This post, however, is about an idea I saw in a magazine earlier this year on how to build a chicken self-feeder. I've written about our chicken coop several times. It is pretty small, so I am always looking for ways to save space in there. The current feeder hangs on a rope from the ceiling in the middle of the coop and is in the way when we need to clean the coop or work in there for any reason.
The idea I saw used PVC pipe and fittings to create a self-feeder. Yesterday, I made a trip to our local Lowe's to get the parts for this. There are four pieces.
The pipe is about 3 feet long with a cap and screw-in top. The bottom piece is just a regular trap, like you would use under a sink. It was rather like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, looking through all the bins of plumbing supplies to find the ones that worked together.
Tom attached it to the wall of the coop with brackets.
Meanwhile, the girls were outside oblivious to the changes going on inside their coop.
We needed the help of a funnel to fill it with chicken feed.
The screw-in lid went on last.
And the U-shaped trap kept it from spilling out the end.
The girls were unimpressed with the new object, but soon learned it contained food. When I went in a couple of hours later, they had eaten the feed down to the bottom of the curve. It appears we may have to cut an inch or so off the open end so it will be shallow enough for them to reach the food when the level gets to the bottom.
Also, we will need to install 2-3 more of these to insure several of the girls can eat at the same time. However, this is going to save some room and allow us to remove the hanging feeder. So, excuse me. I'm headed back to Lowe's for more supplies.......
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