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

[aart]

Doesn’t sound like it was made correctly. the elbow should extend idown into the bucket at least an inch. It is the vertical section of elbow that keeps the feed in not the horizontal one.

Looks 'right' to me.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-pictures-and-questions.1356048/post-23059926

Have seen plenty of these type feeder get billed out of.

 

[RoosterML]

Looks 'right' to me.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-pictures-and-questions.1356048/post-23059926

Have seen plenty of these type feeder get billed out of.

If you leave the elbow down about 1” it works really well (for me). Crumbles and pellets work alittle differently.

 

[K0k0shka]

If you leave the elbow down about 1” it works really well (for me). Crumbles and pellets work alittle differently.

See my post above and the OP’s diagram. There’s nothing in the elbow left to “leave down”. It ends at the inner bend after you cut it, and there’s nothing left to extend down.

 

[RoosterML]

See my post above and the OP’s diagram. There’s nothing in the elbow left to “leave down”. It ends at the inner bend after you cut it, and there’s nothing left to extend down.

I understand, do not cut the whole hub end or better yet use a street elbow

 

[K0k0shka]

I understand, do not cut the whole hub end or better yet use a street elbow

There are ways to do it differently and solve the problem, but that would require changing the design. What I’m saying is that the way it is in the original post, the design does not work in controlling the spillage.

 

[Flockincrazy]

First off thanks to JetDog who I first saw posted about this incredible feeder. I've been using it for the past couple months and I will NEVER EVER go back to any other kind of feeder!

I started out with the basic red/white plastic feeder that all the feed stores sell............ the chickens wasted more food than they ate so I knew I had to figure out something else.



I then made a PVC tube feeder, but it only held a few pounds of food and seemed to need to be refilled all the time..... and I only have 5 chickens



So then I read about the 5 gallon bucket feeder from Jetdog.................... And I've never turned back!

This thing is SOOO easy to make and it will hold 25 lbs of pellet food!!!

First thing you need is a 5 gallon bucket. You can purchase one at one of the home improvement stores, or if you want to save a few bucks like me you can get a used pickle bucket from your local fast food restaurant for free, or even try your local bakery for a 5 gallon frosting bucket.

Next you need 3" pvc elbow (about $3 at Lowes) and a 3-1/2" hole saw (you can get the hole saw cheap at Harbor Freight).

Cut the end of the elbow off at the red line (see pic below) and then figure out where the hole in the bucket should be so that when you stick the CUT END into the bucket it's about 3/4" off the bottom. Silicone or pvc cement around inside and out, put the top on the bucket and you're set!

I also added an "extension" to the end of the elbow that the chickens stick their heads in to get the food to make the hole a bit smaller and also so that they have to go farther in. This TOTALLY eliminated ALL spilled pellets! The "extension" adds about 1" deeper they need to go. See pictures below.

I put the bucket on a few patio bricks to bring it up to about chest height on my chickens.

My bucket only has 1 elbow but you could probably add up to 3 if you wanted to feed around the entire bucket.






You can see the extension (3" PVC pipe that I added to the elbow in the picture below)



Here is a picture of the bucket in my coop via my coop web cam.



Picture from inside the bucket


Here is the finished product sitting next to my 5 gallon heated water for the winter. There's a link in my signature below for instructions on the waterer.


Another BYC friend of mine (LoneOak) suggested using a "Street Elbow" - I think his idea might work better. -
I used a street elbow in mine which has two different kinds of ends. I cut off the hub end and inserted the spigot end into the bucket. Then I cleaned up the hub end and put it over the spigot end (with the elbow still attached) and pushed it tight against the bucket. The hub fits securely over the spigot holding it all together without any fasteners or glue.


Once you make and use this type of feeder you will NEVER use anything else again!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to make some this weekend I waste so much food and make my own feed for my flock (the older ones) its ridiculous I think this will save me so much money thanks so much for posting this

 

[K0k0shka]

I am going to make some this weekend I waste so much food and make my own feed for my flock (the older ones) its ridiculous I think this will save me so much money thanks so much for posting this

This thread is 7 years old and this feeder doesn't actually work for controlling feed waste. I made the mistake of digging up this old thread and making one of these feeders myself just last week. See my post on the page before this one. Total waste of time and effort.

 

[Flockincrazy]

This thread is 7 years old and this feeder doesn't actually work for controlling feed waste. I made the mistake of digging up this old thread and making one of these feeders myself just last week. See my post on the page before this one. Total waste of time and effort.

Ok well then maybe I will just stick with the one I have i took a pvc pipe 3" cut the top off except the ends and i just fill it 3x a day (i have a large flock) ty for not letting me waist my time

 

[K0k0shka]

Ok well then maybe I will just stick with the one I have i took a pvc pipe 3" cut the top off except the ends and i just fill it 3x a day (i have a large flock) ty for not letting me waist my time

After this one failed, I made a different no waste DIY feeder, design courtesy of another BYC member (aart). The design is much better thought out and the feeder has been working well so far for me. Here's her article describing the build:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-waste-free-funnel-bucket-feeder.67218/

 

[Flockincrazy]

After this one failed, I made a different no waste DIY feeder, design courtesy of another BYC member (aart). The design is much better thought out and the feeder has been working well so far for me. Here's her article describing the build:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-waste-free-funnel-bucket-feeder.67218/

This right here is why I love BYC thanks so much