Big Honkin' Homemade Feeder!

[FireTigeris]

Like this?

http://www.redbubble.com/people/sbaker5/journal/2832474-jumbo-bird-feeder-exploded

Googgled: five gallon bucket wild bird feeder. and this came up.

Wonder if I can do that by myself.


---

Here's an easier one.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/slate119.html

 

[Wisher1000]

Wow! Well, that first one is alot nicer than what I was thinking! That second one is very similar to mine and if I had one of those relish trays, I would definately try that! I was just thinking of a plywood square, a pan, and a bucket. I have the holes in the bottom of the bucket and the lid on top so I can open and close it for filling. Then attaching chains to the corners of the plywood to hang it. I will get some pics of mine and post them tomorrow night.

 

[GableBabble]

OMG I feel so silly!!! Why in the world did I not think about that. Hubbie stopped using his feeder b/c the cows just started stalking it and the deer got none. We have two in the tractor barn. WHOOT new chicken feeders! Thank you!

 

[mad4horses]

Really cool!

 

[Wisher1000]

Thank you! Please feel free to copy it! LOL!

Fire Tigris - Here is the one I built. I set it on a scrap of plywood so you can visualize what I meant. If you attached chains to all four corners and brought them together at the top, it would hang nicely, I think.

 

[happyhensny]

Thank you! Please feel free to copy it! LOL!

Fire Tigris - Here is the one I built. I set it on a scrap of plywood so you can visualize what I meant. If you attached chains to all four corners and brought them together at the top, it would hang nicely, I think.

I have 4 exactly like this-work great for pellets or crumbles but not mash. Won't flow out the holes. Maybe a funnel inside to direct it out would work.

The original feeder pic - what about using a water cooler jug upside down> Wonder if that would work? Cut the bottom off, fill then set back on.

 

[Wisher1000]

OMG I feel so silly!!! Why in the world did I not think about that. Hubbie stopped using his feeder b/c the cows just started stalking it and the deer got none. We have two in the tractor barn. WHOOT new chicken feeders! Thank you!

Let me know how that goes! Better yet, post pics of yours when you finish.

 

[Wisher1000]

That's an interesting idea, water jugs (like go in an office water cooler, right?) would be much easier to find. How would you put legs on it? Maybe a table-like stand?

 

[ShouldabeenaVET]

I just have to post a pic of my feeder, I can't help it, I'm so proud!

My husband's deer feeder's motor burned out and the rest went onto the scrap pile. I noticed it there and checked to make sure he didn't have plans to fix it and I went to work.

I used the bracket that the motor attached to and cut a piece of 4" PVC pipe to the length I wanted. I attached it with two pipe clamps from Lowes. Then I used an "S" hook to hang the plastic feeder (I had laying around) so that the pipe went down inside the top of the feeder when the wire handle was hooked to the clamp by the "S" hook. I only used one section of pipe (the original feeder stood on two lenghts of pipe for legs) for each leg.

Voila! Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy! Now I have a feeder that holds at least 200lbs of layer pellets. I keep it under a lean-to on the back of our shop where DH parks his tractor, so it won't get wet when it rains.

The only potential problem I can see is if I need to take the plastic feeder part off for some reason, there is no valve to shut off the flow of feed. The other issue would be if the birds knocked it off the "S" hook and all the feed dispensed onto the ground. It is surprisingly secure, though, because the weight of the feed keeps it pressed hard against the pipe because the handle is secured off-center.

Neither of these have happened, but I still won't put more than one 50Lb bag (plus what's left from the last bag) in at a time until I am confident that it is reliable. The only problem I have had is once it stopped up and wouldn't feed down the pipe. The chickens ate all the feed out of the base of the feeder and I had to poke a stick in from the top to get it moving. It wasn't hard to do, but it made me more careful to check it dailey. If it happens again, I will take off the hard plastic funnel shaped piece that bolts to the bottom and cut it off some to make the hole bigger. The hole there is only about an inch and a quarter across and can easily be enlarged to two, three or three and a half inches across.

All in all, I love it and wanted to share... what do ya'll think!

that is the coolest thing ever!! I just so happen to have a deer feeder like that, that is broken in my barn!! I'm going to try this. Thank You for the idea

 

[tigger19687]

That is AWESOME ! Would work great on a huge flock.

The other 5 gall with the green thing on the bottom is great looking and easy too !


Also, if you want a way to stop the flow, attach a Gate valve ( https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-6201-Gate-Valve-White/dp/B005OTLJNE ) so you can see what it looks like. Easy to attach to the pvc you already have.