Shallow depth no-waste feeder

Scott E.

In the Brooder
Jun 26, 2017
19
16
31
I wanted to build a shallow depth feeder that I could put against the wall of the coop to protect it from the weather. I remembered a container for holding charcoal briquettes at the home center and decided to make one out of it. It is designed to keep charcoal dry while sitting beside your grill, so it should shed water acceptably for a feeder. Also I liked the size, not too big, not too small. I know that everyone likes free/cheap solutions and this one is a little more expensive at $20 for the container, $4ea for the Street El's, and $2ea for the couplings. But this can be put against a wall and not take up a bunch of floor space inside the coop.

I cut a 1/4" ring off of the hub end of the street elbow and glued it onto the spiggot end to provide a "collar" for support on the backside of the container. I couldn't find any street el's that had a collar, so I made my own. Then I cut up a coupling to make a rain hood for the outside of the container.

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I built one using a clear plastic tote with locking lid. I put 8 ports on it and it holds a full 50# of feed. It last 12-14 days before needing to be refilled. I already had the caulking, and only had to buy the clear tote/lid and elbows. With about 1/2 hour of work I had a great feeder for my flock that save us a ton of time and wasted feed! I sat it up on a chimney block in the center of my coop, now there is no way for rodents to get to it! works like a charm.
 
That looks good. That's the nice thing about making one of these, you use what works for you! If your chickens are older, you might want to raise it up one more block, to make it easier for them to get their head inside. I have mine on 2 blocks with a step at one port for my bantam.
 
That looks good. That's the nice thing about making one of these, you use what works for you! If your chickens are older, you might want to raise it up one more block, to make it easier for them to get their head inside. I have mine on 2 blocks with a step at one port for my bantam.
We added another block after this picture was taken. I noticed that the girls were dragging crumble out of the feeder. Added a 2" block and it seems to be the perfect height.
 

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