DIY chicken feeder: step by step instructions, bunker, from a plastic bottle

Many people who do household chores raise chickens. These birds are bred for eggs and fresh chicken meat. Before you breed chickens, you need to properly equip the chicken coop. To do this, you will have to create a feeder for chickens with your own hands.

Chicken feeder requirements

Before you start creating a brooder feeder, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic requirements for such a design:

• The feed container should be shaped so that the hens cannot climb on top of them. This is done to prevent excrement and debris from getting into the feed.
• Experts advise creating designs that are easy to clean. They should not weigh much, and therefore the case should be made of light metal or plastic.
• The size of the tray should be enough so that any chicken can freely approach it. The length must not be less than fifteen centimeters.

Types of feeders

There are three types of feeders most commonly used in chicken coops.

Tray

Many poultry farmers install tray structures in poultry houses, which are large in size. They are made from various materials. However, most often the trays are made of wood or durable plastic. An iron mesh is attached to the top of the product, which protects the food from trampling by chickens. Among the advantages of tray containers, their versatility is distinguished, as they are suitable for mushy and dry compound feed.

Other feeder benefits include:

• Durability. Wooden and plastic products do not rust and have good wear resistance.
• Easy maintenance. It is easy to care for such products and clean them from dirt.

Grooved

A considerable part of poultry farmers instead of trays use flute containers, which are externally made in the form of elongated sections. They are located at a slight slope so that the feed is better scattered along the bottom of the feeder. The advantages of flute products include the fact that they can serve almost any crumbly feed.

In the manufacture of grooved products, tin sheets, plastic bottles and even plywood are used. Some make them from plastic water pipes ten centimeters in diameter. Such products can last 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 bird food. Also, an important part of the feeder is the feeding area, on which feed is poured from the storage.

Bunker systems are equipped with special restrictive grids that prevent feed from scattering and preventing hens from trampling on it.

How to DIY?

Detailed step-by-step instructions will help you make your own food container.

From plastic bottles

The easiest way to make a feeder is from a plastic bottle. This design is made in several stages:

• Creating 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. A few nails are installed at the bottom of the bottles. To do this, they are preheated in advance, after which they are carefully inserted into the container. Nails are needed to distinguish between the approach of birds to a container filled with food.
• Attaching a watering can on the neck. This funnel bowl is used to evenly fill the bottle with grain.

From the pipe

To create floor tray feeders, you can use ordinary PVC pipes. 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 eat feed.

Then the structure is placed on the floor, fixed with fixing screws and closed with a plug so that the food does not spill out.

From plywood

From plywood sheets you can make an automatic bunker-type feeder. In this case, the design 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 chicken feed hopper structure is sometimes made from a plastic bucket. To do 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 inside the bowl. Then the bucket with the bowl is connected with screws. Before using the design, the bucket is filled with chicken feed, covered with a lid and transferred to the chicken coop. A filled bucket will last for 2-3 days, after which it will have to be filled with compound feed again.

Where is the best place to place?

Feeders in the chicken coop can be installed anywhere. Plywood bunker products are suspended from the wall. Tray and groove do not have to be installed near the walls. Experienced poultry farmers do not recommend placing feeders near the walls, as the food there quickly becomes damp and begins to deteriorate. The distance between the tray and the wall of the chicken coop should be about 30-40 centimeters.

Feeding rules

There are several feeding rules that must be followed when raising chickens:

• in the morning, birds should be given more bran and compound feed, and in the afternoon they are fed with grain;
• all chicken feed should be stored in dry rooms below 15 degrees Celsius;
• hens 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.

Specific feeders for broilers and laying hens

Broilers are most often fed from hopper 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 laying hens, you can use any variety of products. However, many poultry farmers use tray products, as they can accommodate more feed. Also, laying hens are fed from troughs, which are made of plastic material.

Conclusion

You need to give food to chickens with the help of special feeders. To make them yourself, you need to familiarize yourself with the varieties of products and understand the features of their creation.

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