PVC pipe feeder

[cabincrazyone]

I'm thinking about one of these feeders for grit & calcium. I'd like to know, (if they're mounted a couple inches off the ground) do they spill a lot? are they pooped in a lot?

 

[Lotsapaints]

mount a feeder level with the back of your birds less mess and if mounted next to a wall they can't roost on it one of my favorite feeders is a piece of old gutter mounted on the wall makes a nice feed trough for cheap

 

[cabincrazyone]

About these things jamming up .... the 90 degree elbow is a fairly tight corner for feed to slide through, unless you have a lot of weight above pushing down ... and these things don't hold that much.
Two things will help the feed to slide through. The bigger the pipe the better, and the less sharp the corner .... the better.

The image at the right has two 60s together to make the bend plus a round, upturned feeding hole for smaller demands such as grit ... like L7Farms' photo.

 

[cabincrazyone]

Quote:
I'm sure the higher it's mounted the less mess. Thanks for the tip about level with the bird's back. Makes sense.

 

[Royd]

Here's one, which I created, recently. Materials needed...3" or 4" pvc,[4" works better and gives you more options], 1/8" x 3/4" galvanized strap, about 3' of length, a glass jug, a 5 gallon bucket, 6- #8x 1" selfdrilling screws.

Tools needed: Sawzall, drill, driver tip, drill bit, and tile wet saw with a diamond blade.

Using the tile saw, cut the jug, just below the curve...It's easier than cutting right on the curve,
Cut the PVC to desired height. A 4' length of 4" pipe will handle about 5 gal. of feed.
Cut the strap into 1' lengths.
Cut the bucket with about a 4" side...You can shorten it, if needed.

OK. here's the tricky part, which requires some experimentation.

Set the PVC into the center of the bucket and determine the angle to bend the strap. If you've got a sliding bevel sqaure, it would make a quick job, of this step. It must contact the point, where the botttom and wall of the bucket meets, for stability....Make the bent leg about 2-3" long...Bend, using a vice and hammer, or bend it over the edge of a sledge hammer, using another hammer. The angle can easily be adjusted.

Now, the tricky part is to determine how high off the glass cone, to place the PVC....Too close, and the feed will jamb up....Too wide, and the feed just dumps out.

Whatever the height, the edge of the bucket must be higher.

Predrill , with 2 holes, the short leg of the strap.

Attach to the PVC with self drilling screws, at the prescribed height.

 

[cabincrazyone]

Brilliant, Royd. Simple and brilliant. You're creative.

 

[Royd]

Quote:
It must be the wine, from all those empty jugs.

I can also cut just the bottom of the jug off, and end up with some glass cloches, for early spring gardening.

 

[lighthawk]

Some photos of my feeders.. Haven't had any problems at all. they are mounted with chains and hooks on either side to allow me to raise and lower them so the girls can get their beaks in and not their butts. Absolutely nothing wasted. The photo was taken when the birds were first out of the brooder and in the coop. Once they were old enough I put the feeders outside in the run and just hung them on the run wall on the hardware cloth. As the birds got taller I just adjusted the chain higher on the fencing.

I cut a semi-circle in the horizontal mounting board and glued them in place then put a stainless steel wood screw through the back of the vertical mounting board to keep them firmly in place and prevent them from twisting in the frame.

 

[cackydoodledoo]

Tagging this so I can find it again to show my husband what he gets to build next!!!!!

 

[Mallory]

Thanks so much for posting and bumping this back up! I'm so happy I've seen it!