INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

some of our homemade pallet wood trough feeders. These have worked the best until they break. But they are quite cheap to make we just have to pay for the screws. They are at most 2.5 ft long.

our most recent gutter feeder in the making this is the style that the mouse was hidden under with her nest.

Pictures for @Leahs Mom

A couple years ago, I built multiple wood boxes, like yours. And I used them for little planter boxes. I am doing the same gutter things, but longer. I will be mounting them on the walls

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm always a little afraid to use gutters as I don't know what is in them that might be toxic to the birds over the long-term. Some day I'm going to check out what the metal is and also the coating on it.

I know that zinc from feeders and waterers can cause heavy metal build-up/poisoning over time so I try to avoid galvanized in general.


So....I try to stick with wood or glass whenever possible.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I'm always a little afraid to use gutters as I don't know what is in them that might be toxic to the birds over the long-term. Some day I'm going to check out what the metal is and also the coating on it.

I know that zinc from feeders and waterers can cause heavy metal build-up/poisoning over time so I try to avoid galvanized in general.


So....I try to stick with wood or glass whenever possible.

It is the glue that worried me for a bit but I did not see any of the chickens roll over and die from eating the food.

Those troughs used to hold wet food last fall, dry food during the winter on the few days the birds went outside, wet food this past spring, and currently they get dry food tossed in multiple times a day as we have a fly problem this year. Food sitting around feeds the bugs / mice. Even the broken troughs can hold a small bit of dry food as I like to make sure the food is spread out enough to try and give every chicken a chance to eat it right away instead of hoping there is some left for the runt to get later when the alphas are dust bathing.

The pallet ones are made from a couple of different pallets and scrap 2x4 wood. We had 2 or 3 pallets that had wider skinny flat wood. we used that for the floor of the trough. Then we screwed the screw up from the bottom of the trough floor into thicker edge pieces. The thinner the edge pieces the less the chickens walked / stood on the trough ~ but the faster the trough got broken as the thinner wood did not fair well in the wet conditions of rain or wet food.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

on a smaller scale, we plan to make some troughs out of drywall pans for this winter. I think we will be screwing the drywall pan right onto the edge of the breeder pen. Since I'm pretty sure we are staying away from wet food I'm not too worried about the screw holes dripping or leaking.

editing to say we are also considering a PVC feeder that allows us to feed the chickens without enter the pen. The cost is much higher on those though.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

any good designers out there that can draw up some plans for how to make a homemade one of these for less than #35 and with one of the sections being separate from the other 2 so I can fill it with calcium.

http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=120033&cat_id=143

 

[Leahs Mom]

The only problem with saying that you don't see any adverse effects is that with heavy metal, it is a "build up" over time in the bloodstream issue. You won't necessarily see any adverse effects right away.

Then after it builds, it manifests much like any other disease so it's hard to pinpoint that's what it is from without taking blood levels.

Signs of zinc poisoning in chickens include:

Loss of appetite / weight loss
Feather picking
Shallow breathing
Depression and lethargy
Weakness and shaking
Loss of balance
Diarrhea (in advanced cases stool may appear black and tarry)
Vomiting
Kidney, liver and pancreatic anomalies
Anemia
Death


Signs of lead poisoning:

Poultry with higher contamination levels may exhibit the following symptoms:

Lethargy
Depression
Failure to grow or to maintain weight
Loose stools – greenish-black in color
Lack of balance
Disorientation
Inability to perch
Vomiting
Brain function disturbance
Loss of coordination
Loss of vision
Seizures
Inability to hold head straight
Death


Article in NY times regarding lead detected in backyard chickens

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/d...ead-for-new-yorks-garden-fresh-eggs.html?_r=0

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I know people that have used the gutters for a long period of time, without any issues. Not something I would of decided to add without the research

 

[hoosiercheetah]

any good designers out there that can draw up some plans for how to make a homemade one of these for less than #35 and with one of the sections being separate from the other 2 so I can fill it with calcium.

http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=120033&cat_id=143

I could work on sketching up something you could cut out of 1/4" plywood. If you want it close to their dimensions, I'm guessing a 2'x4' sheet would get you there, and you might even make it wider with that much wood. I'm actually thinking of a somewhat simpler design that might do the same job... basically this:



http://www.bassequipment.com/feeders/the+fine-x+feeder/default.aspx



http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24383

http://www.strombergschickens.com/prod_detail_list/trough-and-wall-mounted



But with dividers so you could fill them with different things, and sized so that you could load up 10 lbs of feed at a time.



Is that what you had in mind? Or was there a particular feature of the feeder you pictured that you'd want to duplicate?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

yes those metal ones are almost exactly what I was looking for. The exception being that for the chicken feeder I would not want the feed to come to the top as they would fling it out. For the ones that I will be making, they need to be less than 24 inches wide and not super tall, when in position, the top of the feeder storage can at most be 23 inches off the ground. Otherwise the door will not open correctly.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@hoosiercheetah

If you successfully make something like that...
And if it has a roof of sorts that will keep rain/snow out...

I might be interested in buying one.