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The idea of this project originally came from Tim (thanks mate for finding me a new project). Although I have to visit my chickens every day (to get the eggs) I want an automated feeder system. Why? ….. just because it’s cool. I know there are many feeding systems available in the pet shop but I don’t want them to have access to the specialised food the whole day. Exposing them to an unlimited supply of grains, corn, … would stop them from eating my kitchen waste (and that’s why we bought them in the first place).
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How does it work
The idea is to mount a wooden plate in the chicken house to create a silo. At the bottom of that silo is a transport system to get the grains to the feeding place.
Materials and tools needed
Materials
- Wooden plate
- Piece of wood (about 5cm*5cm*25cm)
- Slowly rotating motor. I used a 12V motor with a reduction system from an old copier. It is important that it has a low speed (about 100 RPM) and a high torque
- Lots of screws
- Metal wire
- Small piece of tube, to connect the drill to the motor (both the shaft of the motor and the drill have to fit in the tube)
- clamps to fasten the tube around the shaft and drill
- Plastic tube to transport the food
Tools
- Drills
- Saw
- Screwdrivers
- Workbench
Transport system, first prototype
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The first system I made used the actual drill to transport the food.
The first test was very
successful, the drill was able to transport the food and didn’t get stuck at any point.
Making the actual model was a different story though. Since I was afraid of the wooden block wearing out by the drill I used a piece of tropic hardwood.
On small remark though: tropic hardwood is HARD!!!
It took about 30 minutes to drill about 10cm deep. With smoke coming out of the wooden block and the power drill, something had to go wrong. So 5cm before we got through the block my power drill passed away. Thanks to a professional power drill we were able to finish the job so I guess this is where you see the difference between a 250 Euro power drill and a 29 Euro one 
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Transport system, improvement
Using the drill to transport the food had a very high throughput of food but there had to be a drawback. When a piece of grain or stone got caught between the drill and the wood the whole system jammed and I had to turn it back manually to solve that. In real life this would mean my chickens would starve. The new transport is system is so simple I could believe it would work until I saw the whole system running.
Instead of the drill I have a spiral made from metal wire that is about half the diameter from the hole in the block. It runs freely in the hole without any resistance and pulls the grain out at a steady rate. The throughput of food is less but I can let it run for a longer time to get the correct amount.
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This is the block of wood that is the core of the system.
The grain will fall in the slot you see on top and it will be transported to the hole at the right side. There are already mounting brackets in place to make the installation quicker.
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This is the spiral. |
Forum {beta}
November 9th, 2005 at 2:56
I’m all for making things easy. You can use chickens as part of a permaculture system, where the chickens fertalize, weed, and till the ground all at the same time. Best of all, minimal work for you. Move their pen, and you can plant next year’s crops there.
What could be better than letting them fend for themselves? Just check on their food every week or so, and get the eggs at your leisure.
January 19th, 2006 at 12:16
Well done mate.
I have been thinking about making one of these for a while.
I have experimented and failed thus far.
The loose spiral wire is brilliant.
March 12th, 2006 at 5:53
I would like to know more about the project eg. its layout please.
March 19th, 2006 at 22:25
tell me, why does this need a motor? why dont you just use gravity? what a waste of time… get a job you bum
May 7th, 2006 at 9:43
Cool idea. It’s a shame ’stevo’ is quick to stomp on your creativity.
I’m sure ’stevo’ has a website article showing his ambition, effort,
and dedication to turning his ideas into reality - yeah, right.
August 11th, 2006 at 1:14
Wow this is a really great project i’m hoping to make one myself!! The only things i’m slightly stuck
on is when you say copier motor well what exactly do you mean and did you buy or make the spiral if so
what name did it have! many thanks!
p.s this site is great and i find it 1st pages on google lots!
August 16th, 2006 at 19:22
This puts me in mind of a device I’d like to have for my chickens: an automatic coop door openercloser that would be triggered by light level. That awy I would be able to go away overnight knowing my hens would be shut up tight at night and let out at sunrise. Sadly I am mechanically deficient, so it remains a dream.
August 23rd, 2006 at 4:36
Fantastic. I’ve made a chicken feeder where, when a chook steps onto a plate, a door opens giving the chook unlimited access to food. The closed door stops feral birds and mice from getting a free feed.
My next project is an automatic door that lets them out at midday and closes on dusk. Any body got a design (circuit diagram for a timer and LDR input)? I guess Stevo can’t read or conceptualize a basic concept.
December 23rd, 2006 at 16:02
Rob, I like the sound of that chook feeder where they stand on a plate to open the door. I bought something similar recently but getting the chooks used to it has been dificult. Some still run off as soon as the door opens as it opens quite quickly and makes a noise too. Would be interested in seeing a picture of yours if possible. Maybe it’s better than the one I have. Keep up the good work,
Gary. garyclark@slingshot.co.nz
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:10
Hi Tom : I love your ideia,and using the it I´m thinking that could solve my problem to feed two aviaries gages with cocktaiels and finchs that I have, when I went out of my house on weekends and hollydays.I intend to make a smaller one of this feeders working like yours. What do you think ?
Wilfredo