Step-by-step instructions on how to make a do-it-yourself chicken feeder
Many people who do housework raise chickens. These birds are bred for eggs and fresh chicken meat. Before breeding chickens, you need to properly equip the chicken coop. To do this, you will have to create a feeder for the chickens with your own hands.
Chick Feeder Requirements
Before you start creating a brooder feeder, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic requirements for such a design:
- The container for placing the feed should be shaped so that the hens cannot climb onto them. This is done to prevent excrement and debris from entering the feed.
- Experts advise creating structures that are easy to clean. They shouldn't weigh much and therefore the case should be made of lightweight metal or plastic.
- The size of the tray should be enough so that any chickens can freely approach it. The length should not be less than fifteen centimeters.
Types of feeders
There are three types of feeder containers that are most commonly used in chicken coops.
Trough
Many poultry farmers install large trough structures in their houses. They are made from various materials. Most often, however, trays are made of wood or durable plastic. An iron mesh is attached to the upper part of the product, which protects the food from trampling by chickens. Among the advantages of trough containers, their versatility is distinguished, since they are suitable for mushy and dry feed.
Other benefits of feeders include:
- Durability. Wooden and plastic products do not rust and have good wear resistance.
- Simplicity of care. It is easy to care for such products and to clean them from contamination.
Groove
A considerable part of poultry farmers use fluted containers instead of chutes, which are externally made in the form of elongated sections. They are located at a slight incline so that the feed scatters better along the bottom of the trough. The advantages of grooved products include the fact that they can serve almost any crumbly food.
Tin sheets, plastic bottles and even plywood are used in the manufacture of grooved products. Some make them from plastic water pipes ten centimeters in diameter. These products can last for several decades as they do not corrode.
Bunker (automatic)
When breeding chickens, quails and other birds, bunker-type feeders are often used. The main element of the whole structure is the bunker, which is used to store poultry feed. Also, an important part of the trough is the feed area, onto which the compound feed is poured from the storage.
Hopper systems are equipped with special restraining grids that prevent the spread of feed and prevent chickens from trampling on it.
How to make it yourself?
Detailed step-by-step instructions will help you to make a container for feed yourself.
From plastic bottles
The easiest way to make a feeder is from a plastic bottle. This design is made in several stages:
- Create a hole at the bottom of the bottle. It is through the holes made that the feed will be poured out to the chickens.
- Installation of nails. Several nails are installed from the bottom of the bottles. To do this, they are preheated and then carefully inserted into the container. Nails are needed to differentiate the approach of birds to a container filled with food.
- Attaching a watering can at the neck. This funnel-shaped container is used to fill the bottle with grain evenly.
Out of the pipe
Ordinary PVC pipes can be used to create floor pan feeders. The length of such a pipe should be 90-100 centimeters. When creating a feeding container, it is cut into two identical parts. In one of them, small holes with a diameter of five centimeters are made. Through these holes, the chickens will be fed with compound feed.
Then the structure is installed on the floor, fixed with fastening screws and closed with a plug so that the food does not spill out.
Plywood
Plywood sheets can be used to make an automatic bunker feeder. In this case, the structure should have a triangular shape so that the pointed part is at the bottom. All plywood components are fixed together with ordinary screws. A lid is made on top, which can be opened before filling the feed.
Experts recommend treating the plywood product with an antiseptic.
From the bucket
The bunker structure for chicken feed is sometimes made from a plastic bucket. For this, holes with a diameter of 1-2 centimeters are cut out in the bottom of the container so that the feed can easily penetrate into the bowl. Then the bucket with the tray is connected with screws. Before using the structure, the bucket is filled with chicken feed, covered with a lid and transferred to the chicken coop to the chickens. A filled bucket will last for 2-3 days, after which it will have to be filled with compound feed again.
Where is it better to place?
Feeders in a chicken coop can be installed anywhere. Plywood hopper products are hung from the wall. Trough and groove ones do not have to be installed near the walls. Experienced poultry farmers do not recommend placing feeders near the walls, as the feed quickly damp and starts to deteriorate there. The distance between the tray and the wall of the coop should be about 30-40 centimeters.
Feeding rules
There are several feeding rules that must be followed when growing chickens:
- in the morning, birds should be given more bran and compound feed, and during the day they are fed with grain;
- all chicken feed should be stored in dry rooms with temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius;
- chickens need to be watered regularly, so they should always have water;
- Drinkers with feeders are periodically cleaned so that dirt and debris do not accumulate in them.
Specificity of feeders for broilers and layers
Broilers are most often fed from bunker-type feeders that are hooked to the wall.
Experts advise using products that are treated with moisture-proof compounds to protect the surface from mold.
When feeding hens, you can use any type of product.However, many poultry farmers use trough products because they can hold more feed. Also, hens are fed from grooved products that are made of plastic material..
Conclusion
It is necessary to give food to hens using special feeders. To make them yourself, you need to familiarize yourself with the varieties of products and understand the features of their creation.
