My home made feeder and water systems.

[Dogfish]

Made an industrial type watering system for the coop. 6 nipples cost me $12, and shipping was $11. Should have bought more.

There is a 5 gallon bucket that is the storage tank. I'll hook up a gutter to supply it with water later, and rig an overflow. I know, got sloppy with the glue. It'll hold.

Made a feeder out of a home depot bucket. Total cost was $3.24 for the bucket and $4.89 for the planter base. Had the sheet aluminum, so I made a cone, drilled some holes, and attached the planter base to the bucket. Add some feed and it works!

 

[cleoandtheo]

Brilliant work, dogfish! It never ceases to amaze me how brilliant people are on BYC!!!

 

[crtrlovr]

good job!

 

[Zahboo]

Can you elaborate more on the watering system? I have some questions. We have breeder pens, they are each 4x2x2 and we have them stacked, There are 5 pens, the left side is 2 high and the right side is 3 high. I am wanting a water system. I've seen the poultry nipples at TSC and they look like it'd be hard for my bantams to get water, so you're opinion? I wasn't able to picture how the water could provide to all 5 pens, especially since one is the same height as the bucket would be.

 

[Dogfish]

Just build a manifold out of PVC "T's" and keep your bucket up higher. Bantams should have no issues getting water, especially if my CX can figure it out. Build it adult sized height, and use wood for the young birds to climb on as a step stool to reach the waterer. Remove boards (I use 2x6's) as they grow.

 

[Herself]

I have a question on your bucket feeder. What did you drill the holes with? I have thingy I use when I'm drilling holes for bird houses, but I don't know if I need something special to cut holes in plastic. Also how did you attach the bottom pan to the bottom of the bucket?

Thanks,

Herself

 

[Dogfish]

I used a cheap 1" hole saw. That works better than a spade or spiral bit. If your bit can drill into wood or steel, plastic is no issue.

As far as attaching the planter base to the bucket, I attached a small piece of wood to the inside of the bucket bottom with a screw, then screwed the planter base onto the bottom of the bucket from the bottom, going through the planter base, bucket, and then into the wood.

 

[chickenriot]

Quote:
Hi Dogfish,

Are your feeders going to be on the ground or hung up ?

The reason I ask is I made a couple of feeders similar to yours out of one gallon buckets for my chicks while they are in the brooder. I finally had to put a brick inside to weigh them down because they kept jumping on the lid to perch, knocked them over and scattered food everywhere.

 

[Dogfish]

The 5 gallon ones are sturdier, and this one sits under the coop with no room for them to get on top of it. The small one I have in the brooder, 1 gallon, did get tipped over unti I figured out that I needed to hang it.

 

[lamelde]

I also need more pictures of the watering system.
How does the bucket connect to the supply line?
Does it come apart for cleaning?