I started with a trigger feeder, it ended up not working so well,
but details of that are in the spoiler
ADDITION 11-7-16
I played with making a no waste funnel feeder using a 5 gal water bottle.
This was kind of an experiment for my brother, using the bucket from my trigger feeder above.
We were chatting on the phone about various feeders for his friend, and looking at websites.
I told him I always really wanted to try this but never found an easy to nab bottle,
so he ordered me 2 and had them delivered without telling me.
It was a jaw dropping(literally) day of delight for me....that rascal!
ANYway......Here some pics and drawings.
Not entirely detailed out here, but you can figure it out.
I cut the bottle roughly in half to fit inside bucket.
Ridge on bottle neck had to be filed down a tad to fit snug inside 2" PVC pipe.
Notches where feed comes out are about 1" wide at bottom and 1" tall.
Start notches smaller then enlarge until you find the right size for the feed you are using.
Update added 8-11-19
Had a few birds that dug and dug and dug to pile up and pull feed out of bucket bottom,
so I added some 1/2" tubing on the edges to deter that. It also acts as a bumper for less feather damage on front of necks from rubbing the edge of feed portals. Longer pieces with slits at ends(red circle) keeps them from being pulled off(not a common occurrence, but does happen).
Updated 3-15-20 added pic of clear tubing, they still get feed up in there.
Tubing definitely keeps feed from being pulled out of feeder tho.
Added some more pics to show lid 10-15-19:
but details of that are in the spoiler
Another update/addition.......5 gal water bottle as funnel...scroll waayy down.
Updated 6-2-17:
As of a couple months ago, I am now exclusively using the water bottle version.
Scroll way down to see it.
Had some less than crumbled crumble and larger pieces kept jamming the trigger orifice,
so went to the bottle version and haven't looked back - it's just simpler, both how it operates and to build.
Been thinking about this for months, finally today I had all the parts and the time to put it together.
I don't know if it will be successful in the long run, and will update page with more details as time passes, but I am hoping it is. I usually make everything easy to take apart for modification after I see how it works out.
Wanted a feeder with a high edge to eliminate billing-out. Was also intrigued with the trigger feeder, so came up with this:
The 3" high sides at the bottom should eliminate billing out.
The 4 access holes are 5 1/4" wide by 6" tall with 3" in between each one.
The lid sits on top of the funnel, snug enough not to be knocked off but easy to remove for filling.
That's a 12" galvanized funnel from TSC (~$10), thought I would have to cut it down to fit into the bucket but a couple of very small notches filed into the edge allows the bucket handle to snap in and hold it steady.
Note: Trigger in this pic is outdated scroll down to see updates.
The 5 gallon bucket handle hangs from a couple of hooks and 2x4's under the roost board.
The top 2x4 is screwed to the roost board support and the lower 2x4 is held to the top one with 4" long 1/4-20 bolts and wing nuts, this allows the height of the feeder to be easily adjusted.
I ended up lowering it after watching them use it for awhile, and can always put longer bolts if needed.
Didn't work well...see below for updated trigger.
But you can see where I cut off the end of the funnel spout.
New trigger 11-1-14: 1/4-20 threaded rod 6" long with an escutcheon attached 'upside down' for mini dish/trigger device, same material for top of trigger shaft but drilled and tapped for 1/4-20 and cut down to resemble the trigger feeder many know from the UK.
The 3" deck screw goes into a small chunk of plastic, 3/4 x 3.8 x ~1", left over from another project
Insert hole has been enlarged to 5/8" for new 1/4 trigger assembly.
Update, 4-19-16, Disc mod:
Disc kept being unseated by vigorous tugging on trigger, dumping all feed into bucket bottom.
Added small sheet metal screws to hold it in place.
Hopefully this works and protruding screws do not inhibit function.
Electrical tape around screw heads to keep screws from falling below and being ingested should happen to work loose.
Added a wing nut screwed tight against the escutcheon plate to keep them from coming unthreaded.
New trigger 'dish' seems to work well, it's lower than the old one and holds a bit of feed that they zeroed in on quickly. Wing nut not shown in this pic.
They were HUNGRY after 2 days of struggling with other triggers......might be a incentive to figure how to use this one.
Updated 6-2-17:
As of a couple months ago, I am now exclusively using the water bottle version.
Scroll way down to see it.
Had some less than crumbled crumble and larger pieces kept jamming the trigger orifice,
so went to the bottle version and haven't looked back - it's just simpler, both how it operates and to build.
Been thinking about this for months, finally today I had all the parts and the time to put it together.
I don't know if it will be successful in the long run, and will update page with more details as time passes, but I am hoping it is. I usually make everything easy to take apart for modification after I see how it works out.
Wanted a feeder with a high edge to eliminate billing-out. Was also intrigued with the trigger feeder, so came up with this:
The 3" high sides at the bottom should eliminate billing out.
The 4 access holes are 5 1/4" wide by 6" tall with 3" in between each one.
The lid sits on top of the funnel, snug enough not to be knocked off but easy to remove for filling.
That's a 12" galvanized funnel from TSC (~$10), thought I would have to cut it down to fit into the bucket but a couple of very small notches filed into the edge allows the bucket handle to snap in and hold it steady.
Note: Trigger in this pic is outdated scroll down to see updates.
The 5 gallon bucket handle hangs from a couple of hooks and 2x4's under the roost board.
The top 2x4 is screwed to the roost board support and the lower 2x4 is held to the top one with 4" long 1/4-20 bolts and wing nuts, this allows the height of the feeder to be easily adjusted.
I ended up lowering it after watching them use it for awhile, and can always put longer bolts if needed.
Didn't work well...see below for updated trigger.
But you can see where I cut off the end of the funnel spout.
New trigger 11-1-14: 1/4-20 threaded rod 6" long with an escutcheon attached 'upside down' for mini dish/trigger device, same material for top of trigger shaft but drilled and tapped for 1/4-20 and cut down to resemble the trigger feeder many know from the UK.
Insert hole has been enlarged to 5/8" for new 1/4 trigger assembly.
Update, 4-19-16, Disc mod:
Disc kept being unseated by vigorous tugging on trigger, dumping all feed into bucket bottom.
Added small sheet metal screws to hold it in place.
Hopefully this works and protruding screws do not inhibit function.
Electrical tape around screw heads to keep screws from falling below and being ingested should happen to work loose.
Added a wing nut screwed tight against the escutcheon plate to keep them from coming unthreaded.
New trigger 'dish' seems to work well, it's lower than the old one and holds a bit of feed that they zeroed in on quickly. Wing nut not shown in this pic.
They were HUNGRY after 2 days of struggling with other triggers......might be a incentive to figure how to use this one.
ADDITION 11-7-16
I played with making a no waste funnel feeder using a 5 gal water bottle.
This was kind of an experiment for my brother, using the bucket from my trigger feeder above.
We were chatting on the phone about various feeders for his friend, and looking at websites.
I told him I always really wanted to try this but never found an easy to nab bottle,
so he ordered me 2 and had them delivered without telling me.
It was a jaw dropping(literally) day of delight for me....that rascal!
ANYway......Here some pics and drawings.
Not entirely detailed out here, but you can figure it out.
I cut the bottle roughly in half to fit inside bucket.
Ridge on bottle neck had to be filed down a tad to fit snug inside 2" PVC pipe.
Notches where feed comes out are about 1" wide at bottom and 1" tall.
Start notches smaller then enlarge until you find the right size for the feed you are using.
Update added 8-11-19
Had a few birds that dug and dug and dug to pile up and pull feed out of bucket bottom,
so I added some 1/2" tubing on the edges to deter that. It also acts as a bumper for less feather damage on front of necks from rubbing the edge of feed portals. Longer pieces with slits at ends(red circle) keeps them from being pulled off(not a common occurrence, but does happen).
Updated 3-15-20 added pic of clear tubing, they still get feed up in there.
Tubing definitely keeps feed from being pulled out of feeder tho.
Added some more pics to show lid 10-15-19:
