Chicken Feeders, More Details
At one time I posted an article about Chicken Feeders. These feeders have worked out fairly well, but the measurements were not ideal. Feed was scattered, and the water on some of them did not flow as deeply as could be desired. So here are the updated dimensions, that for adult chickens, small and large, work perfectly.
For the support ring, I like a 3″ PVC pipe section. The bottom of the feet should be from 1/2 an inch to 1″ wide.
The top notch should be about half way up. I like a 1″ hole to start.
The critical measurement is the height, 5 1/4″
Here is a bottom view of the finished support ring.
The bucket holes should be high enough to prevent grain spillage. My holes here are 2 1/8″ in diameter, and centered 5″ above the base.
This way the water and the feed fittings are the same and work out perfectly. This feeder reduces the mess made of the food and water, by the chickens, it mostly eliminates the waste of food, and it is quite reliable.
Bob
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Thank you so much for sharing these designs!
I am glad to share, Valarie!
Bob
I’ve built the feeder for my 3 little pullets, but I have to say, for pullets under 3 months of age…..a better choice seems to be to have ONLY a 2 1/2″ hole drilled with a center of 5″ from the base – NOT the taller slot. The two 7-weekers can get through those slotted holes, and there – ankle deep in food – scratch to their hearts’ content.
I had to put about a gallon of crumbles back into my jug today (and wasted half again as much that had too much crud mixed in) that my pullets had scratched out the holes into the coop. I took a second bucket, cut round holes ONLY, and put the jug in that one.
They’re sure messy critters, aren’t they?
You are correct on the pullets. Amazingly messy and they need a bit of a lower hole. I made the first ones after examining the little ones sixe and behavior.
Once they get bigger, they will scatter much, much less with the taller hole setup, and the water will be a touch cleaner. Not that clean and water seem to go together around chickens. I have kept the original buckets for the little chickens.
I made the slot, to accommodate their drinking habits and the variations in size, For pure feeding a simple hole is a lot cleaner.
If chickens have a good spot to dust bathe, they will tend to remain much cleaner creatures. It is so cute watching them dig out holes and partially bury themselves.
Bob