I have seen a number of gravity feeders for chickens, but never one quite like what I am thinking of. I tried the pvc pipe style and was not pleased with it. Too hard to fill, didn't hold enough, got clogged too much. It also had a very small space for birds to eat from. I currently have hanging feeders. They hold a lot, but they are a pain to fill. You have to go into the coop (my feathered friends are underfoot and less than helpful!) and try to pour into a smallish opening because the hanger is in the way. Then you have muck on your shoes and have to try to get back out without them following you...I want a better option.
I want to build it into the coop wall so I can easily fill from the outside.
I want it big enough to dump in a whole 50 lb bag at a time to make it a less frequent chore.
I want enough space several birds can eat from it at once, but a narrow enough opening they wont throw too much on the floor.
It seems one could build something very like a rabbit feeder (with a much larger storage section) to accomplish all these things. If it were made the whole length of the wall about 2' high and at least 6' deep with a flip up lid like my nest boxes the feeder part could be covered with chicken wire to prevent food throwing and spaced up off the floor a good bit to keep the bedding from getting tossed in. It seems so perfect. It would even be possible to retrofit it into an existing coop pretty easily.
So has anyone tried this? I can't be the first to think of it. Unless I get some genuine feedback saying 'I tried it and it sucks' I am going to try it when I build my breeding pens this summer.
I want to build it into the coop wall so I can easily fill from the outside.
I want it big enough to dump in a whole 50 lb bag at a time to make it a less frequent chore.
I want enough space several birds can eat from it at once, but a narrow enough opening they wont throw too much on the floor.
It seems one could build something very like a rabbit feeder (with a much larger storage section) to accomplish all these things. If it were made the whole length of the wall about 2' high and at least 6' deep with a flip up lid like my nest boxes the feeder part could be covered with chicken wire to prevent food throwing and spaced up off the floor a good bit to keep the bedding from getting tossed in. It seems so perfect. It would even be possible to retrofit it into an existing coop pretty easily.
So has anyone tried this? I can't be the first to think of it. Unless I get some genuine feedback saying 'I tried it and it sucks' I am going to try it when I build my breeding pens this summer.
