How are you getting your pipe?

Jon

Lowe's has them in shorter lengths, 4" x 2' for $7.92 and 4" x 5' for $9.58. Your really paying more for getting a smaller piece, but sometimes 10 & 20 feet are just too much.

at my home hardware store they have little collars, designed to slide over the pipe... they work perfectly, no cutting required, and are what I used.


See the duct tape in the picture? That was so that I could adjust how far out the collars sat. It worked great, you can see a little bit of dust where the collar joins the pipe elbow, but VERY little, almost none, on the ground.



(that potato looking thing is a rock... just sitting on the ground)

I was wondering what that was sticking out of the feeder!

I thought it was a potato or a funny looking chicken butt until I scrolled down and saw what you wrote!

 

[owlflights]

How do the chickens take to this design? Do they immediately stick their head in there and eat? Is it any harder for them to eat?

 

[jetdog]

How do the chickens take to this design? Do they immediately stick their head in there and eat? Is it any harder for them to eat?

You should put a little food on the edge so they can see it,once they see the food inside they will take to it fine.It took mine less than 5 minutes to figure it out.

 

[QuiltinGramma]

When my chicks were little, I kept the level of the food even with the opening, so they didn't have to reach in very far at all. Now that they are bigger they can reach all the way down, if need be.