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

[farmerbrowne]

howdy, has anyone ever made a grain hopper for feed storage? Im looking at different storage methodes of feed

 

[perchie.girl]

howdy, has anyone ever made a grain hopper for feed storage? Im looking at different storage methodes of feed

There was a link a while back of a hopper made from a 55 gallon drum affixed to a range feeder inserted inside a chicken feeder.

Not it but interesting
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/417771/feed-hopper-is-finished

Here it is Not a 55 gallon but just a trash can

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1053217/100-lb-capacity-automatic-chicken-feeder-with-solar-panel

Pretty cool idea

deb

 

[farmerbrowne]

Thank you, I was thinking more along the lines of a silo sorta holder for storing grain.

 

[ladyearth]

Person in "farm Show" magazine. Did the big white rectangular totes the 300 gallon or so ones... turned into grain bins....

 

[perchie.girl]

Thank you, I was thinking more along the lines of a silo sorta holder for storing grain.

I am looking for designs for them as well. Four or five compartments With a place to fill a bucket in front.

Sort of like a gravity feeder on Steroids.

my scanner is occupied but I did a quick sketch in Corel.... I so miss my drafting board



design your hopper around the bucket or what ever you need to fill

deb

 

[attimus]

The domed panel will be fine in the snow. I have a single panel one just shy of being finished but you can rig two or even 3 together depending on your space. And with a big enough tarp can be cover from one side to the other.
Attimus

 

[mom of silkies]

That could be your problem. A triangle is the strongest shape (that is why geodesic domes work, they are a lot of connected triangles) but you have to keep them triangular

And the deeper the triangular tent shaped structure is from a 2D shape, the weaker the sides will be without reinforcing framing.

A flat cattle panel is happy to be that way and as you can see from the true hoop pictures, they will flex quite a bit under load but they WANT to be flat which is why they hold that hoop shape. When flexed they are a giant spring. There are people here who can tell you what happens when you bend them enough to get into the bed of a pickup for the trip home and they decide they would rather be flat.

I would toss the tractor format and go with a true hoop. Besides being inherently strong due to the panel WANTING to be flat, you have 100% usable space with the (near) vertical walls unlike the tight angles at ground level in a triangular tractor. You could put on lift up wheels if the ability to move it is desired.

If I did not have my old barn and converted horse stall coop, there are only two free standing designs I would consider. The hoop (relatively cheap without a lot of building skills needed) or a Woods coop like JackE has: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter

Thank you very much! I will definitely add a wood frame to my tractor, or I might build a real hoop coop.

 

[perchie.girl]

Person in "farm Show" magazine. Did the big white rectangular totes the 300 gallon or so ones... turned into grain bins....

Ooh you could stand one up to make a dispenser at he bottom or just use it as a reach in bin. I like the idea of square because it is efficient space wise.

deb

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I got the idea for making T-Post hoop coops from @Blooie , and we love them. They are super fast to build, and probably the cheapest coop if you're having to buy stuff ... we used 1" chicken wire to wrap the cattle panels, but you could invest in 1/2" hardware cloth for more security. Greenhouse plastic is pretty inexpensive and great for letting light into the coop, but it can get hot in the summer without good ventilation and some shade. You could add a layer of shade cloth between the cattle panels and the plastic.










You can see we left the plastic off the far wall, and we also cut a vent in the top of the door. We roll up the sides in the summer.

 

[Cluckies]

I got the idea for making T-Post hoop coops from @Blooie , and we love them. They are super fast to build, and probably the cheapest coop if you're having to buy stuff ... we used 1" chicken wire to wrap the cattle panels, but you could invest in 1/2" hardware cloth for more security. Greenhouse plastic is pretty inexpensive and great for letting light into the coop, but it can get hot in the summer without good ventilation and some shade. You could add a layer of shade cloth between the cattle panels and the plastic.




You can see we left the plastic off the far wall, and we also cut a vent in the top of the door. We roll up the sides in the summer.

Great job!