Diy feeders

[Crazyfarmlady25]

I was using a small hanging feeder that was on a block on the ground with an ice cream bucket over the top but wanted to make something that wouldn't need to be filled as often (had needed feed every other day) I tried pvc feeders and one is always empty by night time the other they don't seem to like. The ones I made are 2" pipes that are 2ft long and holds 1.5 cups (24 Oz cup). Not sure if adding something to the one to slow down the flow of the crumble would help or not or if I should maybe try a diy bucket feeder? Pics of the two pvc feeders we made and one of the bucket feeder I'm thinking of maybe making. First pic is the one they don't seem to eat out of much.

 

[cavemanrich]

PVC pipe feeders are good. Most that I saw were from 4 inch pipes. They were about 4 foot in height. Another good thing about those,,,,,, They can be plugged closed for the night time.. No snacks for night time predators/opportunists. Also keeps moisture, and weather related rain/snow out as well.
I think the larger pipes would hold more feed, and last more days.


WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Al Gerhart]

The three way elbow on the pvc feeder was clever, never saw that before. And these DIY feeders will work fine until they don't. Feed loss from rats and wild birds but until they find the feed all you have is a bit of waste. I got by with 4" pvc feeders for about a year.

 

[Crazyfarmlady25]

The three way elbow on the pvc feeder was clever, never saw that before. And these DIY feeders will work fine until they don't. Feed loss from rats and wild birds but until they find the feed all you have is a bit of waste. I got by with 4" pvc feeders for about a year.

What did you do after that year for feeders?

 

[Al Gerhart]

Search for my posts on BYC back around 2011 or 2012 and find the development thread for what turned out to be the ratproof chicken feeder. At the time there were two feeders on the market, the Grandpa feeder at $270 and way out of my budget, and one sold on Amazon made out of redwood that had horrible reviews. I made a one out of plywood with critical changes; an inward swinging door, a narrow and distant treadle step, and a counterweight. The whole thing was plywood except for the treadle arms, the hardware, and the counterweight which was a 3/4" diameter steel round bar sliding up and down in conduit clips. It worked, I went from having hundreds of rats to zero in about five days. They were staggering around during daylight hours due to starvation and my dogs were killing them by the dozen.

I posted pictures of the contraption here and people started asking to buy them. I think I sold around 40 or fifty before I realized there was a business in feeders and knew I needed to make a better feeder, sheet metal. So I made a prototype out of cardboard, still have it around at the shop, to work out the part sizes and details. At first it had a plywood door and top cover, using door hinges. The sheet metal was roll flashing as that was all I could cut using a guillotine style paper cutter. I bought a small 36" sheet metal brake. As I made money I bought my first sheet metal shear, a 30" wide one and learned to cut 26 gauge sheet metal for a stronger box. Eventually I was not happy with the wooden door and door hinges so bought gas welding equipment and I invented the door axle with the flat bar so I could attach a wood block to hang the sheet metal door from it. Went to a huge honking 4" x 2" concrete counterweight and a one piece treadle arm. By 2013 I was selling enough to open up a small factory in the Philippines and by 2015 I was importing the feeders. Covid hit, stopped the importing due to price and everything was shut down for six months there anyway so I started making the medium feeders in the U.S. again. We always made a few here but I could afford thicker metal and a more intricate feeder if I made it in a low wage country.

So the feeder was a BYC invention, developed with a ton of feedback from the posters here. Solved my rat problem and created a few jobs for some hardworking people in the Philippines. We restarted production but had to stop to build another warehouse in order to get the export permits which we hope to have in place by summer of 26 so we can keep the price down and have a steady supply. But we will keep a U.S. production going to for those that prefer a U.S. made product and as a safety net after the COVID disruptions.