words by: Merissa A. Alink
We’ve had our chickens in various coops over the years as we’ve moved, and we’ve always seemed to come up with creative ways to make each one work. Old coops, a big barn, and even an old building that we insulated with chicken feed bags–each one was unique, and each one worked for the purpose that we needed it for… a home for our feathery ladies.
In our current situation (big barn), we’ve struggled with finding a great feeding solution for our girls. Chickens aren’t exactly clean eaters, they love making a big mess with their food! Since we’ve decided to invest in our chickens by feeding them quality feed, we are not willing to let any go to waste.
My husband is so crafty with using things that we already have and repurposing them into things that we need, so he commissioned himself with the task of creating a functional chicken feeder. Here’s how he put it together!
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- Silver Appleyard Ducks
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- Barred Plymouth Rock Hen.
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- Plymouth Rock Chickens.
Instructions:
Our model is based on a version that goes through the wall since our chicken feed is on the other side of this wall. If you just want to do a straight feeder you can skip the angled pieces on the top and just put a cap on the top that you can remove to pour the feed into.
Starting from the bottom up, glue the cap onto the bottom of the Y piece, then glue the Y piece onto your 4-inch piece of PVC. The straight piece can be cut to any length. If you don’t need it to go through the wall, you can then place another cap on top and use the straps to hook it onto your coop wall.
If you want it to go through the wall, you will glue two 45 degree angle pieces onto the top of the feeder and place them through a hole in the wall. Use another piece of the 4 inch PVC pipe to create a longer tube and stick it up along the wall, making it easier to pour the feed into. Use another strap to keep it secure against the wall.
Now all you will need to do to feed the chickens is to pour feed into the pipe, and you are good to go! The chickens will have plenty of feed as it will come down into the tube, and it will be harder for them to make a mess of their feed. //
