Make your own - No waste - 5 gallon (25# feed) bucket feeder for about $3

[hooktontravel]

Here's my feeder with my duckling and chick (both about 10-11 weeks I think) eating out of it. everyone was little when I first made it, so I put 2 inch pipe as well as 4 so they could reach easier. Now the small-comb girls will still reach in the little holes sometimes, but most of them use the big ones.
I like that I can keep it outside in the rain, they can't poop in it, and unless it's getting empty it doesn't tip over when they jump up on it. I have a total of 7 birds in the pen. You can see the drinking bucket (using horizontal nipples) in the background.

 

[henless]

I keep thinking about this design...and see many disadvantages.
Large fittings are expensive.
Doesn't always eliminate billing out.
Head 'buried' in fitting leaves bird vulnerable to bullying.
Only 1 bird at a time can feed per station.
Biggest thing that bugs me tho is, container is never fully emptied, leaving stale and possibly moldy feed at bottom or extra work to empty and clean container on occasion.
Just my thoughts.

What I do when the feed is almost gone, is pour out what little is left into the chickens treat bowl. They all flock over to it like they are starving to death. Then I fill up the bucket and put it back in the coop. Of course, the chickens all flock over to the bucket like they are starving to death.

I do like your bucket feeder. Do you leave it out all the time? My problem with yours would be mice. I've gotten mice for the first time this year. I just cap my ports in the evening and uncap in the morning. This has cut down on my mice problem.

I made a 2-hole feeder, using this design. Awesome idea. How long does it normally takes the chickens to figure it out? I put the new bucket feeder in a couple days ago and filled the holes up by hand a bit with feed so they could see it easier and figure it out. Well they ate all of that, and now the feed is further down in the bucket, where they would have to stretch their heads further. It seems like they're not touching it anymore. I watched them in the camera this morning, for about 30 minutes after they all came out of the coop. None of them are eating from it. I've thought about maybe trimming the PVC part thats in the bucket, so that it doesnt go as deep, essentially making the feed level a little higher where they could see and it and get to it easier. Any ideas?

Have you tried putting the feeder on some blocks? Some chickens don't like to stick their heads into something that moves. Put it on blocks until they get used to eating out of it, then hang it back up and see how they do.

I love, love my feeders. The feeders & the waterers make chicken keeping so much easier for me.

 

[aart]

Quote: I do not think there have been any mice in there, feeder is hanging in the coop 24/7.
My coop is in a shed where there are mice-have trapped plenty, coop is 6 sides HC but there are door gaps, have seen evidence of mice in another feeder but never in the funnel feeder.

 

[junkman56]

I made a 2 gal. feeder with 3 ports, holes are 2" for my chicks. I just put it in the brooder today. they have not put there head in the ports as of yet. they are scratching around the bucket. but not eating. I have it raised up on a piece if wood.. anything else I should be doing to get them to eat out of it.
thanks Jack

update..... Chicks have found the food, (not all as of yet)

 

[MyChicksRBuff]

What I do when the feed is almost gone, is pour out what little is left into the chickens treat bowl. They all flock over to it like they are starving to death. Then I fill up the bucket and put it back in the coop. Of course, the chickens all flock over to the bucket like they are starving to death.

I do like your bucket feeder. Do you leave it out all the time? My problem with yours would be mice. I've gotten mice for the first time this year. I just cap my ports in the evening and uncap in the morning. This has cut down on my mice problem.

Have you tried putting the feeder on some blocks? Some chickens don't like to stick their heads into something that moves. Put it on blocks until they get used to eating out of it, then hang it back up and see how they do.

I love, love my feeders. The feeders & the waterers make chicken keeping so much easier for me.

Yeah i actually put it on blocks probably a week or so ago because I had that same thought. I've just left it like that rather than hanging it again. I think I may have reported a few posts up, but i also cut the part that goes into the bucket just a bit shorter and also angled the back/top of it such that more feed falls into the area that they eat of out. This is because it was getting to just be powder and the pellets werent falling it well. Seems to be working perfect after a week or two, with no mess all over the place like I had with my old feeder. From what I can tell, all the hens have caught on just fine, but I still have never seen our rooster put his head in the hole. Maybe because the hole is smaller than his head when you count the huge comb in there. He's still alive and looks healthy, but from what I can tell he's just getting crumbs that happen to get caught on the lip of the holes, or the piece or two that they do drop on the ground.

 

[junkman56]

I ended up putting the small chick feeder back in the brooder, the chicks just wasn't eating, I put some feed in my hand and they all came running . I didn't want to starve them. I will try to use the bucket feeder when they get some what bigger

 

[MeepBeep]

I ended up putting the small chick feeder back in the brooder, the chicks just wasn't eating, I put some feed in my hand and they all came running . I didn't want to starve them. I will try to use the bucket feeder when they get some what bigger

If you pander to their laziness they will take advantage of you in a second, given time and no other options they will use the bucket feeder...

This is no different then chickens choosing open watering devices over nipples, they will always take the easy/lazy route if given a choice...

 

[junkman56]

If you pander to their laziness they will take advantage of you in a second, given time and no other options they will use the bucket feeder...

This is no different then chickens choosing open watering devices over nipples, they will always take the easy/lazy route if given a choice...

thank you... I guess I am pandering them, and I shouldn't do that. tomorrow I will put the bucket back in, it seemed to me that not enough feed was filling the elbows in the bucket.

 

[MeepBeep]

it seemed to me that not enough feed was filling the elbows in the bucket.

The feed is not supposed to fill the elbow, that is the point... The elbow forced the chicken to reach inside the elbow and once inside they can't toss the feed out all willy-nilly like they do with othter feeders... Are the bottoms of the elbows about 3/4" off the bottom of the bucket so that feed 'flows' under them?

 

[henless]

I do not think there have been any mice in there, feeder is hanging in the coop 24/7.
My coop is in a shed where there are mice-have trapped plenty, coop is 6 sides HC but there are door gaps, have seen evidence of mice in another feeder but never in the funnel feeder.

I have 1/2" hardware cloth on all the walls in my coop also. I was out there this spring taking down my plastic since winter was over. I happened to look up and I saw a mouse that had squeezed it's way through the 1/2" hardware cloth. He was about half way through & was just a wiggling to get his rear end through the wire. If I had my phone with me, I would have taken a pic. I didn't think they could get through that size wire. It really surprised me.

I made a 2 gal. feeder with 3 ports, holes are 2" for my chicks. I just put it in the brooder today. they have not put there head in the ports as of yet. they are scratching around the bucket. but not eating. I have it raised up on a piece if wood.. anything else I should be doing to get them to eat out of it.
thanks Jack

update..... Chicks have found the food, (not all as of yet)

I have made a couple of these smaller buckets. I have a 1 1/2" port in one & a 2" port in another one. I usually start my chicks at around 2 weeks old using these feeders. They sure waste a lot of feed by the time they get to this age.

Yeah i actually put it on blocks probably a week or so ago because I had that same thought. I've just left it like that rather than hanging it again. I think I may have reported a few posts up, but i also cut the part that goes into the bucket just a bit shorter and also angled the back/top of it such that more feed falls into the area that they eat of out. This is because it was getting to just be powder and the pellets werent falling it well. Seems to be working perfect after a week or two, with no mess all over the place like I had with my old feeder. From what I can tell, all the hens have caught on just fine, but I still have never seen our rooster put his head in the hole. Maybe because the hole is smaller than his head when you count the huge comb in there. He's still alive and looks healthy, but from what I can tell he's just getting crumbs that happen to get caught on the lip of the holes, or the piece or two that they do drop on the ground.

You may need to get a bigger port for your rooster. I had to get a 4" elbow when I had my Cream Legbar cockerel. He had a large comb and really didn't like putting his head inside to eat. Once I got a bigger opening for him, he was fine with the feeder.