PVC pipe feeder

[TerryH]

So my hubby made two of these for our chicken coop. I was hoping for less waste of food but went out this morning and my chickens have almost completely emptied one. Any ideas on how to fix this? Maybe higher off the ground? Thanks in advance

Moving it higher will help. The opening should be about shoulder high. My feeders are similar but I used a 45 and a street 90 instead of the wye. I bough some PVC pipe cap and cut them in have so it blocks the bottom half of the opening. Helped greatly. The pic is not mine but it is the same idea.

 

[Don P]

Lay them on the ground flat like a trough or slant them so the feed can slide down with a little shake and cut slots in them all the way down so many can eat out of each side.

Then they can see all that is in there and don't kick it out playing slot machine to see what drops next that may be hidden inside a tube or the can feeder like in the picture I no longer use.

T

 

[katehalverson]

Moving it higher will help. The opening should be about shoulder high. My feeders are similar but I used a 45 and a street 90 instead of the wye. I bough some PVC pipe cap and cut them in have so it blocks the bottom half of the opening. Helped greatly. The pic is not mine but it is the same idea.

Thank you so much! I love the cap idea!!!!

 

[justincasei812]

I am in the process of starting to build a feeder for our chickens and was perusing through this thread and I noticed a lot of people talking about using a 60 degree angle in stead of the 90 degree to get better flow from the holding tube to the feeder portion. My thought leaned toward using 2 - 45 degree angle pieces with maybe a foot or two section in between them. This would still allow the upper (holding pipe) to be straight up and down/ vertical and the "feeder" pipe to be straight/ horizontal. As long as the feeder pipe is not too long I think it would still flow by the force of gravity ok. Has anyone tried this build before and does it work? If not I can see using the 60 degree angle and letting the feeder pipe be the angle towards the ground for more of an even flow of food.

Also with the PVC type feeders how is the spillage compared to how much they eat? When cutting holes is it the general rule to only cut half way through the pipe or should less be cut out?

Thanks.

 

[redheadedhens]

I made mine out of 4" ABS pipe because I couldn't find the fittings for the PVC to make the bottom section....

I know this is an old post, but after looking through 8 pages to find this feeder, I figured I'd take a shot in the dark. This is the feeder I built for our flock of 5, but my question is, what did you do on the bottom? The only piece I could find to plug the bottom seems like it would leave a lot of gaps for feed they wouldn't be able to get at? Was this an issue, in your experience?

Thanks!

 

[ChicMagnet33]

My PVC feeder is a spacesaver, works well.

How big are your holes? Biggest bit I have is an inch and a half do you think that's big enough?

 

[ChicMagnet33]

This is my PVC feeder.  It is made of 4" pvc with 45 or 90deg elbows (can't remember).  I love it, absolutely no waste.  The holes are made with a 2-1/2" hole saw.  Very easy to make and very easy to fill.  I got the idea from another member of BYC.

Would 1 and 1/2 inch holes be large enough?

 

[Monk]

1" holes, I would say no. You can pick up a Saw Hole Bit. If you have no other use for a Saw Hole Bit, borrow one or buy a cheapo for $6-8.Hope this helps...

 

[ChicMagnet33]

1" holes, I would say no. You can pick up a Saw Hole Bit. If you have no other use for a Saw Hole Bit, borrow one or buy a cheapo for $6-8.Hope this helps...

Definitely does thank you

 

[gardengirl01]

Its a great idea. However, I have a nightime mouse problem. I think I could make this work if I took a piece of pvc the same size and cut it so that it fit like a sleeve on top to cover up at night.