With the completion of the first bulk chicken feeder, I gathered more hardware in order to do the next and much bigger unit, the one that I decided to actually use for the minivan chicken coop. This setup is about the same as the first one in what it uses. Instead of the metal RV chimney shield of the first feeder, this one uses the plastic portion of the shield that waterproofs the roof around the chimney. My plan is to use the plastic shield as the connector between the hopper and the chicken feeder, which is another gallon size bulk feeder. The hopper is an old bulk dog food feeder that's missing some things to make it a useable feeder.
The first step was to cut down the plastic shield to the dimensions of the bottom of the bulk hopper. Once this was done, I then traced a line around the inside of the shield to make another oval shaped hole, which was then cut out as well. I then drilled six holes around the corners and the middle of the shield, using small nuts, bolts, and washers to secure the shield to the bottom of the dog feeder, covering the hole. Quick and easy. The next move was to seat the hopper of the chicken feeder on the mouth of the shield and drill five holes diagonally, same way as I did with the first bulk feeder. Extra long bolts with nuts and washers were used to secure the hopper to the shield. Unlike the first bulk feeder, I didn't bother to use any hot glue to seal any gaps as they weren't significant to warrant sealing. The flap door on the dog food feeder is held down by simple gravity and didn't need to be locked in place. Besides, its ability to open can be useful. When the feed is depleted, I can open the flap to brush out the remaining old feed into the chicken feeder portion of the hopper so it doesn't sit in the spots around the hole where it can eventually go bad. The top also has a lid to cover the unit up to keep things sealed just as well. Just like the first bulk feeder, because of its style of construction, I'll have to make some form of table or support that will cradle the hopper portion to hold its weight in feed while allowing the chicken feeder part of the device sit touching the floor of the coop. This won't be a big deal as I have plenty of material to make something of this nature. Because of the disproportionate size differences, I'll probably use the smaller unit in one of the other coops and most likely supplement this larger feeder with a large commercially made unit to get double the feeding ability when needed. With that, the next move will be to actually start building out the Minivan Chicken Coop, once I gather a few more pieces.
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May 2023
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