How to make a duck feeder
Poultry, especially duck, needs high-quality and proper maintenance, which can be provided by making it a convenient do-it-yourself feeder. A duck feeder can be any design, for the manufacture of which you need imagination and a few materials at hand. Whatever the design of the duck feeder you choose, it is important to ensure that it is as comfortable as possible. Making your own feeder will cut costs and make feeding the ducks easier.
Diy feeder for ducklings
It is necessary to breed domestic ducklings only by carefully observing certain temperature conditions and controlling the humidity of the air. Food and drink for birds must be of good quality. The best option for breeding ducks, of course, is considered to be open reservoirs, which simplify the process of feeding and rearing. When there is no possibility of open content, farmers have to resort to the construction of vital devices with their own hands.
Features of feeders and drinkers for ducks
When making feeders for ducklings on your own, it is important to take care of their strength, therefore, when choosing a material, they prefer metal structures. The location of the feeders should be on the floor, making it easy to place the food for the ducks. It will not be superfluous to build a feeder made of wood because of the sloppiness of ducklings and indoor ducks when eating grains. Mostly, the wooden feeder contains several compartments and is not very large. Choosing a ready-made feeder or making a container for grain with your own hands, preference is given to options that:
- convenient to use;
- easy to clean and fill;
- do not cause discomfort to birds.
The same vigilance and awareness are needed when choosing drinkers, because they are no less valuable to birds. A standard drinker should be large enough due to the ducks' attachment to water. Drinkers can be represented by a basin, vacuum or nipple container.
Despite the fact that the use of basins simplifies a person's life, this method has disadvantages. These include the constant clogging of water, the need for frequent water changes, the ability to overturn the container.
Making a duck feeder
The most common type of feeder is the duck hopper feeder. Its advantage is its ease of manufacture and the constant supply of fresh food to the birds. In addition, you can make a bunker feeder using any closable plastic container and a stand that has several compartments. Do-it-yourself hopper feeder to prepare in several stages:
- for a start, holes are made in the bunker;
- after using a jigsaw, holes are cut in the form of rectangles or squares over the entire surface;
- the final stage of manufacturing is the verification and verification of the compartments with the feeder by size.
Another bunker option for a do-it-yourself feeder is the use of a box, thanks to which the ducklings can eat clean food without dust. A hopper feeder with a box is also made in several stages, for which it is necessary to purchase a wide board and a jigsaw. So:
- first, it is necessary to make any bunker of wood of any shape, leaving the slope to the side where the feed will be supplied;
- after that, the hopper is connected by a lifting mechanism, which is a board;
- the board is equipped with the usual home-made lifting mechanisms that need to be attached to the lid.
Making this type of feeder at home is simple and can be done even without a lift. But in this case, the food is unlikely to be able to represent a dry, clean product, protected from the invasion of other animals. You can see how the feeders described earlier look like in the corresponding photos. The details of the manufacturing process, in turn, are described in many videos.
Alternative option
The next do-it-yourself manufacturing option needs a little more materials than for the previously described feeders. You can make this model yourself after purchase:
- a sewer pipe with a diameter of one meter;
- polyvinyl chloride pipe tee;
- two plugs of the corresponding desired sizes;
- saws or other tools that make it easier to work with metal.
It is not difficult to buy material in any hardware store, and having done this, you can begin to make a structure. For this, the pipe is pre-cut into 3 unequal parts. So, one of them should represent a 70-centimeter specimen, the other - a 20-centimeter, and the third should end at 10 centimeters. The next stage represents the assembly of the base, for which it is important to fix the plug to the 20 cm long pipe parts. Next, a tee is inserted so that the side elbow is located upward. The longest piece of pipe is inserted into the tee.
The prepared second plug is positioned on the free edge of the 70 cm section and fixed there. The smallest length is needed to attach to the tee from the side. It is important to ensure that the fastening is carried out with an emphasis. Now you just need to attach the resulting structure to the ducklings' house. It is best that the feeder is fastened with iron or slats. Ducklings will receive food from the side of the tee. Such a do-it-yourself feeder for ducklings is characterized by maximum practicality and ease of use. On average, you can fill it with grains once every couple of days, without fear that the ducklings will not be fed.
Making the stern structure yourself
The plus of self-construction of feeders on your own at home is that you do not need to do heavy calculations, drawings. It is enough to use the material at hand, for example, pipes. The following design has the lowest possible cost and is not difficult to operate. The owner and the ducklings will be satisfied. To make such a miracle design, you need to purchase or find:
- a couple of pipe sections of various lengths, it is best to choose options equal to 30 and 50 cm;
- PVC elbow with appropriate parameters;
- two plugs;
- equipment for work.
The preparation of the structure must be started by making holes in the pipe, which will allow the ducklings to freely get to the food. The number of holes that need to be made depends on the wishes of the breeder. It is also important to consider that ducklings need more smaller holes than ducks.
During this step, it is best to position the pipe on a flat surface where the holes will be marked. At home, an ordinary drill will help to make several holes. Next, you need a jigsaw, with which you can cut out the holes you need in size.One hole on average should be about 8 cm, but the figure is not definitive and is subject to change. Place the end cap to one edge. More information about making a feeder in this way can be found in the video clearly.
To complete the construction of the feeder, it must be assembled by closing the half of the pipes with a knee. You can attach the structure with wire, which is used to fix the feeder in the house. In order to ensure the free flow of grain into the invention, an integral half of the feeder should be left for use as a bunker. It is also there that you need to fill the food, closing it after with a special plug, which will protect the food from the penetration of unnecessary elements.
Manufacturing of nipple drinkers
The advantage of nipple drinkers is convenience and ease of use. In order to make them yourself, you need to decide which nipple is needed. If the drinking bowl is made for ducklings, use 3600, for ducks - 1800. A square pipe is selected. It is important that the distance from one nipple to another should not be less than 30 cm. To keep the floor clean and dry, it is important to install drip eliminators in the house.
To make a nipple drinker, you will need to purchase a muffler, a square adapter, and a round pipe. You also need to choose an appropriate container for water and a hose. The work will be done with a drill, taper tap and drill.
So, by following the following steps, you can provide the house with a high-quality and comfortable drinker:
- mark the pipe with markings;
- drill holes with a diameter of 9 mm;
- cut threads with a tapered tap;
- screw in the nipples.
Take a previously prepared container with liquid in order to attach it to the pipe. As a container, you can use an ordinary plastic barrel with a lid, where there is enough hole where the hose is connected. An important point is considered to be wrapping all places prone to leakage with Teflon tape. Do not forget about attaching drop catchers.
Recommendations
The installation of the liquid tank must be higher than the pipe. It is best for the tank to be installed indoors so that the water does not freeze in the future. In the case when installation inside the house is not possible, you can use an aquarium heater in sub-zero temperatures.
Like feeders, drinkers should be practical and of high quality. It is important to take care of the comfort of the birds in the cage. When installing a drinking bowl for a small number of ducks, use an ordinary wooden trough, which, in addition, has strong walls and structure in order to withstand the constant "bathing" of ducklings.
So, feeders and drinkers for domestic ducks are integral components of the healthy life of birds. Therefore, structures must be durable, practical and economical. When making this or that structure, it is necessary to remember about the ability of ducks to grow quickly, therefore it is better to dwell on the most budgetary option.