Many homesteaders raise chickens. These birds are bred for eggs and fresh chicken meat. Before raising chickens, you need to properly set up your chicken coop. To do this, you will have to create a feeder for the chickens with your own hands.
Requirements for chicken feeders
Before you start creating a brooder feeder, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic requirements for such a design:
- The container for placing food should be shaped in such a way that chickens cannot climb on top of them. This is done to prevent excrement and debris from getting into the feed.
- Experts advise creating structures that are easy to clean. They should not weigh much, and therefore the body should be made of light metal or plastic.
- The tray should be large enough for any chicken to easily approach it. The length should not be less than fifteen centimeters.
Types of feeders
There are three types of feed containers that are most commonly used in chicken coops.
Tray
Many poultry farmers install tray structures in poultry houses that are large in size. They are made from various materials. However, most often trays are made of wood or durable plastic. An iron mesh is attached to the top of the product, which protects the feed from trampling by chickens. Among the advantages of tray containers is their versatility, as they are suitable for porridge and dry feed.
Other advantages of feeders include:
- Durability. Wooden and plastic products do not rust and have good wear resistance.
- Easy to care for. Such products are easy to care for and clean from dirt.
Grooved
A considerable part of poultry farmers use grooved containers instead of tray ones, which are externally made in the form of elongated sections. They are located at a slight slope so that the food is better scattered along the bottom of the feeder. The advantages of trough products include the fact that they can serve almost any crumbly feed.
When making grooved products, they use tin sheets, plastic bottles and even plywood. Some people make them from plastic water pipes with a diameter of ten centimeters. Such products can last for 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 entire structure is the bunker, which is used to store birdseed. Also an important part of the feeder is the feeding platform, onto which the feed is poured from the storage.
Bunker systems are equipped with special restrictive gratings that prevent the scattering of feed and prevent chickens from trampling on it.
How to make it yourself?
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 in the bottom of the bottle. It is through the holes made that the feed will be poured out to the chickens.
- Installation of nails. Several nails are installed at the bottom of the bottles. To do this, they are heated in advance, and then carefully inserted into the container. Nails are needed to delimit the approach of birds to a container filled with food.
- Attaching a watering can to the neck. This funnel-shaped vessel 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 equal parts. Small holes with a diameter of five centimeters are made in one of them. Through these holes the chickens will eat feed.
Then the structure is installed on the floor, fixed with fastening screws and closed with a plug so that the food does not spill out.
From plywood
You can make an automatic hopper-type feeder from plywood sheets. In this case, the structure should have a triangular shape so that the pointed part is at the bottom. All plywood components are secured together with ordinary screws. There is a lid on top that can be opened before adding food.
Experts recommend treating the plywood product with an antiseptic.
From a bucket
The bunker structure for chicken feed is sometimes made from a plastic bucket. To do this, holes with a diameter of 1-2 centimeters are cut in the bottom of the container so that the food can penetrate inside the manure without any problems. Then the bucket and the menagerie are connected using screws. Before using the structure, 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 feed again.
Where is the best place to place it?
Feeders in the chicken coop can be installed anywhere. Plywood bunker products are hung from the wall. It is not necessary to install trays and grooves near the walls. Experienced poultry farmers do not recommend placing feeders near walls, as there the food 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 need to be given more bran and feed, and during the day they are fed grain;
- all chicken feed should be stored in dry rooms with a temperature below 15 degrees Celsius;
- chickens need to be watered regularly, so they should always have water;
- drinkers and feeders are periodically cleaned to prevent dirt and debris from accumulating in them.
Specifics of feeders for broilers and layers
Broilers are most often fed from hopper-type feeders, which are attached with hooks 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 because they hold more feed. Laying hens are also fed from grooved products that are made of plastic material..
Conclusion
Chickens should be given food using special feeders. To make them yourself, you need to familiarize yourself with the types of products and understand the features of their creation.
