To govern the flow of fine feed, I simply select a washer with a smaller hole and put it over the top of the existing feeder hole. I like to keep a few fender washers around for when I’m varying the feed, because I’ll end up with a lot of food on the ground if I’m feeding cracked corn through a hole that was drilled for pellets. If you’re using a plastic barrel and you’ve got a heavy predator population, you may want to glue or caulk a large fender washer over each hole to prevent it from being enlarged by gnawing. The size of the feeder hole will depend on what you’re feeding your chickens- drill larger holes for coarser food - and how much food you want to fall out at a time. Or, if you have a spare tent stake, bend the head into a loop. Instead, you can bend 7-gauge wire into a similar loop-and-shaft shape to make your wobbling feeder bolts. In operation, the birds will peck at the threaded bottom, causing the loop to stir the feed and drop it to the ground below.Īlthough eye bolts are easy to get and install, their threads provide a grip for ambitious little critters to jump onto. The easiest thing for you to do will be to insert an eye bolt, threads-down, into this hole. As with a chicken-watering nipple, the device should wobble inside the hole. The great thing about this no-waste chicken feeder is that food will issue from these holes only when the chickens peck - but you will need to install a device to prevent feed from pouring freely through the hole (or holes) except when the birds want it. If you have a big flock, drill several holes. To create the feeder hole, drill a small hole in the center of the bottom of the barrel. Cut off the lid with a handsaw or reciprocating saw, and then tighten the existing bung and caulk it closed, because rainwater will accumulate on the lid, and you don’t want it to leak into the barrel and spoil the feed. If you cut off the top where it’s skinniest, you can flip the lid upside-down so the flared lip will form an overlapping seal on the now-open barrel top, which is where you’ll eventually be pouring in the feed. Be sure to use a clean, dry barrel or bucket that’s never been used to store toxic substances.īy a miracle of coincidence or of ingenious design, the top of most plastic 55-gallon drums narrows just before flaring into a big lip. To build this design, you can also use a trash can, a lidded metal drum (often harder to find than a plastic drum), or even a 5-gallon bucket. Having a huge, full barrel also provides ballast for the inevitable wind gusts, which would play ninepins with a smaller bucket. Why so big? Because I want to be a lazy chicken wrangler, meaning I prefer to check feed levels only infrequently - and I certainly don’t want to refill often. Build a Better No-Waste Chicken FeederĪt the center of this homemade chicken feeder project is a plastic 55-gallon drum for holding the feed. Third, because the opening is upside-down and high off the ground, it’s particularly difficult for rodents to access. Second, it wastes less feed, because the latter is released only upon interest, and then the interest shifts quickly to the ground. First, because the feeder hole is on the bottom of the barrel holding the food, it’s protected from the weather. Birds peck overhead at the feeder until - bless their short attention spans - some food falls down, and they forget about pecking until they’ve scratched at what’s on the ground. The feed is positioned in a barrel overhead and will fall to the ground, where poultry like to eat. Rather than ignoring the birds’ instincts, it relies on them to do what’s natural. Similar to the way watering nipples work, this design depends on chickens doing what they like to do best - pecking and scratching. I was thinking about designing my own large chicken feeder DIY project when I stumbled upon a popular plan on the web. For some reason, the feed they’ve scattered is never good enough to go back and eat. Some good rodent-free options are on the market, but they don’t curb the birds from launching feed everywhere, like a truck spreading salt on an icy road. Neither of these feeder types will keep feed dry outdoors, which is where chickens like to eat. Birds like to perch on a metal feeder’s top rim and do their business over the edge, into the feed. Maybe it’s because they’re tried-and-true and inexpensive to manufacture. I remember thinking, “Why isn’t there something similar in the form of a homemade chicken feeder?”įlock feeders haven’t changed much in 100 years. The first time I saw a chicken watering nipple, it felt like a Christmas miracle. You only need a barrel, some wood, and a few pieces of hardware - all of which can be upcycled - to make this no-waste chicken feeder. This easy-build DIY project will provide your flock with a large homemade chicken feeder that can be rolled around your property.
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