There's a misconception that chickens attract mice and rats. Chickens don't - but their spilled feed does. Make a no spill chicken feeder with PVC pipe and a few connectors to reduce your risk of rats. And therefore the need to self medicate.
It's 7 o'clock, or close to it, on a warm summer morning. I'm still in bed, awake, but trying to fall back asleep again. Everything is quiet and motionless, with just the faintest sounds of the neighbourhood coming to life. A car door closing as someone gets ready to drive to work, sparrows chirping from a tree in the distance.
Just as the heaviness of sleep presses my body deeper into the bed, there is an earth shattering shriek that comes screaming out of the backyard.
Scream.
SCREAM
S C R E A M
Table of Contents
SCREAM
BUCKOCK!
I'm not sure if you speak chicken or not but loosely translated that means, "Hey! Stupid!". Chickens are quite ignorant. And pushy.
So I hop out of bed and pad down the stairs and out the back door to let the chickens out into their run for the day. My guess is they were bored and wanted to shake their tail feathers around a bit. You know. Have a little fun. Scratch at some straw, roll around in some dirt, maybe poop a little. A real party.
But when I got down to the coop I realized the chickens had no food. In their feeder. There was plenty thrown on the ground, but nothing left in their feeder.
That's because chickens are pigs.
My chickens have had this problem from day one. They THROW their food everywhere. They stick their pecky little beaks into the grain and just start flinging and chucking everything out of the feeder.
I used to give them organic grain but for some reason that particular food REALLY threw them into a food throwing frenzy. So I switched back to organic pellet chicken feed hoping it would slow down the daily food fights.
It did not. Exhibit "A".
This is a classic chicken feeder which I love based only and entirely on the look of it.
I even put a pan under their feeder to catch a lot of what they flung. Sometimes they'd eat out of that pan, but once it hit the floor of the coop they wanted nothing to do with their food. So it was a HUGE waste. I was having to go up to the feed store twice as often as I should have.
PLUS - rats. I don't want rats because I simply don't have enough time in my day to devote the hours of therapy I'd need to undergo if I got them. I didn't have any yet but with feed around like this I was likely to attract not only rats, but mice, raccoons, skunks, deer, swans, geese, birds, and possibly lawn bowlers. I don't know that lawn bowlers like chicken feed but I have heard they're a bit odd.
So I made myself a homemade PVC feeder. A girl needs her beauty rest and it wasn't going to happen until this food situation was figured out.
Basically I made a long tube that gets filled with feed. That runs to another small, upward facing tube. The angle and length of the feeding tube prevents the chickens from being able to partake in the food fling.
Wanna do it too? Here's how ...
Making a DIY Chicken Feeder
You can make this no spill feeder in no time at all with supplies from your local hardware store. You don't need to glue it or anything. Just put it together like Lego and within minutes you're done.
Materials
3' of 3" PVC pipe
1, "Y" connector
1 end cap
Putting it Together
- Cut a 26" - 27" length of PVC pipe.
- Cut the remaining pipe into a 6" and a 3" length
- Attach the long piece of pipe to one end of the "Y" connector and the 6" length of pipe to the opposite end.
- Attach the 3" piece of pipe to the portion of the "Y" connector that is sticking out at an angle.
- Add the cap to the very bottom of the feeder.
- Fill with feed.
How it Works
Gravity and the weight of the feed allow it to drop to the bottom of the feeder where the chickens peck at it from the opening.
It's big enough for them to feed from but not so big that they can whip their little heads around throwing feed everywhere.
This feeder forces the chickens to be civilized in their table manners.
If you keep your feeder outside you have to cap the top opening and the feeding tube opening so rain doesn't get in. If it does, the feed will go mouldy.
I keep one feeder outside the coop during the day and one inside. At night I bring the outside feeder into the coop to prevent raccoons and other critters from getting into it. One day when I'm at Home Depot, I'll remember to buy 2 extra caps for the outside feeder. I'll just put a cap on the top and one on the mouth of the feeder at night and leave it outside.
The caps will keep both rain and vermin out. Unless that vermin has hands and opposable thumbs. Like a leprechaun. If a leprechaun finds my feeder I'm shit outta luck.
(Second Update: To stop the feed from dropping down to the bottom of the feeder use this little hack I came up with last summer. Just add a mason jar sealer in between the bottom piece and the feeding tube. For years I used a flimsy yogurt container lid because ... well I have no idea why. Because I was stupid I guess.)
Making it Even Better
Remove the bottom 6" piece of pipe from the PVC elbow.
Just take the bottom piece of the tube off (the part that sits on the ground).
Find an old seal from a mason jar.
Put it on the top of tube. A standard (not wide mouth) sealer fits the top of a 3" plastic pipe PERFECTLY.
See?
Now just reassemble the feeder again.
Ready to roll. Or feed the chickens. And squirrels and chipmunks and birds ... and of course leprechauns.
I switched out this DIY feeder a few years ago with a treadle feeder. The chickens step on it and that opens up door to allow the chickens to feed. That means the feed is closed off entirely unless a chicken is stepping on it.
It's worked fantastic but something has figured out how to push itself into the flap, eat all the food and then exit. So I'll be dragging out my original DIY feeder today hoping that whatever figured out how to outsmart the treadle feeder won't figure out the PVC feeder.
At least not for a while. Not until I get some beauty rest.
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Mike
I like your posts. I am new a this and find it extremely interesting and helpful. I have two questions.
1. so the bottom part of the tube gets filled and never gets eaten?
2. do you use the tube for the fermented feed?
Karen
Hi Mike. The bottom part of the tube does get filled and never eat. There are 2 ways to deal with this, once the tube is down to the point where it needs to be refilled, just dump the remaining feed (from the bottom of the tube out). That way it won't go bad and mouldy. OR do what I do, which is simply put a piece of plastic cut to fit at the bottom of the upper tube to stop any food from getting into the very bottom. That way all the feed is being used and none of it is being wasted or getting old. I'm not sure what you mean about the fermented feed. ~ karen!
Lori
The only difference in the design was Hubby got 4" pipe, otherwise he assembled it as directed. That may be the problem. The pullets couldn't get their head in the chicken wire so hubby drilled a hole with a door knob drill bit. into a cap. Problem solved for the pullets. The next ones will be 3" and if any problems arise with those, he will just cut the caps in half.
Lori
My Hubby set it up and as soon as I filled it, they scratched about 3 cups out, onto the floor. We are going to try chicken wire over the opening.
Karen
Really? Yikes. Did you do it to the dimensions I specified? (the extra length of tubing at the base and coming out of the feeder where they put their beaks) is really important. If the tubing that comes out where they reach in with their necks is any shorter for instance, they can indeed fling it. If you put chicken wire over that extra bit of tubing I'm not sure they'll be able to get to the feed. If it's assembled correctly, the food should be sitting down at the bottom so they have to reach their necks in. Let me know how it goes. ~ karen!
MsRiderUp
Hi,
Could you please post photos of what you made to feed the chicks? My 6-week-old bill most of their food. I have 8, so also waste a lot of feed. Does this work for multiple birds, or should I just make a few of them? Thanks!
Karen
Hi MsRiderUp - Sorry, but I'm having trouble with my photos. I'm trying to resolve the problem. Normally there are a bunch of pictures that with this post and hopefully in a day or two they'll all be back up. I use 2 feeders for 4 hens, but you could easily use 1 for 4. They work great and I highly recommend making them. I don't waste ANY feed anymore. This set up might be too big for a 6 week old though. The height and size of the piping etc. is for a full grown hen. Check back in a day or two to see the step by step photos of how to make it. Hopefully they'll be back up by then! ~ karen
Erika
I just LOVE this idea and your tutorial--so easy to follow! Quick question though (and this may sound silly) but...without the 3" piece attached to the 45 degree Wye (where they eat) the food poured out everywhere. With the 3" piece attached, I worry they may not be able to reach their beaks in that far. Thoughts?
Karen
Hi Erika - Not to worry. Chickens have longgggg necks, lol. Try the 3". If it doesn't work for you, just cut it down to 2 1/2 or 2. That extra piece really does need to be there in order to stop the ferocious flinging though. If your chickens aren't flingers you don't have to use it though. Hope that helps. ~ karen!
ReBecca
Thanks! My husband told me I had enough to make it so all I needed to buy was the wye connector and end caps. I came home, cut the pvc pipe and everything fit but the cap wouldn't fit on the six inch piece, so I am going to put it up a bit higher maybe or try and figure out where I went wrong.
ReBecca
Perhaps it has been answered, perhaps a dumb question, but the purpose of the extra six inch piece at the bottom is for? Is it needed? Thanks!
Karen
Hi ReBecca - The feeder has that 6" piece for 2 reasons. To make the height more comfortable for the chickens Technically they like their feed to be approximately level with their backs, and the height also helps stop any bedding from getting in there. :) ~ karen
Angela
I was wondering how many chickens you have. This feeder seems like a great idea but I was wondering how many of these feeders I would need to keep them from fighting over who gets to eat out of it. I have 6 hens.
Karen
You'd be fine with 2 of them I think. I have 4 hens and 2 is plenty. They don't all seem to want to eat at the same time and they just wait their turn. If they're starving two heads will fit into at once anyway. ~ karen!
Angie
I like your feeder design. Am going to fix a couple I can raise half-way to the roof to thwart raccoons and mostly rats. We live in the Southwest part of Texas and when the hens leave pellets, rats come. When they come to eat, rattlesnakes come for them. One morning, 7 am, I found and killed a rattler five feet long and as big around as a 3" pvc pipe. It came in through chain-link fencing and ate two large rats, then couldn't fit back through the fence. By lifting this type feeder, I think I can eliminate this problem. Thanks
Karen
Angie! That comment made me horrified and doubled over with laughter at the same time! I'm not particularly afraid of snakes, but that'd be because we don't have rattlesnakes here! I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be fond of finding one of those at 7 a.m.! I don't like finding much of anything but coffee at that time. ~ karen!
Josh
I'm just building a coop for our first chicks that we got last week. They started out pretty tidy, but in the last couple days have transformed into total pigs - completely emptying their feeder in a matter of hours.
I definitely want to try this out - I love the simple and efficient design! I was also thinking about something along the lines of Charles' suggestion to reduce the amount of feed that gets lost in the bottom. Either way, it seems like a great idea!
Gretchen
Do you think this would work for water too? Might keep them from pooping all over the waterer?
Karen
I have a sneaking suspicion I tried this with water and it didn't work. But now that you've reminded me I'm going to have to try it again, lol. I'm sure it again won't work, but I won't be satisfied until I try again. :) ~ karen
Kaitie
How do you keep your water un frozen? do you just thaw it?
Karen
Hi Kaitie. I don't use this method for water. I use a regular waterer. And in the winter I set the waterer on a metal cookie tin with a lightbulb in it. That keeps the waterer from freezing. :) ~ karen
Lisa
Maybe try a aquarium heater With a pvc pipe with nipples on it, attaches to a large pail of water, I have heard it works great and Its always clean warm water. I will be trying this once I get my coop finished.
charles
"How much feed fits in the pipe would you say?"
3" O.D. Pipe with 1/4" walls would leave about 3.5" I.D. Pi * r^ would be Pi *(1.75"*1.75") or 9.6 Sq In area. Thus, for every foot of pipe, you have 12" * 9.6" or about 116 Cu In in volume of feed.
How to find the Cube Root: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-NPbHWb0TA which will allow you to translate the 116 cu in into a cube to find the equivalent 'box' that would hold the same amount of feed.
In this case, a box six inches by six inches by six inches. 6.09 * 6.09 * 6.09 = 225 cu in. If the feeder tube is three feet long, you get 675 cu in of volume.
If a typical box of cereal is about 2" thick, eight inches wide and fourteen inches high, it would take three of them to fill the pipe.
Or, 2.5 gallons of feed.
Cary
I think there's a mistake early on. If the pipe O.D. is 3" with 1/4" walls, then the I.D. would be about 2.5". This works out to be about 59 cubic inches volume per foot of pipe. A 3-foot 3-inch diameter pipe would have a volume of about 177 cu in.
charles
I believe you can reduce the cost and improve on the design by eliminating the short piece of pipe and end-cap at the bottom by using an insert type 'test plug," and drilling one or two 'weep holes' in it in case it gets wet in there - water will have an exit!
Kim Farnell
Thanks for the super easy DIY chicken feeder! I just finished assembling it today and popped it in my coop this afternoon. We shall see if my chooks take to the new feeder and hopefully we'll waste a lot less feed in the process!! I just posted about my chooks and the new feeder on my blog if you wanted to check out pics of your inspiration and my handy work! :)
Cheers!
Kim
Jody Cooper
Hey u guys, here's an new idea for ya, I like you had a big waste problem with chicken feed on the floor of the coop. I found the Large PVC idea online and set out to design my feeder LOL. I have very spoiled birds and impatient also they won't wait to eat 1 at a time so, I found a corner litter pan for a rabbit or ferrite (under$5.00 at petco) it has built in holes for hanging on wire cage , you suspend it about 9-12 inches off the ground , set 4 inch PVC inside the corner litter pan there is a lip about 1 1/2" from the bottom , I used a drill To pre- drill a couple of holes to attach the PVC and plastic corner litter pan together with a couple of zip ties, fill at top and cover with a 4" cap gravity takes care of feeding and waste no more. 3-5 birds have feeding room . YEAH!!!!Yep I did the water this way also but used the Y 4" PVC . Wow what a difference this has made. I also did 2 small ones mounted to a T post with 2" PVC tubes and 3" caps at bottom for feeding grit, and oyster shell.
Kathy Cordell
Jody, I can't quite picture it from your description. Could you possibly post, or send me a photo of it?
Erica
I am a visual person as well and can't seem to figure this one out. A picture would be great :).
Karen I love your idea!
Mark Milotay
I have modified this design slightly so that there is 12" of 2" pipe sitting beneath feeder (threaded over a rebar bounded into the ground) and then the feeder is tied to the rebar and sits on the 12"length of pipe. I find that this has completely resolved my problem of rats getting into my feeder. When I had it just attached to the mesh, the rats would climb it and then get into the feeder.
Karen
Good work Mark! Rats. Eek. They don't scare me. But I'm pretty certain they'd startle me, LOL. ~ karen!
Cheryl Jones
Mark can you share a photo? I would like to keep rodents out but not quite following what you did. Thanks!
Heather
How brilliant! We just hang the regular feeder about 6 inches off the ground but this looks so much tidier!
Karen
Thanks Heather! The reason I can't use a regular feeder is the chickens throw their feed out of it with their beaks. I lose a LOT of feed that way. With this feeder they can't do that. :) ~ karen!
Barbie
.....am I going to have to get me some chickens? OH MANNNN!!! Every chicky post you do moves me closer to getting some....after all shouldn't "Kate Coury's Farmhouse have chickens? What farm has no chickens? huh? What farm? I'm ashamed of myself! lol
Karen
Yup. I'd say you pretty much need chickens. Immediately. ~ karen!
Shauna
How much feed fits in the pipe would you say? You have 4 chickens correct? How often do you find yourself re-filling the pipe?
Karen
Not often, LOL. I haven't kept track but I would guess I fill it once every two weeks. (keep in mind I have two of them) ~ karen!
giggles
Oh forgot to mention that I am interested in getting a pipe feeder too, good idea! giggles