Chickens will make your yard messy, and the best way to feed them is essential. The DIY chicken feeders will do this. Moreover, it not only helps keep the compound clean but also reduces costs because it will reduce food waste. Just as waterers, chicken feeders are available in various varieties. 

Nevertheless, unlike waterers, you have to know how much food your chicken waste when they eat. Chickens are known to leave their food anywhere other than the feeders, so ensure you build a feeder that discourages this as much as possible.

You’ll never find a flawless chicken feeder, but hopefully, this guide will bring you closer.

PVC Chicken Feeder

Chickens can and will be an expensive undertaking for your backyard farm, so cost-cutting, where you can, is the best way to ensure your bank and love for your ladies do not drain.

DIY PVC Chicken Feeder is the best way to do this. It is the best way to build a feeder, particularly if you have a smaller flock. Larger breeds will need more advanced equipment, but that’s a talk for another day.

Here are the materials you will need for your DIY PVC Chicken Feeder:

  • 3-45-degree PVC Elbow Fitting
  • 3in PVC Pipe Caps
  • Three 90-degree Elbow Fitting PVC pipes
  • 10 ft. PVC Drain Pipe.

You may use your 10 ft. Drain Pipe for up to four feeder units (2.5 ft. each), but for each feeder, you will need to buy other products. Other items, not 100% necessary are:

  • 3in Pipe Strap
  • Bungee Cords
  • Hacksaw
  • PVC Cement

These are optional, because you may not use them. You won’t need a hacksaw if you want a 10 ft. High feeder. If the Pipe sticks together and does not fall out, the cement is not necessary, and you only need one of the strap/bungee cords depending on how you fit the feeder in the coop.

It’s open for interpretation because DIY should be like that!

That’s it! It’s quite straight forward from here on:

  1. Cut the 10 ft. PVC pipe to the length of the feeder that you want. Ensure you cut the elbow fittings well to fit in perfectly.       
  2. Slide the 90-degree elbow fitting onto the base of Pipe
  3. Slide the 45 ° elbow fitting into the 90 ° elbow fitting
  4. Attach your feeder to the coop with bungee cords or 3 in pipe straps (with one pipe strap onto the top of the feeder and one at the bottom to ensure stability)

Hanging Chicken Feeders

You can build a DIY Hanging Chicken feeder with a straightforward list of products.

All you will need is:

  • 5-gallon bucket with a handle
  • A 2-3-inch bit drill 
  • A Plastic / PVC feeder pan.
  1. Drill 2-3 inch holes at the bottom of the bucket, 2 inches apart.
  2. Place the pan into the bucket of PVC cement and wait till it cures.              
  3. Put in feed into the bucket.       
  4. Hang the bucket using the handle.

With this method, you will not have to create an airtight seal, and a lid will still help keep any pests out and also prevent the chicken from pooping in the bucket.

You don’t have to hang this feeder for it to work, but hanging it reduces waste because your chickens love to toss their feed around. It will also reduce the contamination risks because your chickens will have trouble jumping up and pooping into the feed.