DIY Thread - Let's see your "Inventions".

[aart]

Just finished two gravity feeders, one for oyster and the other for pellets. They're about 3'6" and hold quite a bit. It took some experimenting to figure how long to make the horizontal tube at the base. Too long and the pellets didn't make it to the edge, too short and the pellets were on the floor. I got all the materials from homedepot's garden section and it was considerably cheap, about $12 each. If anyone wants the dimensions, just let me know.

What's the diameter of the pipe? Would like to see it full, I don't quite get how it works.

 

[Bens-Hens]

Just finished two gravity feeders, one for oyster and the other for pellets. They're about 3'6" and hold quite a bit. It took some experimenting to figure how long to make the horizontal tube at the base. Too long and the pellets didn't make it to the edge, too short and the pellets were on the floor. I got all the materials from homedepot's garden section and it was considerably cheap, about $12 each. If anyone wants the dimensions, just let me know.

That's great. I made one similar, but put a little elbow in the bottom to kick it up and fight the spills.

I think they are an excellent feeder type.

 

[Clayclay]

Garyk1398,

Youll need:
-4" pipe
-90 degree elbow
-a cap for the top
-a 4" down spout adapter
http://www.homedepot.com/p/NDS-2-in...out-Adapter-904/100377412?N=bv13#.UUvHSFsac5w

The down spout adapter keeps the pellets and oyster from getting wet or spilling out. I cut the bottom flange off to allow the hens to get their heads into where the pellets are.

good luck!

 

[Clayclay]

Thats a good idea. Looks pretty cool too.
My feeders are out in the rain, so i needed to have the front covered.

 

[Bens-Hens]

Gotchya!, Could add two 45 degs and keep the hooded part too if you find they are spilling feed..

I found that the big open hole would allow for a mess, so I got a blanking cap and cut a window in it. Slip over and makes a little 'ledge' to hold feed back while they scratch around.

 

[aart]

Only one, maybe two, chickens at a time can eat from this? I would think that would cause some problems unless you only had a few birds.
Also leaving more than a days worth of food in the coop/run might encourage vermin to move in. It's clever for sure, but maybe not rally practical in all situations.

 

[PetRock]

We have used PVC pipe feeders for 2 years now. We have 2 shorter ones in the coop and 2 long ones in the run but out of the rain. I love them! We have 18 chickens and there is rarely a problem at the feeders. We do let them yard range our 1/3 acre yard so they are scattered around searching for goodies and not confined to the run/coop. We have mice, rats, opossums, raccoons, etc. in the area but I haven't noticed any increase of population in our yard due to the feeders. There is actually less food on the ground than when we used to use conventional feeders. The food doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the pipes. We cut a circular piece of flexible plastic kitchen cutting board and glued it in at the base of the Y. Every so often, I let them completely empty the feeder and I reach in to clean out the little bit of dust left. I only have to fill them once a week. Have I said how much I love these feeders?!!!

 

[Bens-Hens]

We had six birds feeding from our and never noticed a problem. I could see how a big flock could have issues if there was not enough tube feeders.

They are low maint, water proof and pretty clean feeder, DIY for a few bucks. Could easily make a few for the price of one 5kg store bought item.

Not the same as a big bucket type though.

 

[Clayclay]

I have 7 hens and so far its working really well; birds seem to take turns and the food has stayed dry despite some serious pacific northwest rains.
I have them mounted to a pressure treated 4"x4" out in their run. I have a small feeder in their coop for the rare occaision that I keep them in. Ill post a pic of them installed soon.

The pipes are 4" in diameter and hold a lot of pellets or oyster shell.


Previous post with directions:
-4" pipe
-90 degree elbow
-a cap for the top
-a 4" down spout adapter
http://www.homedepot.com/p/NDS-2-in-x-3-in-x-4-in-Styrene-Offset-Down-Spout-Adapter-904/100377412?N=bv13#.UUvHSFsac5w

The down spout adapter keeps the pellets and oyster from getting wet or spilling out. I cut the bottom flange off to allow the hens to get their heads into where the pellets are.

good luck!

 

[PetRock]

We had six birds feeding from our and never noticed a problem. I could see how a big flock could have issues if there was not enough tube feeders.

They are low maint, water proof and pretty clean feeder, DIY for a few bucks. Could easily make a few for the price of one 5kg store bought item.

Not the same as a big bucket type though.

Before moving my breeding flocks out to the farm, we had 33 birds eating from 4 feeders with no problems at all. Most of them were LF Langshans which are very mild mannered birds. It might not work as well with a large flock of another breed. My head hen is a Black Australorp and her enforcers are a Golden Sex Link and a Silver Laced Wyandotte. If I had a large flock just like any of those 3, there might be some serious feeder wars going on!