bucket feeders

rarebreedeggs4u

Songster
10 Years
Sep 27, 2009
701
10
131
Morrow, AR
SO maybe people are already doing this, but I figured I'd post it anyway
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All winter I have been battling my birds over wasted feed. To the tune of 150 birds and up to $150.00 in feed a WEEK. I've experimented with some different feeders, but nothing has kept the little boogers from flinging feed everywhere...until NOW :) I have been building a few PVC pipe feeders, but the parts can be expensive. Finally, in a last ditch disgusted effort with a pen of young feed flinging Penedesencas, I came up with this idea.

Take a clean bucket (used, new doesn't matter). With a 2 1/2" to 3" hole saw, make holes around the sides, about 4" (or more) from the bottom of the bucket. 3-6 holes work pretty easily. Fill the bucket with feed up to about an inch BELOW the holes and hang at shoulder height for your birds. It works and there in no feed scooping, slinging or wasting. Even my super tall crested birds are using it fine.

I'm getting icing and frosting buckets from the bakery in my local grocery store for free. I bought a cheap $9 hole saw at Lowes. Each feeder takes a minute or two to make and the chickens take to it immediately...who doesn't LOVE new feed?~LOL You'll be seeing my cheap plastic POS feeders on Craigslist. I'll keep the deeper metal ones and of course the chick feeders, but will use them only until the chicks are big enough to use a bucket feeder. I am sold on these!!

Since I am now also using 5 gallon buckets with nipple waterers in my pens (THANK YOU to everyone who posted those here!) my workload is about a quarter of what it used to be, allowing me time to enjoy my birds more
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I am making one of these today! I have two nursery pens that the larger chicks and adult hens are making a huge mess in due to flinging the feed "everywhere. All of my other hens think the feed is better over someone elses fence and visit. So I am going to try and make it useful for adult as well as the younger ones.
 
I hope it works as well for you as is it for us.
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I found an EGG in one today in a Welsummer pen and saw a hen fly up and literally directly into the bucket. Only the Welsummers do this, They have some being IN the feeder fetish. That group has always wanted to be INSIDE their feeders. They're getting a lid on their bucket~LOL
 
I wonder if you could put a 6" pvc pipe in the middle of it and fill that with feed to increase the capacity, with notches cut on the bottom to let the feed run out as they ate. GREAT feeder. I may have to do that.
 

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