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

[henless]

I couldn't find any 3" street elbows. It shows Home Depot has them online, but when I went into the store, they never have any. I think the ones I used are the 2nd pic. I cut off the flange and put my elbow 1/2" to 1" off the bottom of the bucket. Any higher, and they had access to more feed and could pull more out.

I did find street elbows in 1 1/2" & 4" sizes. I got the 1 1/2" and made one for my babies. Love the street elbows. No caulk involved.

 

[Cluckies]

Oh, Ic, yes, when I made mine, I did not cut off the flange on my elbow, I kept it on, did not have any issue with feed being scooped out, but now I can see how they could if you cut it off and the feed was even with the opening.

 

[MeepBeep]

I couldn't find any 3" street elbows. It shows Home Depot has them online, but when I went into the store, they never have any.

The 1st one pictured is a 4" 'sewer' street elbow they are smaller than 4" sch 40 PVC elbows, closer to 3" sch 40... At least by me they are not generally stocked in same PVC plumbing isle... The Home Depots in my area have them outside in the lawn and garden area by the rolls of black corrugated drain pipe, cinder blocks and other landscaping items... At my Menards they are in the isle with the lawn sprinklers and irrigation pipes, fittings and trench drains, an isle or two over from the rest of the PVC fittings... The local Lowes by me has them an isle over from the rest of the PVC fittings tucked in a corner by the 10 foot lengths of PVC pipes, with a bunch of other black and green drainage fittings...

 

[mechanic57]

I used a street elbow like the one shown way back in post #3 of this thread. I used caulk on the inside of the bucket where the elbow passes through. If its on the outside, the chickens will eventually pick at it and pull it off. I also used small L shaped brackets to connect the elbow to the bucket like in post # 758.

 

[kathrync]

I believe the issue kathrync is having is that not all elbows are created equal, and the distance highlighted in this picture can vary a lot if you cut off the flanged end... I used the street elbows in the first picture, thus my feed is about 1.5" below the opening, if someone used an elbow like the other two the feed would be near level with the opening and cause issues, this is probably kathrync's problem...

Yes!! This is exactly the issue. My elbow looks like the one on the far right, so cutting off the bottom creates a problem. I should have realized it before I did my first bucket :/

But, I bought another elbow today and left it intact and made another bucket. I guess we'll see tomorrow if it makes a difference.

 

[henless]

The 1st one pictured is a 4" 'sewer' street elbow they are smaller than 4" sch 40 PVC elbows, closer to 3" sch 40... At least by me they are not generally stocked in same PVC plumbing isle... The Home Depots in my area have them outside in the lawn and garden area by the rolls of black corrugated drain pipe, cinder blocks and other landscaping items... At my Menards they are in the isle with the lawn sprinklers and irrigation pipes, fittings and trench drains, an isle or two over from the rest of the PVC fittings... The local Lowes by me has them an isle over from the rest of the PVC fittings tucked in a corner by the 10 foot lengths of PVC pipes, with a bunch of other black and green drainage fittings...

Thanks MeepBeep!!!

I never could find them at Lowes. Home depot says it has them on their web, but no one in the store could find them. But, I was looking for 3" street elbows!! So glad you posted this since I need to make a big feeder for my Cream Legbar babies.

 

[mechanic57]

On Home Depot website, you can select a specific store so it only shows you what they have in stock. When you search for an item, you can select for it to only show you what's in store, or to include items only available online. Some Home Depots are bigger than others so it may be worth checking their store inventory before going.

 

[MeepBeep]

On Home Depot website, you can select a specific store so it only shows you what they have in stock. When you search for an item, you can select for it to only show you what's in store, or to include items only available online. Some Home Depots are bigger than others so it may be worth checking their store inventory before going.

In addition to that, for all three big box stores, if you find a part online and it says it's in stock at your local store but you can't locate it (sometimes the websites will tell you the isle) have the SKU number handy and show it to an associate, as they can look it up on their computer and it will tell them exactly what isle it's located in...

I had to do this with a dusk to dawn sensor for my area light (street light) for some stupid reason the sensor I needed wasn't with all the rest of the dusk to dawn sensors at that store or even in the electrical isles, but instead tucked away in a obscure corner next to a little display of custom order burial cable...

 

[kathrync]

OK, so leaving the elbow intact seems to have corrected the problem! I didn't see any feed on the ground today.

Although, I do get the sense that my hens don't like sticking their heads into the feeder. But hopefully they'll get used to it over time.

I am a little concerned about rats getting into this feeder, though. The feeder is out in the open run, centered on top of a cinder block. (I never had to worry much about my old feeder, because it was hanging.) Have people had issues with this?

 

[MeepBeep]

OK, so leaving the elbow intact seems to have corrected the problem! I didn't see any feed on the ground today.  Although, I do get the sense that my hens don't like sticking their heads into the feeder. But hopefully they'll get used to it over time.

Remember that no waste feeders and water nipples are for our convenience and sanity not the chickens, they would prefer open water and open feed bowls but when push comes to shove they will accept and use the no waste feeders and nipples...