How to make a chicken feeder from a sewer pipe
A sewer pipe feeder for chickens is a fairly common design. These feeders are very durable and reliable, they are easy to clean. After repair or installation of the sewer system, PVC pipes are often left behind.
Sewer pipe chicken feeder
Types of feeding vessels
Bird feeders in the photo are divided into several types:
- tray;
- grooved;
- automatic.
For chickens, an automatic design is most suitable, which will protect the feed from contamination and will allow it to be poured into the feeder once a day. Such systems are most often made from scrap materials. This, firstly, saves money, and secondly, completely eliminates the option of buying a Chinese counterfeit.
What are the advantages of self-made feed containers?
In a private household, there are often a lot of things to do, and chickens, especially large meat breeds, need a sufficient amount of food, which every now and then need to run to add. The ideal option is the pipe bunker feeders that can be found in the photo. Having made such a feeder with your own hands, you can save money on buying feed, and also allocate your time as efficiently as possible.
A feature of almost all poultry is the habit of rummaging in the feeder and scattering the food, which, as a result, becomes completely unsuitable for food. Plastic pipe feeders meet all the necessary parameters. In addition, the owner does not have to constantly adjust to his pets in order to feed them, but put food in the bunker feeders when it is convenient for him.
Experienced poultry farmers have long been using hopper structures for feeding from a plastic pipe. There are several interesting variations of do-it-yourself chicken feeders. Some of them can also be used to feed the rabbit herd with dry food. To have a visual idea of the design of such feeding systems, we suggest watching a video of the relevant topic.
Vertical feeding system
To make such a feeder, you will need:
- one meter cut of eco-plastic with a diameter of 110 mm;
- oblique tee;
- two plugs.
The cut of eco-plastic should be divided into 3 parts: 70 x 20 x 10. A plug should be put on the 20 cm cut - this will be the base of the trough. Next, knee up, you need to put on a tee. A ten-centimeter cut must be inserted into the tee, and the largest piece of pipe into it.
That's the whole system, now all that remains is to fix the device to the pole with a wire. A second plug is needed to cover the trough, thus protecting the feed from contamination. The feed in this design is enough to feed about 15-20 broilers or 30 layers per day.
Horizontal feeding system
This design is also not particularly difficult to manufacture and will cost a penny at a price. To make a feeder, you will need:
- a two-meter cut of a plastic sewer pipe 110 mm in diameter;
- a knee with a similar diameter;
- 2 plugs;
- drill;
- jigsaw;
- hacksaw for metal.
The two-meter pipe is divided into 2 meter sections. In one of the parts, it is necessary to make holes of such a diameter so that the bird's head plus 1 centimeter can crawl through them. Carefully mark the locations of the holes with a marker, and then cut them out.
On the one hand, a plug is put on a cylinder with holes, and on the other, a knee is inserted into which a second meter section of a plastic pipe is inserted. If necessary, put on a second knee to bring the grain receiver out of the fence. To have a clearer idea of how to make a bunker feeder for chickens, it is possible to use step by step photos.
Another bunker feeding system
This version of the chick tube feeder is perfect for chicks that are already a little older. To make it, you need to take 2 polypropylene pipes: the first - 10 x 200, and the second - 30 x 32; plywood sheet 30 x 30, at least 1 cm wide, 5 liter plastic bottle.
The 200mm pipe should be attached to the plywood. In a cylinder with a smaller diameter, a vertical incision of 10 cm should be made. After that, stepping back 10 cm from the edge, a horizontal incision should be made. Now the narrow pipe needs to be inserted into the wide one. Then you need to cut off the bottom of the bottle and put it with its neck on a thin profile.
To prevent birds from turning over the feeder, it should be hung on the wall. The amount of grain in the trough is enough to feed 30 broilers for more than 24 hours. This design is good not only because you do not have to constantly run to fill up the food, but also because the birds can be disciplined. Over time, having got used to the fact that there is always enough feed, they will cease to crowd with the whole flock around the trough.
Nipple drinker - how to make one
In addition to the eco-plastic pipe feeders, you can build a nipple drinking system for birds. This design allows you to reduce water consumption and give the pestle just as much water as it needs, not a drop more. To do this, you need a nipple, a droplet catcher, a square-section eco-plastic, a fixer. It is also important to have a plug and an adapter.
For adult birds, nipple systems with a 180 ° rotation are used, for chickens - 360 °. With a closed method of keeping in cage batteries, the nipple system can be attached both from the inside and from the outside. A droplet catcher is installed directly under the nipple. It is recommended not to install nipples without drip catchers, as water will spill directly onto the floor covering, which creates a lot of dirt and increases humidity in the chicken coop. The number of such drinkers is set, depending on the number of birds, at the rate of 1 drinker for 3-4 individuals.
The most common liquid dispenser is a 20 liter bottle. It is connected with flexible tubes. A ball valve is placed at the entrances to the tubes, which regulates the water supply. Water will be supplied to the nipple directly through the tubing, so each valve should be well sealed to avoid leaks. You can also DIY drip pans from plastic bottles.
The winter drinker will be distinguished by an insulated container, into which you can insert the most ordinary medium-power boiler. The water in the drinker will not heat up above 10 ° C in severe frosts, however, this method will save the liquid from freezing. You can design a similar system, install devices for heating water and equip the structure with a thermostat to regulate the temperature and keep it at a constant level.
Conclusion
If we are talking about raising chickens, then drinkers and feeders Are the main aspects of future success.Experienced farmers have long learned how to make them from scrap materials, of which there are quite a few in private households. For example, after repairing the sewage system, plastic pipes are often left behind. It is from them that you can make an excellent bird feeder.
The chicken feeder should be made of durable, non-hazardous material and should be well cleaned. Plastic pipe structures are distinguished by all these qualities. The chicken is often taken into the dishes with its paws, tears apart the contents and scatters around. Such a habit is quite wasteful for the wallet, so it is best to make do-it-yourself designs that will suppress this behavior.
In addition to the troughs made of plastic profiles, a nipple drinker can be designed to optimize the water supply. The chicken gets just as much water as it needs. In winter, insulated water containers are used, in which a boiler is placed. If from the above instructions it is not entirely clear how to make a plastic pipe feeder with your own hands, you can use a video in which experienced farmers share their secrets with beginners.
It is not recommended to hang nipples without drip trays. Such a step can harm the chickens. Water will drip on the floor, and therefore dirt will appear and the humidity of the air will rise, which is fraught with infection for chickens with various infectious diseases. Hopper feeding systems and nipple systems - for water can be used not only for caring for poultry, but also for keeping rabbit families.
Feeding rabbits is also quite costly, due to the fact that animals often turn over drinkers and plates, trample their food. Constructions for bulk feed made of plastic pipes help to perfectly cope with several tasks at the same time:
- feed in metered doses;
- for sufficient feeding of the rabbits, it is enough to put food once a week;
- these types of feeders are great for feeding large rabbit herds.