Chickens are messy. Very messy. Yes they poop, but all animals do. Sure, they purposely cover themselves in dirt, but really, what animal doesn’t from time to time? In my opinion, the real messiness comes from their food, or more specifically, them eating their food.
While getting my chicken supplies, I, like many others, stumbled across a shiny, gleaming, red and white hanging gravity fed feeder, and what’s that? 25% off?! SOLD, to the poor girl who had absolutely no idea that the money spent on the feeder and the many additionally unnecessary bags of feed down the road was a total, complete waste.
I mean I guess I’ll give the feeder some credit, because it taught me an important lesson and hey, for the first month of being outside, it fit the little chickens perfectly, there was very minimal spillage and it went a long time without needing refill. But as the little chickens started growing into nearly full grown chickens, their scratching instincts really kicked in, and since it was very easy to just get a foot in and scratch away, that’s what they did.
So the feeder was raised to a point unreachable by feet, refilled and placed back into the run. Well, apparently feet aren’t the only good scratching devices, beaks are pretty handy too, and man, can they make a mess! They flick it this way and that way, I swear they were only eating 20% of the food their beak touched! No matter how high I raised it, they were still making a mess. The run was covered with food, and I was refilling the feeder almost daily, this HAD to stop. I got researching about no waste feeders and I’ve found one that fits my needs perfectly! Long introduction aside, here’s how to make a simple, yet effective DIY no-waste feeder!
How it works: this feeder is designed for chickens to put their heads into holes and reach down to get their food, so when they flick it with their beaks, it just hits the walls and bounces back in!
This is a very cost effective feeder, so hopefully you shouldn’t need to buy anything. You’ll need:
- A container with a lid. Also depending on how many sides you plan on making , you need to make sure that the hens are able to reach all parts of the feeder, so the feed doesn’t just sit there. If you were to do 4 sides, 3 sides, or 2 opposite sides, then a diameter under 18 inches is perfect. If you were to do 2 openings right beside each other, a diameter of under 10 inches is preferable.
- Irrigation tubing (6-8 inches for each opening) this makes sure the hens have something round and smooth to reach over, opposed to rough sharp edges which could rub and irritate their necks.
- Something to cut through your container. We used a container with hard, thick plastic, so a jigsaw did the job perfectly.
- A ruler for measurements.
- Marker for drawing lines.
- Paper for templates.
- Scissors or an Exacto knife for cutting smaller things like tubing.
- Drill to help cut out the holes if you’re not using a jigsaw or similar (optional)
- Bricks to raise the container if you need and to weigh down the lid (optional)
- Feed of course!
So now that you have everything you need, it’s time to get started building it!
Step Before One: gather all of the supplies needed!
(Everything needed aside from container and feed)
Step One: Measure out the openings/access points. Make a paper template that is roughly 6x6” and round the bottom corners do that it looks more like a “U”. Place the template no more than 6 inches from the bottom (less is fine) and draw it out. Do as many sides as you want.
Step Two: Cut out the openings. Using a jigsaw or other tool, cut out the openings. Drilling a few holes along the edges beforehand might make it easier.
Step Three: Put on the irrigation tubing. Measure 6-8 inches of tubing for each access point and cut it length ways (this part is pretty tricky, as the tubing is quite thick). Push it firmly into place over the bottom of the opening.
Step Four: Find a lid. If your container already has one then you’re all good, but if not, a piece of plywood or scrap metal weighed down with a brick is perfect!
Step Five: Fill the feeder to about an inch from the access holes, place it into the run or coop, and enjoy zero hassle of cleaning up!
There you go! A super easy DIY no-waste feeder!
Plus, Maintenance is easy:
You don’t have to fill it up everyday, and when you do, it’s not much feed going in, so you can say goodbye to weekly trips to the feed store! I recommend stirring/mixing it around occasionally, just to give the old feed a chance to get the the top and let fresh air in.
I hope you enjoyed this and will use it to help your chickens and yourself in the future!
For further details on how to make this feeder click on this link: https://www.selfsufficientme.com/po...ake-a-free-chicken-or-duck-poultry-feeder-diy
Disclaimer: This was not my idea! I am just sharing it with you guys so I’m not in any way taking credit for this idea. The original author/article can be found at the link above.
While getting my chicken supplies, I, like many others, stumbled across a shiny, gleaming, red and white hanging gravity fed feeder, and what’s that? 25% off?! SOLD, to the poor girl who had absolutely no idea that the money spent on the feeder and the many additionally unnecessary bags of feed down the road was a total, complete waste.
I mean I guess I’ll give the feeder some credit, because it taught me an important lesson and hey, for the first month of being outside, it fit the little chickens perfectly, there was very minimal spillage and it went a long time without needing refill. But as the little chickens started growing into nearly full grown chickens, their scratching instincts really kicked in, and since it was very easy to just get a foot in and scratch away, that’s what they did.
So the feeder was raised to a point unreachable by feet, refilled and placed back into the run. Well, apparently feet aren’t the only good scratching devices, beaks are pretty handy too, and man, can they make a mess! They flick it this way and that way, I swear they were only eating 20% of the food their beak touched! No matter how high I raised it, they were still making a mess. The run was covered with food, and I was refilling the feeder almost daily, this HAD to stop. I got researching about no waste feeders and I’ve found one that fits my needs perfectly! Long introduction aside, here’s how to make a simple, yet effective DIY no-waste feeder!
How it works: this feeder is designed for chickens to put their heads into holes and reach down to get their food, so when they flick it with their beaks, it just hits the walls and bounces back in!
This is a very cost effective feeder, so hopefully you shouldn’t need to buy anything. You’ll need:
- A container with a lid. Also depending on how many sides you plan on making , you need to make sure that the hens are able to reach all parts of the feeder, so the feed doesn’t just sit there. If you were to do 4 sides, 3 sides, or 2 opposite sides, then a diameter under 18 inches is perfect. If you were to do 2 openings right beside each other, a diameter of under 10 inches is preferable.
- Irrigation tubing (6-8 inches for each opening) this makes sure the hens have something round and smooth to reach over, opposed to rough sharp edges which could rub and irritate their necks.
- Something to cut through your container. We used a container with hard, thick plastic, so a jigsaw did the job perfectly.
- A ruler for measurements.
- Marker for drawing lines.
- Paper for templates.
- Scissors or an Exacto knife for cutting smaller things like tubing.
- Drill to help cut out the holes if you’re not using a jigsaw or similar (optional)
- Bricks to raise the container if you need and to weigh down the lid (optional)
- Feed of course!
So now that you have everything you need, it’s time to get started building it!
Step Before One: gather all of the supplies needed!
(Everything needed aside from container and feed)
Step One: Measure out the openings/access points. Make a paper template that is roughly 6x6” and round the bottom corners do that it looks more like a “U”. Place the template no more than 6 inches from the bottom (less is fine) and draw it out. Do as many sides as you want.
Step Two: Cut out the openings. Using a jigsaw or other tool, cut out the openings. Drilling a few holes along the edges beforehand might make it easier.
Step Three: Put on the irrigation tubing. Measure 6-8 inches of tubing for each access point and cut it length ways (this part is pretty tricky, as the tubing is quite thick). Push it firmly into place over the bottom of the opening.
Step Four: Find a lid. If your container already has one then you’re all good, but if not, a piece of plywood or scrap metal weighed down with a brick is perfect!
Step Five: Fill the feeder to about an inch from the access holes, place it into the run or coop, and enjoy zero hassle of cleaning up!
There you go! A super easy DIY no-waste feeder!
Plus, Maintenance is easy:
You don’t have to fill it up everyday, and when you do, it’s not much feed going in, so you can say goodbye to weekly trips to the feed store! I recommend stirring/mixing it around occasionally, just to give the old feed a chance to get the the top and let fresh air in.
I hope you enjoyed this and will use it to help your chickens and yourself in the future!
For further details on how to make this feeder click on this link: https://www.selfsufficientme.com/po...ake-a-free-chicken-or-duck-poultry-feeder-diy
Disclaimer: This was not my idea! I am just sharing it with you guys so I’m not in any way taking credit for this idea. The original author/article can be found at the link above.
