This feeder design has at least two holes and depending on the size of the container 4 or 5 access points can be created so no hen misses out on their share of feed! Multi-point access – Some trendy and expensive commercial feeders only have one access point (or feed chamber) meaning the birds have to line up to get a go and this can cause fighting or bullying.All weather – Fitting a storm or rain cover over this feeder is easy enough to do to keep the feed inside the container dry however, a little moisture accidentally splashed inside the feeder won't hurt.If you have a mixed flock this DIY bin feeder is perfect for all types of poultry and allows birds like ducks to scoop out a good bill full of feed. Can be used for ducks and other poultry – Most chicken feeders are problematic for ducks making it hard for them to get their bills into the feed chamber and get a good mouth full of feed.Use any feed type – You can use this type of feeder for any feed such as: pellets, grains, fermented wet feed, garden or kitchen scraps.Clog free – A big problem with some feeders in particular gravity fed ones is the chute or feed chamber getting clogged due to condensation or wet weather/damp conditions.Overall, this design of poultry feeder is truly no mess. However, there is an exception… when this feeder is used for ducks, there's still some mess and feed spill but this is not from the feeder it's by the ducks and the way they eat (they're just messy eaters) and no feeder can stop this behaviour. The way the feeder works means even if the hens do rake through the feed to find their favourite grains they can't rake up and out so the feed stays in the container – this a major advantage over a gravity fed feeders where the feed chamber continues to fill until it overflows. Minimal feed spill or loss – Provided the feeder is not overfilled, it will not spill grain or pellets over the edge of the eating chamber.Low cost – Any old bucket, container, or bin can be used to make this poultry feeder.Easy to make – If you can measure and use a box cutter then you can make one of these feeders.The advantages of this chicken feeder design are: This design is amazingly simple and a picture tells a thousand words but essentially it's any container (like a bin or bucket) with holes in the side for the chickens to poke their heads in to get to the feed. I was surprised at just how far a hen could reach down the bucket and that's when I started thinking about designing a simple bucket or container feeder. One afternoon whilst in my poultry pen I was testing some fermented feed on my hens – I had the feed in a medium-sized bucket and would scoop a little out to throw it to the flock. Naturally, as curious hens can be one came over to the bucket and proceeded to stretch her neck over the large opening and down to reach the feed. In the end, I got fed up with expensive treadle chicken feeders or those PVC pipe gravity feeders and decided to design my own. Lost feed to wild birds or rodents is robbing your poultry of their food and you of good money, not only that, feed spilt all over the ground is messy, annoying, and quite frankly NOT supposed to happen. I don't want to dwell too much on the flaws in feeders except to say if you own chickens and have used standard chicken feeders or even most of the designer brand ones you'd know what I mean. That is, the feeder dispenses feed automatically as the birds eat and this would be fine if the chickens were actually eating the grain or pellets but if a hen learns to rake through the feed without eating it causes more grain to dispense into the feed chamber and then it pours all over the ground. Sometimes the simple and best ideas are right under our noses and this do-it-yourself chicken feeder is one of those revelations – well, in my opinion it is anyway… For many years I've been unhappy with commercial poultry feeders and believe me I have tried nearly all of them! Unfortunately, feed loss is the biggest flaw with most commercial chicken or poultry feeders usually caused by the hens raking out the feed.Ī major design flaw in many of these feeders is the gravity feed element. If you're looking to get chickens and wondering what type of feeder is best to buy than before spending a lot of money perhaps try making a chicken feeder yourself – it's easy and could cost you absolutely nothing! In this short article, I'll show you step by step how I made my chicken feeder.
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