I wanted to get this chicken feeder Update out to you right away. Our chickens love the Cheap Chicken Feeders I made for them, but I’ve noticed that they tend to scratch some of the feed out onto the ground and some goes to waste.
This Chicken Feeder Update takes care of that problem and nothing goes to waste.
What Is Needed For This Chicken Feeder Update?
All it takes to fix this problem is another cap like pictured below here. This cap is around $1.00 at Lowes.
I’ve taken the time to get the best pictures possible and include the item/part number from Lowes. Of course these are carried by Home Depot and other places that have plumbing supplies, but Lowes is cheaper than all of the others. (See pictures near the bottom of this blog post for item/part numbers).
Below I will take you through each step with a Pictures and explanation for that step. REMEMBER this cap above will allow you to make 2 Feeders with it. That is the best part of this Chicken Feeder Update. 👍
In the pictures above you will see how I have cut the 4″ PVC cap for the Chicken Feeder Update. I started by finding the center and using a small square and using a sharpy to mark the center line for cutting.
One more step after cutting this PVC cap down the center is to measure 1/4″ on each cut piece and cut that 1/4″ off of each piece. You can use these without doing this step, but I have found that that extra 1/4″ off these pieces helps the chickens reach in the Feeder easier.
These cuts don’t have to be perfect, but they do have to be smooth so your chickens won’t get hurt from the rough edges left after cutting.
How To Make Smooth Edges
After cutting the PVC pipe you will have some rough edges that need to be smoothed out so the chickens won’t get hurt on these rough edges. I prefer using a wood/metal file and then follow that up with a piece of 220 or 320 grit sand paper. I make these edges perfectly smooth.
Now it is time to put all of the pieces together for the complete Chicken Feeder Update. See the pictures below.
How To Glue The 1/2 Caps In Place
The last step to this Cheap and simple Chicken Feeder Update is to Glue the 1/2 caps you just cut and smoothed out onto the rest of the Feeder. You can see how to make these cheap Chicken Feeders step by step by watching this video << and reading this blog post. Pictures are included in this post as well.
As shown above is the PVC Glue I prefer to use and how to apply it. First you use the purple primer on each piece. Then you use the glue on each piece after the purple primer has dried.
** I first put the 1/2 cap onto the other part of chicken Feeder and got it squared up, then made my sharpy mark…
NOTICE I have made a black sharpy mark on the main chicken Feeder so that I can easily line up the 1/2 cap I just cut and smoothed out. This allows you to get the 1/2 cap on so that it will be straight and square.
The Finished Product
These cheap Chicken Feeders are easy to make as well as this simple Chicken Feeder Update. Remember if you want to see my main blog post of “how to build these cheap Chicken Feeders” then visit here << now! This post will also include a video I made while building these Feeders the first time.
Parts Needed For Cheap Chicken Feeders
You will need sewer pipe like I’ve used (which is much cheaper than PVC) or you can use PVC pipe. The green pipe seen in the pictures above is sewer pipe I had laying around here at Pin Oaks Farm. Don’t worry, I didn’t even have to clean it out…it was poo free. Lmao! 😂
Side By Side Testing
Right now I am doing side by side test on the Chicken Feeder Update version and the original version as shown here in our chicken coop before doing this Chicken Feeder Update.
As you can see in the picture below I have added the new feeder in the Chicken Coop and ready to start the test mentioned below…
Notice in the picture above how the chicken Feeder is raised up off of the floor? When it was down next to the floor there was lots of waste by the chickens dragging the food out in the ground. By raising the Feeder up 10″ off of the floor, it really reduced the waste. The new Feeder is raised the same distance so we can have more accurate test results…
I will let you know how the testing goes and how much the feed waste has been reduced from this Chicken Feeder Update. By the way; I used 1-1/4″ metal strapping that has small holes already in it for fastening these Feeders to the chicken coop walls…(the metal strapping came from the Morton barn that went through a tornado recently and I cleaned it all up). This type of metal strapping is very strong, but very flexible so that you can easily work with it. I love reclaimed materials!
Feel free to leave your comments below. Maybe you have Cheap Chicken Feeders that are easy to build and work great? If so, let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear your ideas!
Always do your best,
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