Since we built the coop addition for all of our “littles” we have been feeding them in a deep dish dog bowl. I had a little extra time on my hands Sunday afternoon so the kids and I whipped up a quick DIY chicken feeder. This feeder is meant to be a short term solution so I honestly have no idea how long it will hold up, but I have confidence that it will last more than long enough to get these chicks through until they are living in the big girl coop. This was a very quick and free project as I had everything on hand all ready. Click the read more link to get a build list and step by step instructions to build your own chicken feeder.
The build list for this project is as follows:
- A 2 or 3 liter soda bottle
- A dish that will give enough room around the edge of the soda bottle to allow the chickens to feed without getting into the feed (I used a plastic deep dish dog bowl)
- A bolt with two washers and a nut (1/2″ length should be sufficient unless your dish is really thick)
- A box cutter or razor blade
- A socket wrench with appropriate size socket
- A marker that will write on plastic
- Drill and drill bit (sized to match your bolt)
To start with you are going to want to mark your notches on the bottom of the bottle. I decided to place my notches between the thicker/harder ridges of the bottom of the bottle so as to maintain the integrity of the bottle. (Note that the marks I made here were not high enough up the side of the bottle and had to be lengthened which you will note later in an additional picture). Now using your box cutter or razor blade cut out the notches. Be careful as the plastic is very thin and a touch to much pressure and you will slit the plastic badly.