no waste, 5 gallon automatic self refilling feeder & waterer watering system

[0die]

a bit of a twist on the "3 inch PVC elbow no waste feeders...

 

[snow5164]

I have had chicks for 2 weeks , so here's my question ... One chicken feeds at a time on that feeder.if I have 10 do they fight? Do they need 5 feeders? Do I need a trough so they all have a spot? They seem to do things as a group

 

[0die]

I have 9 birds all between 8-10 weeks old....all sharing one feeder....right now I've seen 3 of them all get their heads in at the same time...when full grown maybe only 2 at a time or possibly even one....but with only 9 birds I think they will figure out how to share...

also I've seen them poke in & out in a synchronized fashion as well...

I was gonna use a T fitting at the bottom and make it a double but decided to try a single first...no issues so far. Now if you got a couple dozen birds well then maybe more openings...unless you are free ranging too and then they will be eating other stuff too...plus a bird ain't gonna eat 24-7 so eventually everyone will get their turn...but the more birds the more refilling of the 5 gal water bottle to deal with...

 

[0die]

there is spare on the shelf for a second 5 gal water bottle....but that will be occupied by a waterer, same concept, feeding 2-3 chicken nipples. pictures to follow once built and in place...

 

[Finnie]

Hi Odie,

How do you get the feed into the water bottle? Is there an opening that doesn't show in the photo?

 

[0die]

It's just a standard 5 gal water bottle that all the office/home water coolers use...

I fill it thru the neck with a large funnel & scoop...then flip it over into the top of the 3" PVC pipe and let it do it's thing until the feed disappears into the PVC tube and refill again.

since it's a clear bottle, no guessing or opening the feeder to check when the feeder is getting low/empty

and no way for any critters, bugs or water to get into the top of it either

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

Great idea Odie, I like that, will use your idea in our coop for sure.

 

[willowoaksfarm]

Thats an awsome idea and if space for feeding becomes a problem you could always locate a feeder out of a commercial broiler house take the bend out and attach the feeder to the bottom of the pipe this would allow a significant amount of birds access at once

 

[0die]

got the auto water chicken nipple system up and running now...so both 5 gal bottle feed the water & food tubes...no waste and no refilling for at least a week...for 9 chickens...your results may vary..lol

If you look closely at the nipples, you will see that I used flat end plugs/caps instead of tapping into the round PVC pipe so the nipples O-rings would have a smooth, flat sealing surface...I drilled the holes 11/32 (I think) and then tapped each hole with a thread tap....it's 3/4 PVC (as I recall)

 

[Briggadane]

Bet you could use a Y joint and have 2(or more?) spouts for more to feed at once...