Why wont my feeder work???

[nuttyredhead]

So I made this feeder, 3 inch pvc pipe, 90 degree elbows. I ws all excited to put it in the coop! But the food wont go throught the elbows to the bottoms piece....What did i do wrong? Hubby thinks i need a bigger pvc pipe, like a 4 inch. Any thoughts????? ( i really like the concept, i have been pouring food through the holes and so far the chickens arent spilling it all over!)!

Here it is!

 

[kuntrygirl]

I was thinking the same thing about you needing a bigger pipe.

 

[OtterCreekRanch]

90 degrees is too steep an angle....you need something more like 45 degrees. I am having the same problem with another kinda of feeder I made out of pvc and I have noticed everyone that has them that it works has a more gentle curve.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

The feeder is too long.

It will never flow that far no matter what the angles are

 

[Chinchilla2]

Quote:
You need to go with 45's instead of 90s. Also if you can get the pipe itself to curve a bit (PVC does have some flex to it) so that there is a gentle bend to the feed trough area (like a smily face), gravity can help out a lot. However, gravity can overcome only so much resistance when it comes to the food flowing from point A to point B. The center area may never fill.

The coop I am currently building has a feeding and watering system as part of the plans so I have been studying several different designs. So far the cup system for watering and the PVC feeding system appear best when it comes to cleanliness and ease of use. The one I have designed in my head uses the flex pipe system so I can adjust the curving as needed to get maximum flow with minimal angle.

 

[Nonny]

I had a similar, smaller, one that worked really well while I was using feed that had BOSS mixed in with it but as soon as I swapped to one without the BOSS the feed just stuck in the pipe and wouldn't flow. I assume it was because the bigger, smoother BOSS kept it all flowing. I'm now in the process of building a gravity fed treadle feeder instead.

 

[Ole rooster]

With what you have you need some type of auger to carry the feed down the tube. Just some kind of a hand crank something or other. As they've said, the angel is to sharp and the distance needed to long.

 

[galanie]

Quote:
x2

My main problem is squirrels eating all the food up. I now have the feeder right by my back door so I can monitor it and it's astonishing how much less food I'm having to use. The girls are now used to stepping on the treadle with it propped open some and I'm gradually propping it up less and less. At first it scares them when it pops up upon stepping on it. They have to be pretty hungry to get over that. Once they are fully using it I will move it back into the coop. Just sick of having rat and squirrel poo in there and wasting so much. I swear I don't like owning dogs but I'm thinking of getting one just to keep the squirrels away. My back yard is covered with them in the mornings and there's nothing there but some acorns, which they only eat as a last resort.

 

[nuttyredhead]

THank you all for your advice! I am going to cut the big bottom pipe in half (so it is shorter!)and going to try the 45 degree also! So maybe i will end up with 2 or 3 smaller feeders! I just love the concept, they havent been ble to make a mess lol!!!!

 

[Oregon Blues]

Feed should flow down hill, but it doesn't flow down hill on the level.

Your feeder section is flat, so how do you expect the feed to flow out to the middle of it? Gravity isn't going to do it.