Homemade feeders and drinkers for chickens. We make chicken feeders with our own hands: plastic, bunker, wooden. Design requirements

When raising chickens, special attention must be paid to proper organization of the feeding process. To do this, first of all, you will need to acquire high-quality and convenient feeders. They can be purchased at a specialized store or made with your own hands using available materials and patterns. What kind of feeders should be and how to make them with your own efforts, read below.

Requirements for feeders

A feeder for laying hens or broilers must have a number of characteristics:

• Made from durable material. To make a feeder, you need to use durable material that has a minimal tendency to deform and deteriorate during use. In addition, the material should not have harmful properties, otherwise it may negatively affect the health of chickens during feeding.
• Has optimal dimensions. The feeder must have sufficient volume to feed the entire population of birds throughout the whole day. To determine the optimal size, it is worth considering the following norm: 10-15 cm of length should be allocated for each chicken in the feeder. For chickens, this norm is reduced by 2 times. However, if the tray has a circular shape, then 2.5 cm is enough for each individual. It is advisable that all birds have access to food at the same time, otherwise stronger individuals will push aside the weaker ones.
• Unpretentious in maintenance. You will have to fill the feeder every day. In addition, it must be cleaned and washed regularly, as well as disinfected. All these processes should not cause difficulties for the breeder. For these purposes, it is better to make non-bulky structures that can be easily moved, washed and carried out other manipulations to prepare it for further use.
• Ensures rational distribution of feed. The feeder should be designed in such a way that chickens cannot climb into it, scatter food and spoil it with their excrement. For these purposes, care should be taken to install protective sides, turntables and other devices to the feeder to strengthen the main feed mass inside the container. In addition, the shape of the feeder must be stable so that the birds do not tip it over.

The feeder must be arranged in such a way that all chickens have access to food, and stronger individuals do not crowd out weaker birds.

Types of structures

They are classified according to various parameters, each of which will be considered separately.

By material

Properly selected material for the feeder is the key to preserving the feed, and therefore saving it. It could be:

• Tree. Wooden feeders are one of the most common options, as they are perfect for pouring dry food - grain, animal feed, and various mineral supplements. In addition, wood is a natural material that provides the product with durability.
  

  Wooden feeders should not be used for raw food, since its remains will stick in hard-to-reach areas of the structure, and then begin to rot and contaminate fresh food with pathogenic bacteria.

• Plastic. Chickens must be given mash in their diet. It is best to pour wet food into plastic feeders, since food debris can be easily removed from their surface. However, in this case, special attention will need to be paid to the choice of high-strength plastic.
• Metal. Like the previous material, it is suitable for making containers into which wet mixed food can be poured. It can also be used to make green grass bins. However, it is worth considering that black material tends to rust when exposed to moisture, and stainless steel is quite expensive.

Feeders for chickens are mainly made of wood and plastic, the choice among which depends on what kind of food you plan to use the tray for in the future.

According to the method of feeding

Depending on the type of food supplied to the feeder, the convenience of feeding the bird will depend, because it is much more convenient to pour feed once a day, rather than several times at short intervals. Here are the optimal feeders for the type of food served:

• Tray. The simplest designs that are suitable for feeding young animals. The tray model is a simple container with sides that prevent food from spilling out. As a rule, such a feeder has an elongated shape.
• Grooved. Such designs are complemented by a turntable or a removable demarcation grid (mesh). Inside they are divided by partitions into several compartments (compartments) intended for different types of food. Trough feeders can be placed outside the cage so that hens can reach the feed with their heads only. This will greatly simplify not only the feeding process, but also cleaning the container.
• Bunker (automatic). Used to supply dry food. Their main advantage is that the breeder only needs to pour grain or grain into the feeder in the morning. This volume will be enough for the birds to feed all day long. The design of such devices is made in such a way that the feed comes from a closed hopper into the trays as needed, so it does not become dirty throughout the day and remains dry.

By location

Depending on the location in the chicken coop, there are two types of feeders:

• floor– mobile structures that can be installed in any part of the cage or poultry house;
• mounted- structures that, using special brackets or holding devices, are fixed to the wall of the poultry house, therefore they are stable, which compares favorably with mobile feeders that can be overturned by chickens.

Some poultry keepers use both types of feeders at the same time, as each has its own advantages.

Varieties of homemade wooden feeders

There are various options for wooden feeders, which we suggest you familiarize yourself with in more detail.

Hopper feeder made from pieces of wood

Excellent for those breeders who do not have the opportunity to periodically add grain.

To assemble such a structure, first of all, you need to prepare:

• boards made of durable plywood or wood;
• electric drill, set of drills;
• a couple of loops;
• sandpaper;
• saw;
• screwdriver;
• pencil;
• roulette

The instructions for making a bunker feeder look like this:

The assembled feeder will be spacious and convenient, operating in automatic mode.

An example of a bunker feeder assembled from wooden blocks is given in the following video:

It is a simpler design, suitable for those who keep a large number of chickens.

To assemble the structure you will need:

• thick boards or plywood;
• hammer;
• screws or nails;
• saw;
• pencil;
• roulette.

The feeder can be assembled according to the following instructions:

1. Draw a diagram of the future feeder, accurately defining all the elements, their dimensions and installation locations for fasteners.
2. Transfer the drawing to the tree in compliance with the parameters specified in the drawing above.
3. Cut out all the design details along the marker lines. It should be borne in mind that the bottom must be thick and heavy, otherwise the birds will be able to easily turn the feeder over. In addition, the height of the walls should be comfortable for chickens.
4. Connect all the parts together, leaving no gaps, since through them the food will get out. There is no need to further process the wood.

This feeder is durable and strong, and is also universal regarding the type of food used, that is, it is suitable for feeding both dry and wet food.

How to assemble a wooden chicken feeder is explained and shown in the following video:

Two-story feeder

This option is primarily used for dry food, although a variety of mash can also be served in it. Such a feeder can be made for a small room, since the second tier allows you to compensate for the lack of free space. It looks like this:

Having prepared the bars and screws, you can begin assembling the feeder:

1. Prepare all the details of the future feeder. Among them, the main one is the lower tier, 40 cm long and 50 cm wide. The length can be adjusted according to the number of livestock. The second floor is a small filling bunker - a trough with a front wall height of 10 cm and a back wall of 20 cm.
2. Make a flap that will divide the lower tier into 1/3 parts.
3. Install the second floor on the ends of the first.
4. Attach a lid that will cover the food from debris getting inside.

Types of feeders made of PVC pipes

To make plastic feeders, farmers often use PVC pipes because they are unpretentious and quite practical - they do not need to be drilled, welded or glued. We will consider various options for feeders made from such pipes below.

With tee

This design has a “standing” shape. To make it you will need:

• sewer pipe 1 m long;
• 2 plugs for PVC pipes of the appropriate size;
• 45° tee;
• a device for cutting plastic pipes or a saw for metal.

The instructions for making a tee feeder look like this:

1. Cut the plastic pipe into 3 parts - 70 cm, 20 cm and 10 cm. It should be noted that you can initially purchase pipes of the required sizes so that you do not have to cut them later.
2. Take a pipe 20 cm long and put a plug on one end. In this way, it will be possible to obtain the base, that is, the bottom of the structure.
3. Place a tee on the other end of the pipe with the side elbow facing up.
4. Insert a 10 cm long pipe into the side hole until it stops.
5. Insert a 70 cm long pipe into the third hole of the tee and close it with a second plug from the other end to obtain the finished structure.

The assembled feeder should be attached to the wall of the chicken coop at both ends (lower and upper) with wire. Of course, it’s easier to fix it on an iron mesh or support rails. Once the feeder is in place, it can be filled with food. Chickens will peck food from the side hole of the tee without scattering it on the ground. For 15-20 broilers or 30 laying hens, this amount of feed will be enough for a day.

At night, the top of the feeder must be closed with a plug, otherwise foreign objects, debris and bacteria will get into the feed.

What a feeder made from a sewer pipe looks like is shown in the following video:

With cutouts

This design will consist of two pipes, one of which will be installed horizontally and will serve to feed birds, and the other will be installed vertically and will serve to supply grain.

Here are the necessary materials and tools:

• 2 pieces of pipe – 50 cm and 30 cm or 60 cm and 40 cm;
• PVC elbow to fit the pipe size;
• 2 plugs;
• drill, jigsaw or power saw.

The procedure for making a feeder is as follows:

1. On a long pipe, draw 2 or more holes with a diameter of 7 cm and with the same spacing. They can be oval, round or rectangular in shape.
2. Make a hole with a drill and then cut it out with a jigsaw. If desired, cutouts can be made on both sides.
3. Place a plug on one end of the pipe, and install an elbow on the other end into which to insert another pipe.
4. Attach the finished feeder to the wall of the chicken coop using wire. It is best to fix it on both sides - top and bottom. As in the previous version, you need to pour grain into the upper pipe, and then close the hole with a second plug so that debris does not get into it. This structure needs to be filled 1-2 times a day.

The method of making a feeder with two rectangular holes is demonstrated in the following video:

Hopper feeder for broilers

Such a feeder can be made for broilers over 2 weeks old, and it will take no more than 20-30 minutes. One load is enough to feed 30 chickens throughout the day.

To assemble the feeder you will need:

• a piece of plywood or wooden board measuring 20x20 cm and 8-10 mm thick (the thicker the base, the more stable the finished structure will be);
• plastic canister measuring 20x20 cm;
• PVC pipe for sewerage (a section 10-15 cm high) and for water supply (a section 25-30 cm high);
• tape or tape;
• mounting angles, nuts, screws, nails;
• hammer, saw, awl and piece of rope.

Having prepared everything you need, you can begin assembling the feeder:

1. Attach a wide piece of pipe to the base of the structure (plywood or board) using mounting angles and screws. It is enough to attach 2 corners opposite each other on the inside of the pipe.
2. Take a smaller pipe and cut it along the diameter of the hole to a height of 10-15 cm. Next, make a transverse cut, which should coincide with the longitudinal one. This will create a pipe with half of the lower part cut out.
3. Insert a thin pipe inside with a wide thread inside the feeder, and then connect both pipes with two screws - top and bottom.
4. Cut off the bottom of the plastic canister, and then place its neck on a narrow pipe. The joint should be wrapped with tape or tape.
5. In the canister, closer to the top, make a hole through which to stretch the rope.
6. On the wall where you plan to install the feeder, nail a nail at the level of the rope. Secure the structure so that it is stable and the chickens cannot turn it over.

The following video suggests learning more about the characteristics of the assembled feeder:

Options for feeders made from scrap materials

Chicken feeders can be made from scrap materials found in almost every yard or home. Let's look at a few popular options.

From a cutting board

Required materials and tools:

• wooden cutting board;
• plastic funnel;
• small plastic cup;
• transparent rubber hose;
• electric drill.

Collection instructions:

1. Trace the outer contours of the funnel on the board, trying to do it as accurately as possible.
2. Drill a lot of holes within the drawn circle, but you should not overdo it, since the supply of dry food should be moderate.
3. Take the hose and connect it to the end of the funnel. If necessary, you can use additional fasteners such as a clamp.
4. Make a hole in the plastic thicket, the diameter of which should be such that the free end of the hose fits tightly and holds well.
5. Place the other end of the hose into the prepared hole. If the density is insufficient, seal the edges of the hole and the outer surface of the hose with sealant.
6. Attach the bell of the funnel to the cutting board, having previously treated the contour of the circle with the holes with sealant. Place a funnel on the circle and hold it in this way until the sealant dries.
7. Connect one end of the hose to the cup and the other to the funnel, which should be at the bottom of the board.

From the watering can, through the hose, the grain will pour into the bowl itself, from where the birds can get food. At the same time, it is important to firmly fix the board so that the chickens do not manage to knock it over.

From a plastic bucket

Having prepared a sectional animal bowl and a plastic bucket, you can make a simple autonomous feeder according to the following instructions:

1. Make holes in the bottom of the bucket through which the food will pour out.
2. Attach a sectional bowl to the bottom of the bucket using screws.
3. Fill the bucket with grain or any other food, and then close the lid.

How to make a bunker feeder from a plastic bucket, see the following video:

From PET bottles

The simplest version of a bunker, the manufacture of which will require 3 bottles with a volume of 1.5 l, 2 l and 5 m. The feeder is assembled in the following order:

1. Cut off the bottom of a 1.5 liter bottle, and drill holes with a diameter of about 20 mm in a circle near the neck. This way you will be able to get a bunker.
2. Cut off the bottom of a 2 liter bottle, leaving a side of about 10 cm on it. This will be the lid of the feeder.
3. Cut off the bottom of a 5-liter bottle, making a side of about 15 cm on it. This is a container into which feed will be poured from the bunker in the future. Drill a hole in the center of the cut bottom, the diameter of which corresponds to the size of the threaded neck of a 1.5 liter bottle. Make the same hole in a piece of plywood, which will provide stability to the structure.
4. Connect all the parts - place the bottom of a 5 liter container on the neck of a 1.5 liter bottle, and then a piece of plywood, and tighten it all with a stopper.
5. Turn the structure over so that the cap of the 1.5 liter bottle is on the bottom. So, you get a vertical bunker, inside of which you need to pour grain, and then close the lid from the bottom of the 2 liter bottle. The food will pour out through the holes near the neck into a container made from the bottom of a 5 liter bottle.

How to make a feeder from a simple bottle can be seen in the following video:

From a canister

For such a feeder you will need to prepare a plastic canister, a piece of pipe 10-15 cm long, fasteners and a knife. Collection instructions are as follows:

1. Clean and dry the canister.
2. Using a knife or other tool, cut 5 holes with a diameter of 6-7 cm on the sides of the container so that the head of the chickens can fit freely into them.
3. Make a hole in the top of the canister for filling grain and attach a pipe on top. This means that their diameters must match. This trick will prevent chickens from getting inside the feeder.

To protect the food from debris and rain, you should take care of the pipe cover. For example, you can use a piece of plywood for these purposes.

From the CD container

If you have an old CD container at home, you can use it to build a feeder. For these purposes, you will also need to prepare a spacious bowl and a knife.

You can assemble the feeder this way:

1. Clean and dry the container, and then cut 3-4 holes on its walls at a distance of 2 cm from the rim itself. The optimal diameter of these holes is 2 cm.
2. Fill the container with food and cover the top with a bowl.
3. Turn the container with the bowl over and place it in the coop.

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It’s not enough to build a good barn for chickens; you also need to equip it: secure perches, make nests, install/hang drinking bowls and feeders. But you need to do this in such a way that it is convenient for you to maintain the poultry house. Chickens don't really care how beautiful their nests are. They will fit perfectly on the floor. It will be inconvenient for you to collect eggs from the floor, and they might even get pecked. Therefore, we arrange the chicken coop in such a way as to make it more convenient for you.

Perches

First of all, you need to equip the inside of the chicken coop with perches. This is a round or oval stick - a tree branch, a shovel handle, a planed block, etc., fixed at some height above the floor.

On average, they take about 20-25 cm of perch length per chicken. They are attached to the wall at a distance of 25-30 cm, one perch from the other - at a distance of 35-40 cm. You can make multi-tiered ones, but there will be fights for the highest place. Please note that all dimensions are approximate only and are necessary for reference purposes. Everything is selected more according to location: different breeds and chicken coops, and their owners too.

To make cleaning easier, a shield made of some smooth material is installed at a distance of 20 cm below the perch. Litter accumulates on it, so choose a smooth surface: it will be easier to sweep away.

The question remains: at what height should the perch, and therefore the shield, be made? It is most convenient to clean it in a cart. It should fit under the shield so that you can dump the droppings directly into the wheelbarrow with a hoe. For the flood, the height of the shield is determined by the height of your car, and above the shield there will already be perch slats. And again, choose the height of the chicken perch so that cleaning is convenient.

Nests

The second required element in arranging a chicken coop is nests. They will lay on the floor, but the eggs will be dirty, and they may even peck. According to the norms, one nest is made for three hens. But in fact, it turns out that no matter how many of them you do, they choose one or two, maximum three, and stand in line. The rest are exactly the same, standing empty next to each other. From time to time their tastes change, they begin to rush to others... From all this it follows that you can safely count 5-6 heads per nest, half will still be empty.

It is better to place the nests so that it is convenient for you to pick up the eggs, i.e. hang on the wall. So that the bird can safely get there, they make ladders - an inclined board with perches/sticks nailed across it. The same ladders are made for perches. If the nests are placed close to the perches and at approximately the same level, they will move back and forth. Quite convenient.

You can make such civil nests

If possible, make sure that the back side of the nests faces the corridor, if there is one. A door is made on the back side. Then to pick up the eggs you don’t need to go into the pen - open the doors and collect them.

Chickens also love to rush in the dark, or at least in dim light. That’s why the entrance is made small, and so that they don’t sit inside for a long time, sleep and shit, the roof is made with a strong slope (in the photo).

You can simply arrange or hang the boxes along the wall, but organize the darkening by placing a partition in front of the nests. In general, it is difficult to predict their behavior. Sometimes the nests are simply ignored and are carried anywhere. Then a stencil or mock-up can help: cut out an egg from white paper and place it in the nest. It might help: they will start rushing there.

Several nests in different designs are shown in the photo below. These are all real chicken coops, you can use them.

Plastic is very practical: it’s easy to wash, it’s inexpensive, you can do a lot of things, and chickens really love these plastic nests. Place more hay in them and they will fly. The space below can be used for perches or an IR lamp can be hung on the bottom to make a solarium.

In the nest you always use your hands with caution: you never know what the chickens laid there... It is much more convenient and safer when the eggs are rolled into a special compartment - the egg receptacle. The main catch in this device is to choose the angle of the floor and the flexible material so that the egg moves it away and stops before it reaches the wall. To soften the “landing”, sawdust is poured onto the bottom.

Since the eggs roll up and the bird does not see them, they may refuse to lay eggs in such nests. In this case, you can make a dummy egg - from thick foam plastic in full size or cut out a stencil from paper - and glue it to the bottom. This almost always works.

Chicken cages

Sometimes the birds are kept in cages. But this is for industrial or semi-industrial maintenance. With this method of cultivation, a large number of birds live in a small area. A drawing of a cage for chickens with dimensions is posted below.

Broiler cage drawing with dimensions

All sizes are according to the standards, and there is no need to invent anything. This is the minimum that laying hens need. And what can come out of such cells is in the photo below.

Watch the video to see how to make broiler cages from wood. Everything is described in great detail: what, for what, what sizes, how to assemble and what is needed for this. Really useful.

Drinkers and feeders

Setting up a chicken coop is unthinkable without drinking bowls and feeders. Moreover, they should be there too. There are periodic and bunker feeders. Periodic - this is when you came, poured out the amount of food and that’s it. Until the next feeding they stand empty.

Climbing in and digging around is a favorite thing

Bunker feeding is when there is a decent supply of feed, which is constantly poured into some container. Both have their drawbacks: periodic ones require you to go to the chicken coop every time and add grain, and the birds crowd around and fight for the best place, which sometimes leads to the feeder being overturned.

If you have a bunker feeder, you need to go much less often, but it is possible to overfeed the bird, which is a disaster for laying hens. Therefore, either the laying hens are given a large walk or only broilers are fed in this way.

There are many designs of periodic feeders, but not all of them allow you to use feed economically. The easiest way is to pour the food into a bowl or container. But, if there is at least some opportunity, the chickens begin to rake up the food, spilling it out and then trampling it down. I have to throw it away. And such feeders allow you not only to dig into the food, but also to climb into the feeder with your feet. Therefore they need to be improved. To do this, install wire dividers on the container. Feed consumption decreases sharply: it is more difficult to rake it out.

You can make, for example, another similar feeder (or drinking bowl), which is conveniently attached or placed against the wall. It is probably easier to weld it from metal, although there are craftsmen who can make something similar from wood.

There are some interesting ideas. For example, an economical auto-feeder is assembled from an old car disk, a basin of suitable diameter and a plastic water bottle with a capacity of 5-10 liters.

Look for a disk of the type shown in the photo: with a large number of small holes along the outer edge. In the middle, cut a hole the size of the neck of the bottle. Cut out the bottom of the bottle cap, leaving only the threaded ring. The feed mixture is poured into the bottle, a disk is put on it, and the cut-off lid is pressed against it. Feed is poured into a basin and a structure is installed on top.

In order not to disassemble the feeder every time when you need to add food to the bottle, you can cut the bottom, making it like a lid. Then the bottle itself can be secured more seriously: fixation with the thread from the cap is not very reliable. But such an improvement does not allow anyone to rummage through the food, and no one can get into the basin.

You can make a feeder from a piece of plastic sewer pipe. Holes with a diameter of about 7 cm are cut out on both sides. They do not have to be round at all - square or rectangular will also work. A corner is installed at the ends at 90° with the socket up and along a small piece of pipe: feed can be poured here.

A simple but spacious bunker feeder is a decent chest with a folding bar attached at the bottom. In the open position, food is poured onto it.

Another option for an economical feeder is made from plastic sewer pipes. But this is already a bunker structure: there is a decent supply. The design is simple, and consumption is reduced.

An even more interesting design of the chicken feeder in the video: with a lid. To open it, you need to jump on it.

Another option is a bunker feeder made of PVC pipes and a plastic water bottle.

Homemade drinking bowls for chickens

It's almost the same story with drinking bowls. Only here is water splashed, which, when mixed with droppings, gives an exceptionally persistent odor, as well as dirt. All this does not contribute to easier and faster cleaning. Therefore, the choice of drinkers is no less important than the feeders.

The simplest option for a small number of birds - up to 15 pieces - is siphon drinkers. They have legs and allow you to save water. If the legs are designed well, even a chicken flying onto the top will not knock them over.

Siphon drinkers - factory-made and homemade from a plastic bottle

Factory drinking bowls, of course, look more attractive, but a homemade version is almost free, and they work no worse. In the photo you see a simple homemade siphon waterer for chickens: a support was nailed in the corner - a piece of board with a hole cut out for the neck. On top there is a fastening system and a load so that it does not get knocked down. A hole is cut into the former bottom of the bottle into which water is poured. The trick here is to choose the distance at which to install the water container: so that there is not too little or too much of it.

Cup drinkers are convenient when grown in cages, as they are conveniently attached to the mesh. But no one bothers you to hang a piece of mesh, say, on a wall or come up with another mount.

They allow you to water the birds without splashing. Water is supplied to the cup, it tilts under the influence of gravity, cutting off the supply. They drank the water, the cup rose, the water flows again. A hose is connected to the side fitting, the second end of which is located in a container of water, which should be above the level of the drinkers. Convenient and economical.

Nipple drinkers for chickens. These are small devices, a few centimeters in size. A cone-shaped stainless steel rod is inserted into the plastic case.

These nipples are screwed into plastic pipes into which water is supplied. A hole of the required diameter is drilled, a thread is cut and the nipple is screwed in. When you press the rod, a few drops of water appear. The chickens peck at the rod, drinking the drops that appear. The main disadvantage of this method is the drops that fall on the floor. To prevent this from happening, a special drip catcher is placed under each drinker. It simply snaps onto the pipe.

Despite their miniature size, these small drinking bowls cost a lot, especially if they are high-quality - read - imported. Ours are, of course, cheaper, but they break faster.

And the rest are different cups and basins into which water is simply poured. Their disadvantage is that birds often turn them over, and the water in them quickly gets dirty.

There are also interesting ideas from homemade ones. For example, such a pipe drinking bowl is shown in the photo. In a piece of plastic pipe, the water level is controlled by a float mechanism from the toilet cistern. Three drinking bowls are attached to the pipes.

The video demonstrates a drinking bowl with auto-filling.

If you want to arrange the chicken coop, you can arrange it in such a way as to minimize the need for its maintenance. In this case, the bird will bring not only income, but also pleasure: it is always pleasant to look at objects made with your own hands, but keeping a bird in a chicken coop without “direct” hands is difficult and expensive.

Keeping poultry can be a very good help for the family diet and budget. Regardless of the direction of raising chickens - egg or meat - in the structure of maintenance costs, about 70% is occupied by the feeding process. This applies to both monetary and labor costs. Therefore, choosing the right feeder for chickens is one of the most important tasks when organizing the breeding of these poultry.

Types of chicken feeders

Chicken feeders can be classified according to various parameters, depending on:

Materials used for production:

• a wooden feeder can be used to feed chickens with dry food - grain or mixed feed, as well as for mineral supplements - chalk (or limestone), shells, small stones;
• It is more advisable to place wet mash in metal or plastic containers, which are easier to clean than wood;
• To feed green grass, you can use feeders made of mesh or small metal rods.

Types of feed supply:

• Tray feeders are flat containers equipped with sides to prevent birds from scattering feed. This type of feeder is convenient for feeding chickens;
• in grooved feeders, the tray is supplemented with a turntable or a restrictive removable grid. Inside, the container can be divided into several compartments to accommodate different types of food. Trough feeders are usually placed outside the cages, which makes them much easier to maintain;
• Hopper feeders are used to feed chickens with dry food. The bunker allows you to pour in enough grain or feed in the morning, sufficient for a whole day, and not worry about feeding until the next day. At the same time, feed enters the feeding trays gradually as needed, and the closed hopper design keeps the feed clean and dry.

Feeder positions in a cage or poultry house:

• floor feeders are more mobile, they can be placed in any part of the cage or poultry house;
• hinged feed containers are placed around the perimeter of the cage or chicken coop, using special brackets or homemade holding devices for fastening.

Primary requirements

There are not many requirements for feeders for laying hens or broilers:

1. Ensuring rational use of feed. The feed container should be designed in such a way that chickens do not have the opportunity to climb into it, scatter the feed and spoil it with their excrement. This condition can be ensured by protective sides, turntables and various devices for covering the bulk of the feed inside the feeder.
2. Ease of maintenance. The feeder will have to be filled with food every day, cleaned and washed periodically. The design and material used for production should not create difficulties for these chicken care procedures. That is, the food container should be light in weight, mobile if possible, easy to wash and have the ability to disinfect.
3. Optimal size. The volume and dimensions of the feeder must be sufficient to feed the entire population of poultry during the day. In trays, each chicken should have 10-15 centimeters of length. For chickens, this norm can be reduced by 2 times. With a circular tray design, 2.5 centimeters is enough for each individual. It is advisable that all birds approach the feeder at the same time, so that the weaker ones are not pushed away from the food.

Making your own chicken feeders

There are many chicken feeders sold in stores, of different sizes and colors, but birds can also feed from homemade feed containers. Such feeding devices will be much cheaper than industrial analogues, and the time that needs to be spent on their production is quite insignificant.

On the Internet you can find a lot of information on how to make a chicken feeder. Plastic bottles and buckets, menageries, sheets of plywood and even sewer pipes are used as starting materials.

Plastic feeders

The most basic versions of hanging chicken feeders are made from a large plastic bottle with a handle located on one of the sides. The main thing is that the walls of the bottle are sufficiently dense and hold their shape. At a height of about 6-8 centimeters from the bottom of the bottle, a hole is cut for birds to access the food. With the help of a notch on the handle, such a container can easily be hung on a chain-link mesh.

A hopper chicken feeder is often called an automatic feeder. It helps to significantly automate the feeding process - bulk feed will flow into the trays of the chickens as they peck the previous portion. A large plastic bucket with a handle, in which liquid construction materials are sold, and a plastic seedling container make a wonderful bunker feeder. Holes are cut at the bottom of the bucket through which the feed will be poured into the compartments of the feeding bowl. The diameter of the menagerie should be 10-15 centimeters larger than the diameter of the bucket. Instead of a menagerie, you can use the bottom of a plastic bucket, larger in diameter than the main bucket. The parts of the feeder are connected to each other with self-tapping screws. The food in such a feeder is covered with a lid on top. Such a homemade structure can be placed on the ground or floor in the chicken coop, or suspended at a level of about 20 centimeters.

Feeders made from sewer pipes

Of great interest is the design of the feeder, made of sewer pipes.

To set up such a feeder, you will need a PVC sewer pipe with a diameter of about 15-16 centimeters, two plugs and a tee made of the same material.

The length of the pipe can be arbitrary. A longer one can accommodate a larger volume of grain, but it will be less stable. It is necessary to cut two pieces from the pipe, 20 and 10 centimeters long. Then we connect the longest and 20-centimeter sections of the pipe with a tee, and install plugs at the ends. We connect a 10-centimeter piece of pipe to the branch of the tee - this will be a feed tray. All that remains is to pour dry food into the resulting feeder and secure it to the wall of the chicken coop with the long side facing up. If necessary, you can close the opening for chickens to access the feed with a plug at night.

For a large number of chickens on the farm, you can install several of the feeders described above, or assemble a more complicated version. In this case, we cut the original pipe into 2 pieces, one of which will be 30 centimeters long. We connect both parts together with a plastic elbow piece. In a small piece of pipe, using a drill with a circular bit, holes with a radius of 3-4 centimeters are cut out on both sides. Chickens will peck food through these holes. We close both pipes with plugs and the feeder is ready.

Wooden feeders

A little more expense will be required to make a bunker feeder made of wood or plywood. A detailed drawing of wooden chicken feeders is presented below.

Materials and tools

• Thick wall plywood
• Screws
• 90 degree hinges
• Skin
• Table saw or jigsaw
• Roulette
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Band-saw
• Screwdriver
• Drill
• Drill
• Clamp

Let's consider the main points of production:

A wooden feeder can be made in the form of an elongated box or box, which is placed outside the walking yard, thereby protecting the feed from spoilage. When using this type of feeder, the feet are kept clean, since you do not have to go into the chickens. From the bars we create a frame in the form of a box 25 centimeters high and 20 centimeters wide, which we cover with plywood sheets or boards. One of the walls (farthest from the chickens) should be located at an angle. The mesh size should allow the bird to stick its head through to peck at the food. The top of the feeder is covered with a pitched folding roof made of the same plywood, which is attached to hinges to protect the feed from the weather. For ease of cleaning, it is better to cover the bottom with a piece of linoleum.

Making your own chicken feeder is quite easy. You can choose the required size, material and even color yourself. Materials for homemade feed containers are low cost, thereby increasing the economic efficiency of poultry keeping. Having made the right feeder, you don’t have to worry about optimal feed consumption and timely supply of food to the birds during the day.

Any craftsman can make simple and effective chicken feeders with his own hands, fortunately there are a lot of drawings and advice on the Internet, and in specialized magazines. And there is no shortage of materials. It is worth mentioning the following types of devices for feeding poultry: hopper, plywood and plastic devices. They are easy to manufacture, made from available materials, and at the same time effective.

To make a chicken feeder with your own hands, first of all you will need a tool for cutting plastic (grinder, hacksaw or file). The materials you will need will be:

• large diameter sewer pipe;
• a pair of standard plugs;
• tee.

A wide pipe at least a meter long is taken and cut crosswise into sections of 100, 700 and 200 millimeters. One of the plugs is installed at one edge of the longest part of the structure (700 mm segment). A tee is put on top, to which a 200 mm section of pipe is connected. It also needs to be tightly closed on the opposite side. The remaining shortest part of the feeder is inserted into the tee, and the entire structure is attached to the wall.

A homemade chicken feeder made from a pipe will accommodate and contain grain for more than twenty chickens. The grain does not spill onto the ground, garbage and droppings do not get into the feed, and the design does not injure the bird. It is very convenient to close it at night.

You can also build chicken feeders of the following type with your own hands. To do this you will need two pieces of PVC pipe 300 and 500 mm, a standard elbow, plugs, an electric drill and a jigsaw.

At the bottom of the pipe, on both sides, you must first mark, drill, and then widen holes with a diameter of about 70 millimeters so that the birds have free access to food. A plug is placed on one side of the pipe, and the second section is connected using an elbow at a right angle. Food is poured into it and a second plug is placed. Such a chicken feeder will take a maximum of an hour of time and a minimum of costs.

Functionally, all homemade chicken feeders are no worse than factory ones.

Video “Do-it-yourself chicken feeder from a pipe”

The video shows the construction of homemade bunker feeders made from plastic pipes.

Bunker structures

Homemade bunker structures for supplying chicken feed also contain PVC pipes. The design is absolutely simple. You will spend no more than 20 minutes making it.

Materials:

1. base – a piece of plywood or board 200x200 mm;
2. plastic bottle with a volume of 8-10 l;
3. a piece of wide PVC pipe;
4. a piece of water pipe of standard diameter;
5. insulating tape or tape.

Using screws with corners, the pipe is attached to the base from the outside. The wider the platform, the more stable the feeder. A ∩-shaped hole 100-150 mm high is cut in a thinner pipe. The resulting blanks are inserted into another and secured with screws so that the cut out part faces the inside of the structure.

The final stage is the bunker. To use it, the bottom of a plastic canister is cut off and secured to a narrow pipe with tape. It is advisable to select approximately matching diameters. To prevent birds from knocking over the structure, it should be attached to a wall or a firmly standing pole.

And another simple way to make a bunker for chickens from a plastic bucket. To do this, holes are cut at the bottom through which the food spills out.

A plastic tray (a round tray divided into several sectors), which is larger in diameter than the bucket itself, is installed on the bucket. All that remains is to attach it with screws from the bottom of the bucket and turn it over. The structure is ready. To prevent rain and debris from getting inside, you can close the bucket with a lid. Mobility allows you to move it, following the shadow throughout the entire area.

This plywood chicken feeder hopper is suitable for feeding chickens indoors. The base box is where the food will be poured. A limiter is installed on hinges, which, due to pressure from above, increases the space between the walls, and it is filled with grain. In this case, the food does not crumble, but is eaten completely. The plywood product can be painted in bright colors, birds love it.

All home-made bunker-type chicken feeders are based on a similar principle. They make it possible to save feed, not worry about the availability of grain, and accurately calculate the bird’s diet.

Box feeder

A homemade chicken feeder in the form of a box is one of the most common methods for watering and feeding poultry in private backyards. To prevent the chicken feeder from being too bulky and massive, thin boards, plywood and planks should be used in the manufacture. The base and roof of the box are 0.4 m and 0.3 m respectively (it is better to draw a drawing first). The bottom is cut out of a board, and the lid is made of plywood. The racks are made 0.3 m long from timber with a cross-section of 2x2 cm. The parts are fastened with self-tapping screws. The main thing is to install the posts so that they are on the same line. This box reliably protects food from dirt, droppings and rodents. It will be convenient for chickens to peck food from it.

Two-tier devices are a structure consisting of two drawers. Bottom drawer dimensions 260x250 mm. The length of the box depends on the number of chickens. The interior is equipped with a flap that opens upward in the grooves. The second floor of the structure serves as both the lid of the box and the contents for wet food.

Chickens are fed as follows. The trough lid is removed and approximately a week's worth of grain is poured into the bottom drawer and the front wall opens. Then, the upper part is put into place and a one-time rate of wet mixture (mash) is set into it. After feeding the feed, the front part of the feeder must be pushed in. At night, to prevent the entry of rats, rodents and debris, it should be covered.

There are many variations on the theme of box feeders. It all depends on the imagination of the master. However, all these devices are designed to serve the hygiene, convenience and comfort of chickens and poultry farmers.

A chicken feeder made of wood is a capital product that can last for more than one season. Naturally, subject to stable and regular care.

Video “Pedal feeder for chickens”

In the video you can see the design of a pedal feeder for chickens and how convenient it is for the bird to use it.

Made of plastic

Plastic is an ideal material for making drinking bowls and feeders for chickens. Such structures are easy to move around the site. Plastic ones are suspended, tray and bunker.

The simplest hanging feeders are made from a large plastic bottle (up to 10 liters). The walls of the container should be thick and retain their shape well. The ∩-shaped cutout should provide access to the bird from the outside. Such a simple feeder can be easily attached to the wall of a chicken coop, the mesh of a walking area, or simply to a pole.

Tray feeders for chickens are made of high-quality food-grade plastic. Standard dimensions are: 0.5 m long, 9 cm wide, 5 cm high. The design has a limiter that prevents chickens from scattering grain and soiling it with droppings. It can be used both for cage and outdoor keeping of chickens. The surface of the feeders is smooth, easy to clean and does not rust.

The design of bunker (automatic) feeders was discussed above, although the options for such devices are, of course, not limited to one article.

Video “Do-it-yourself bunker feeder for chickens”

In the video, a man shows how to make a bunker-type feeder for chickens yourself.

To effectively raise poultry, you must first take care of the appropriate equipment for the poultry house. An important element in this matter are feeders. They may be factory-made, but it is quite possible to make such products yourself without compromising their quality and functionality.

In every household or farm where poultry is raised, the issue of feeding is relevant. The thing is that chickens, quails and some types of waterfowl not only require frequent replenishment of food supplies, but also almost always scatter food around the enclosure, making it unsuitable for consumption. Therefore, the feeding process without the use of special equipment is labor-intensive and costly.

And the presence of a feeder greatly facilitates the farmer’s work. In addition, in this case, feed is used more rationally, which means that in order to feed the chickens, less grain will be needed. The easiest way to make a feeder with your own hands is from a plastic pipe. It is easy to make the necessary holes in it, and besides, a piece of pipe will cost very little.

Feeders made from PVC pipes meet all the necessary requirements: they prevent the scattering of feed and eliminate the possibility for chickens to trample on it. In addition, such equipment allows owners to add feed at a time convenient for themselves, without adjusting to the rhythm of the chickens’ life.

We make it ourselves

Several types of feeders can be made from such pliable and inexpensive material. The most popular are the classic elongated models. The set of necessary materials depends on the desired configuration of the product. What parts will be needed can be determined from the photo. Below we will look at 2 models that anyone can make.

The simplest option

It’s easy to make such a product yourself; you just need to purchase the necessary materials and devote a little time to this process. Experts say that even twenty minutes will be enough.

Tools and materials

This simple and fully functional option is made from the following kit:

• 1 meter of sewer pipe;
• plastic tee;
• plugs – 2 pieces
• metal file or special devices for cutting pipes.

Purchasing such components will not put a strain on your personal budget, and every household probably has a file.

Step-by-step instruction

At the preparatory stage of making this product with your own hands, the pipe is cut into 3 pieces: 10, 20 and 70 centimeters. Next, the build process will look like this:

1. A twenty-centimeter pipe becomes the base, and a plug is immediately put on it.
2. The tee is put on top so that its knee is directed upward.
3. A long piece of pipe is inserted into the tee from above, its opposite end is closed with a second plug.
4. The shortest piece of pipe is inserted into the side hole of the tee until it stops.

After this, the finished product is simply attached to the wall of the chicken coop using ordinary wire.

Classic model with round holes

Option two is a little more complicated. Here you will need a little more skill, because you will have to make round holes or carefully cut out a rectangle. But this task is also feasible if you have the desire and skill.

Tools and materials

To create such equipment you will need:

• two pieces of pipe, the length of which should be 50 and 30 centimeters, respectively;
• plugs;
• PVC elbow;
• electric saw (you can use a jigsaw) and drill.

Step-by-step instruction

You can make a classic feeder with your own hands according to the following scheme:

1. In the segment that will be at the bottom, holes with a diameter of about 7 cm are made. Instead of holes, cut a rectangle.
2. A plug is put on one end.
3. The second segment is attached to the other end using a knee.

The product can be used for its intended purpose. The DIY manufacturing process and the result can be seen in the photo above.

The positive side of using such homemade feeders is also manifested in the fact that the chickens do not knock each other down and do not crowd around this structure. Over time, they get used to coming up for food one at a time.