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

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Good idea then the bucket would pop up off the board when the hole was complete..... It would also somewhat flatten out the cutting area....

I have also seen a very firm foam insert inside the cutter to facilitate pushing out the plug.....

so many different ways.... all good

deb

 

[ChickenRisa]

Wow, I love this! I definitely am going to try a bucket feeder. It drives me crazy when the chickens scratch all their feed onto the ground. And I do get rain all winter long so this would be brilliant for keeping the feed dry! Thanks for sharing!

 

[tntchix]

Wow, I love this! I definitely am going to try a bucket feeder. It drives me crazy when the chickens scratch all their feed onto the ground. And I do get rain all winter long so this would be brilliant for keeping the feed dry! Thanks for sharing!

I really believe this is the way to go. I have never seen any spillage from our buckets. Good luck.

 

[Minflick]

I have very little wastage in my pipe feeder. I've used 4" ABS (?) because I could NOT find the white PVC in the proper width unless I wanted to purchase 20', which I did not wish to do. Home Depot had the ABS, although it was a bit pricey for the elbow and caps. For the first 3 weeks, I had a very large brick, not as high as a cinder block, but more than a small red brick, in front of the feeder. I started finding more feed on the floor that I liked, so I took away their brick, and now I find the merest film of feed on the floor under, and on the pipe around. I think I cut 2.5" or 2.25" holes, with a hole saw. The hole saw did a great job, although it somewhat melted the 'peelings' so I had to file them off after to clean up the edges. I THINK my girls are mostly grown now, so hopefully I won't have to raise the feeder anymore. If I do need to, I'll just take it down, move the shelf brackets it sits on, put it back, and bingo - done.



This picture was taken before I got the pullets, and I've made a few adjustments to it since this date, but this IS basically what I'm using now. My horizontal piece is about 8" shorter now, the elbows go right up to the edge of the outside holes, and the uprights are about 4-5" shorter each, to ease my refilling it in place (I was hitting the ceiling!!). I think even less feed will drift out once I switch to pellets. I THOUGHT I was getting pellets on my last bag, but when I opened it up, it was crumble. I don't know if they misunderstood me, or if it doesn't come in pellets (my local feed store has a HUGE selection of chicken feed), but I got crumble and wanted pellets.

It took them 3+ weeks to nearly empty the uprights, (I have 6 pullets), so I really like that aspect of it. I have to fill my water bucket far more often than that.

 

[hennible]

I have very little wastage in my pipe feeder. I've used 4" ABS (?) because I could NOT find the white PVC in the proper width unless I wanted to purchase 20', which I did not wish to do. Home Depot had the ABS, although it was a bit pricey for the elbow and caps. For the first 3 weeks, I had a very large brick, not as high as a cinder block, but more than a small red brick, in front of the feeder. I started finding more feed on the floor that I liked, so I took away their brick, and now I find the merest film of feed on the floor under, and on the pipe around. I think I cut 2.5" or 2.25" holes, with a hole saw. The hole saw did a great job, although it somewhat melted the 'peelings' so I had to file them off after to clean up the edges. I THINK my girls are mostly grown now, so hopefully I won't have to raise the feeder anymore. If I do need to, I'll just take it down, move the shelf brackets it sits on, put it back, and bingo - done. This picture was taken before I got the pullets, and I've made a few adjustments to it since this date, but this IS basically what I'm using now. My horizontal piece is about 8" shorter now, the elbows go right up to the edge of the outside holes, and the uprights are about 4-5" shorter each, to ease my refilling it in place (I was hitting the ceiling!!). I think even less feed will drift out once I switch to pellets. I THOUGHT I was getting pellets on my last bag, but when I opened it up, it was crumble. I don't know if they misunderstood me, or if it doesn't come in pellets (my local feed store has a HUGE selection of chicken feed), but I got crumble and wanted pellets. It took them 3+ weeks to nearly empty the uprights, (I have 6 pullets), so I really like that aspect of it. I have to fill my water bucket far more often than that.

How hard is it to fill? That's a good one for the DUY thread

 

[Minflick]

It's not hard. It's a little awkward, because it's tall and the ceiling is low. The highest point of the ceiling is 6 feet; I'm 5'6"; and the pipe is a little over my head, but only a very little bit. I can still see inside the top of the pipe. I have a big scoop (horse/cattle/goat size grain scoop) and to avoid it overflowing the pipe I got a plastic placemat and I make a semi-funnel. I don't quite fill the scoop, and I aim carefully, and I topped it up on Monday more than a week after I filled it, and the feed level in the pipes was high enough that I could reach down and feel it.

I think my lack of mess is aided by the 4" diameter of the pipe, and the fact that neither unassisted gravity, or me reaching in the holes to pull down feed with my garden weeder (14" long?) fill the horizontal pipe more than about half way vertically. When I go in the coop to check feed, the level of crumble seems to be a good 2" under the holes, so it's not close enough TO the holes to make it easy for them to scoop it out.

I wanted to not use a lot of floor space, so the pipe feeder on the wall was attractive to me. I wanted it IN the coop, because I'm in rural forest, and the mid-level walls of my run are 2"x 4" wire fencing, so small birds can and do go in the run - and will until I overlay 1/2" hardware cloth over the fencing. Plus we get raccoons rummaging around the yard nightly, and I thought feed out in the run would be temptation I just don't want to dangle in front of the raccoons. I also didn't want to have to rig a rain cover. Shut up in the coop at night just works better for me all around.

 

[Bukbuk Betty]

About to send my own bucket feeder of your design on its maiden voyage..... I hope to have the same rave reviews!

 

[amynrichie]

About to send my own bucket feeder of your design on its maiden voyage..... I hope to have the same rave reviews!

And????? How is it going?

 

[lvanarkel]

Hi there, this is a great DYI project. Im just needing to know on the feeder the elbo is a inch from the bottom on the insted so it is turned hole facing the floor? How does the grain get into the tube? Im as well along MI lake shore . The water question is why is a pump needed I bought just a heater? I appreciate anymore info u could offer? My husband would be able to follow your thread Im sure better then I lol. Thanks again...

 

[MeepBeep]

Yes, the elbow is facing down about 1" above the floor of the bucket or container, the food leaks under as it levels out...