The Front Porch Swing

[LeslieDJoyce]

Blooie ... there is a pretty good discussion of various DIY feeders in the thread from which I've quoted the following post ... clicking the arrow thingy by the original poster's name should take you to the thread ...

First off thanks to JetDog who I first saw posted about this incredible feeder. I've been using it for the past couple months and I will NEVER EVER go back to any other kind of feeder! I started out with the basic red/white plastic feeder that all the feed stores sell............ the chickens wasted more food than they ate so I knew I had to figure out something else. I then made a PVC tube feeder, but it only held a few pounds of food and seemed to need to be refilled all the time..... and I only have 5 chickens So then I read about the 5 gallon bucket feeder from Jetdog.................... And I've never turned back! This thing is SOOO easy to make and it will hold 25 lbs of pellet food!!! First thing you need is a 5 gallon bucket. You can purchase one at one of the home improvement stores, or if you want to save a few bucks like me you can get a used pickle bucket from your local fast food restaurant for free, or even try your local bakery for a 5 gallon frosting bucket. Next you need 3" pvc elbow (about $3 at Lowes) and a 3-1/2" hole saw (you can get the hole saw cheap at Harbor Freight). [COLOR=333333]Cut the end of the elbow off at the red line (see pic below) and then figure out where the hole in the bucket should be so that when you stick the CUT END into the bucket it's about 3/4" off the bottom. Silicone or pvc cement around inside and out, put the top on the bucket and you're set![/COLOR] I also added an "extension" to the end of the elbow that the chickens stick their heads in to get the food to make the hole a bit smaller and also so that they have to go farther in. This TOTALLY eliminated ALL spilled pellets! The "extension" adds about 1" deeper they need to go. See pictures below. I put the bucket on a few patio bricks to bring it up to about chest height on my chickens. My bucket only has 1 elbow but you could probably add up to 3 if you wanted to feed around the entire bucket. You can see the extension (3" PVC pipe that I added to the elbow in the picture below) Here is a picture of the bucket in my coop via my coop web cam. Picture from inside the bucket Here is the finished product sitting next to my 5 gallon heated water for the winter. There's a link in my signature below for instructions on the waterer. Another BYC friend of mine (LoneOak) suggested using a "Street Elbow" - I think his idea might work better. - [COLOR=333333]I used a street elbow in mine which has two different kinds of ends. I cut off the hub end and inserted the spigot end into the bucket. Then I cleaned up the hub end and put it over the spigot end (with the elbow still attached) and pushed it tight against the bucket. The hub fits securely over the spigot holding it all together without any fasteners or glue.[/COLOR] Once you make and use this type of feeder you will NEVER use anything else again!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Blooie]

Thanks...I have "subscribed" to that thread and several others. I think my big issue tonight is that I'm just so over- tired nothing makes much sense. Um, does that make sense? <sigh> It still looks like rain could get into this one, or am I totally losing it? I probably should have gone to bed when Ken did and start fresh in the morning. LOL

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Thanks...I have "subscribed" to that thread and several others. I think my big issue tonight is that I'm just so over- tired nothing makes much sense. Um, does that make sense? It still looks like rain could get into this one, or am I totally losing it? I probably should have gone to bed when Ken did and start fresh in the morning. LOL

I haven't tried that feeder ... but I'm sure I've read that other people have used it outside in all kinds of weather. They also have those treadle feeders. Some commercial versions hold 50# of feed and are supposed to be rat proof. I haven't tried those, either! Aren't I helpful?

 

[Beekissed]

The problem with using bulk feeders outside or in even in coops with a lot of airflow is that the feed can tend to draw moisture in those large containers and then start to cake and even grow mold. I once had built a PVC feeder with the tube reservoir on the ends and the feed would cake in the tubes, not dispense at the bottom because of it and no doubt was a breeding ground for mold. That was the last time I used bulk style feeders.

 

[LBejaran]

The problem with using bulk feeders outside or in even in coops with a lot of airflow is that the feed can tend to draw moisture in those large containers and then start to cake and even grow mold. I once had built a PVC feeder with the tube reservoir on the ends and the feed would cake in the tubes, not dispense at the bottom because of it and no doubt was a breeding ground for mold. That was the last time I used bulk style feeders.

What I want to know is if I can build PVC feeder for soaked feed without a reservoir. Essentially, it'd be a trough, but how would I do it so it could accommodate my birds of all sizes? Would a 4" PVC pipe be big enough?

Part of me is satisfied with my weird system:

Two bowls of layer feed, three bowls of water. Mix in a plastic bucket, add a little ACV, and let soak for a minute or until the food has absorbed most of the water. Haul bucket outside and pour into plastic feed bowls. Let the chickens fend for themselves; best bird wins the most feed. Everyone eats what they need and I get 9 eggs a day out of my 12 laying hens, several of which aren't egg-laying machines.

There is hardly any feed loss because there are some birds who painstakingly search for every last morsel of fallen feed until they are satisfied. However, it just seems so un-orderly and despite finding the process pretty easy, I wonder if there is an easier way. I get stared at by Mom when I tell her ab out my process. I think I'm the only one who actually finds it simple, haha! I don't want to invest in the huge PVC pipe, though, if I'm not going to like the result. I have to cut into the pipe and there is no way to go back on it once it's done.

 

[Oldmomma]

glad everyone is well, just a hello.

 

[Triple Willow]

@Leslie... I really like the looks of that feeder. I have wondered if it couldn't be used for ff.

 

[Beekissed]

What I want to know is if I can build PVC feeder for soaked feed without a reservoir. Essentially, it'd be a trough, but how would I do it so it could accommodate my birds of all sizes? Would a 4" PVC pipe be big enough?

Part of me is satisfied with my weird system:

Two bowls of layer feed, three bowls of water. Mix in a plastic bucket, add a little ACV, and let soak for a minute or until the food has absorbed most of the water. Haul bucket outside and pour into plastic feed bowls. Let the chickens fend for themselves; best bird wins the most feed. Everyone eats what they need and I get 9 eggs a day out of my 12 laying hens, several of which aren't egg-laying machines.

There is hardly any feed loss because there are some birds who painstakingly search for every last morsel of fallen feed until they are satisfied. However, it just seems so un-orderly and despite finding the process pretty easy, I wonder if there is an easier way. I get stared at by Mom when I tell her ab out my process. I think I'm the only one who actually finds it simple, haha! I don't want to invest in the huge PVC pipe, though, if I'm not going to like the result. I have to cut into the pipe and there is no way to go back on it once it's done.

You could go ahead and just ferment your feed, get more benefit from it in that way and also save on feed. You can have a single trough for feeding all the birds so you just have a single dip out each day and one waterer for all. Birds of all sizes can eat from a feed trough. A nipple bucket can serve for all ages as well with some adjustment to the area below it.

All ways of making it more simple and efficient and so someone else can do it easily in your absence.

 

[Beekissed]

@Leslie... I really like the looks of that feeder. I have wondered if it couldn't be used for ff.

I'm wondering how well it does for more than a few birds....looks like only one chicken at a time could feed from it. I could see that making for huge fighting at the feeder.

 

[Loc20chick]

@Leslie... I really like the looks of that feeder. I have wondered if it couldn't be used for ff.

I have one and tried but doesn't work very well with FF, the food would not continue to flow down as they ate. it's good for dry feed planning to use it when I'm out of town for several days, it prevents waste of the dry feed though not as efficiently as FF. Maybe you can tweak it