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

[LaurelC]

Looks cool, but make sure that when it gets down near the bottom that you somehow stir it up so that the old feed is used up and doesn't get moldy in the corners.

I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps building a pyramid out of plywood something would help push old food towards the sides.

 

[captop]

I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps building a pyramid out of plywood something would help push old food towards the sides.

Great suggestion. I think I'll see if I can cut some wood blocks at an angle and place them in the corners to funnel the food beneath to where the pvc is. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[yogifink]

I would be cautious about using plywood, outside, to hold feed. Untreated lumber will mold and warp very easily. I think a wood box would a great if it were in a barn, but not so good in an exterior run...

From the pictures looks like OSB? I would get that thing painted at the very least to prevent moisture from soaking in.


Still waiting for someone to make one of these out of a 55 gal drum..

 

[captop]

I was planning on staining/sealing it, even though it is away from any rain, but mostly I wanted to see if it were functional before I let the kids break out their paint sets. It's been about 3 days now and I have to say that so far this has been a slam dunk. Literally zero wasted feed, and the feed-level visual meter has barely even moved. The ladies have taken to it well even though they mostly just stick to the same ports, but I intentionally made it bigger than what I needed just in case I wanted to expand my flock later. Thanks again to LoneOak, GeekySheep, JimmyWalt, and JetDog for the awesome posts about this type of feeder - this was exactly what I was looking for

 

[gailmaison]

Would a square kitty litter bucket work do you think?

I made mine with the square kitty litter bucket mainly because it has a hinged lid !! Also made a waterer using the chicken nipples...also out of the square bucket...it hangs against a fence really well....

 

[Kandire]

Awesome idea that I will have to share with DH! And yogifink, I can see DH deciding to repurpose one of our 55 gallon drums, not sure I want to put the idea in his head though!

 

[Susanv47]

How many buckets would I need for 21 chickens???
great idea, thank you so much.

 

[TexasMomof5]

It depends on how often you want to fill the buckets. We are trying to get ours to where we only have to fill the buckets on pay day (every 2 weeks).
We have 3 buckets and we have currently 4 hens, 3 guineas, 6 ducks and 1 rooster. We filled the buckets on the 12th and they are only 1/4 empty today.

We purchased 10 new chicks, 3 turkeys and 3 geese last week and when they are old enough we will put them in with the older group. At that point We will probaby add atleast one more bucket, but I will just watch to see how much they eat and figure if I am going to add another bucket or just fill the buckets more often.

 

[TexasMomof5]

I would be cautious about using plywood, outside, to hold feed. Untreated lumber will mold and warp very easily. I think a wood box would a great if it were in a barn, but not so good in an exterior run...

From the pictures looks like OSB? I would get that thing painted at the very least to prevent moisture from soaking in.


Still waiting for someone to make one of these out of a 55 gal drum..

I saw a photo somewhere on here of one out of 55 gallon drum.

 

[TexasMomof5]

Where can I find the five gallon waterer your talking about

This is what our waters look like.