Successful breeding of chickens or quails on a home mini-farm can only be done with proper feeding. Compound feed and grain the bird should receive in sufficient quantities. In addition, the owner of the household plot, of course, must follow the feeding regime for birds. Otherwise, hens and quails will lay poorly and slowly gain weight.
However, unfortunately, not every owner of a mini-farm has the opportunity to visit the poultry house 3-4 times a day to feed feathered pets. This is especially true for gardeners. The way out of this situation can be the installation in the barn of such a convenient device as a bunker feeder for quails and chickens. If you wish, you can assemble such a design, including with your own hands.
Benefits of using
Most often in poultry houses they install long V-shaped feeders-troughs knocked down from boards. The design of these devices is such that chickens cannot climb inside in order to rummage through the grain (and scatter it), as well asleave a mark. However, the dimensions of the V-shaped troughs are such that you cannot fill them with too much feed. If you make such a feeder a larger size, then climbing inside the chickens will not be difficult. With all the ensuing consequences. Yes, and such a design in the barn will take a lot of space. Therefore, the owners of poultry houses have to fill the chickens with grain several times a day.
Bunker feeder (photos of similar designs can be seen on the page), this drawback is completely devoid of. Having poured grain into this device, you can not go into the house for several days. Of course, for summer residents who breed both chickens and quails, who come to their suburban area a maximum of twice a week, this is very convenient.
Design Features
What is a bunker chicken feeder? Structurally, the device is not too complicated. It consists of two main parts: a large grain bin and a tray designed for feeding the birds. It is very easy to use this design. The grain laid in the hopper is poured into the tray gradually, as the chickens eat it. Of course, the bird does not have the opportunity to climb inside the feeder of this design. The tray is too small for this. Pour feed into the hopper through the hole made at the top using a funnel.
Specialized stores now sell bunker feeders for chickens of all sizes, made from a variety of materials. Most of them are easy to use. However, there are collectedfactory fixtures of this type are quite expensive. Therefore, many homeowners are interested in how to make a feeder with their own hands. The design of such devices, as already mentioned, is extremely simple.
What materials can be used
Homemade chicken feeders of this variety can be made:
- from plastic bottles of different sizes;
- old garden buckets;
- from sewer pipes;
- plywood, etc.
In general, you can make such a convenient device, including from scrap materials available in any household.
Using bottles
The easiest way to make such a device as an automatic feeder for chickens is from plastic containers from mineral water, juices, etc. A device for an adult bird is made from three bottles: two for 5 liters and one for 3 liters. It is important to choose a container with sufficiently dense walls. The procedure for making a feeder in this case should be as follows:
- One of the five liter bottles is cut in half.
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The top of the container can be thrown away. In the lower half, five square holes should be made about 55 cm in size (around the entire circumference). They should be cut with a sharp knife at the height of the first rib from the bottom.
- From a 3 liter bottle you need to cut off the top with a neck. The result is quite comfortable.funnel.
How to feed a bird
In use, a bunker chicken feeder made from plastic bottles is extremely simple. Grain is poured into the remaining five-liter bottle through a plastic funnel made. Fill the feed container should be a little more than half. Next, the bottle is gently turned over (the neck must be held with the palm of your hand) and inserted into the cut off part with holes. The neck should sink to the bottom.
Of course, the weight of homemade feeders (and drinkers) for chickens made from plastic bottles are small. However, they are quite large in size. Therefore, chickens can easily turn such a device over. To prevent this from happening, the structure should be fixed to the wall through the holes made in the plastic bunker.
Chicken design
Bunker chicken feeder, the manufacturing technology of which was discussed above, is, of course, not suitable for small chicks. A chicken can crawl through a 5x5 cm hole very easily. Therefore, for chicks, feeders are made from small bottles (1.5 l). The assembly principle in this case will be slightly different. A chicken feeder is made as follows:
- The bottom with walls 10-12 cm high is cut off from a 1.5 liter bottle.
- Holes are made in it, as in the first case. Of course, they should not be very large.
- The top of the bottle is inserted into the bottom with holes with the neck down. A cork from her, of course,must first be removed.
How to make a bucket feeder
Bottle devices are easy to use and simple to make. However, sometimes homeowners are also interested in how to make a feeder with their own hands from a bucket. After all, such a design can turn out to be more solid and durable than a bottle one. The technology for making feeders of this variety is also relatively simple. In addition to the bucket, in this case, you need a seedling tray. A “tray” convenient for chickens will be made from it. Make a feeder of this variety like this:
- 5-6 arched holes about 2-3 cm high are cut in the bucket at the very bottom.
- To the bottom of the bucket they screw the bowl. You can fix it with ordinary screws.
- A strong cord is tied to the handle of the bucket.
- The feeder is suspended at the required height.
Using a pipe
The bucket feeder is roomy and can last for several years without needing to be replaced. However, sometimes the owners of poultry houses make such devices from other materials. For example, an inexpensive and convenient bunker feeder is obtained from sewer pipes (you can see a photo of it just below). To make a device in this case, you will need to purchase:
- 1.5 m wide pipe;
- two plastic corners (on45 and 90);
- plug;
- three plastic clamps.
First put a small corner on the pipe (at 45). You need to fasten it as tightly as possible. Next, a large corner is put on a small one. The result should be a design with an elbow, like a drainpipe (but with a slightly raised outlet). The feeder assembled in this way should be hung on the wall of the house, distributing the clamps evenly along the entire length.
The cap is only needed if the feeder is to be used outdoors. After filling the grain, it is simply put on the pipe from above. It turns out a lid that prevents the feed from getting wet during rain.
This automatic chicken feeder works very simply. A tin or plastic basin is substituted under the suspended pipe. If some hungry chicken starts to peck grain from the corner at 90, it will wake up down. The grain that has fallen into the basin can be eaten by other chickens.
Using plywood
A bucket and a sewer pipe are materials that are great for assembling such a convenient structure as a bunker chicken feeder. However, the most durable and solid fixtures are still made of plywood. In addition, a lot of grain can be poured into a feeder made of such material. Make plywood bunker fixtures like this:
- A long narrow vertical box without a bottom is knocked down from sheets. The back wall should be slightly higherfront.
- From narrow boards knock down a rectangular tray of the same width as the vertical box. At the same time, its length should be 5-7 cm longer.
- Attach the tray to the bottom of the box. The result is a large structure, in profile resembling an inverted letter "G".
The feeder knocked down in this way is not very stable. Therefore, it should be screwed to the wall of the barn. From above, it is desirable to cover the vertical box with a hinged lid.
This bunker feeder for quails is very good. The only thing is that for this variety of household birds you need to make a much smaller fixture. After all, they contain quails only in cages. The floor method of breeding such birds requires too much equipment for the barn.
A small “boot” feeder knocked down from plywood in this case is simply installed next to the cage so that the quails can, sticking their heads between the bars, easily reach the grain in the tray. For reliability, the feeder should be fixed to the cage frame with screws.
