Breeding birds (including ducks) is gaining popularity. This is a great way not only to supply yourself with meat, but also to get some income. But in order to succeed, you will have to prepare the feeders properly.
Features and tips for choosing
Making a duck feeder with your own hands is quite affordable even for beginner breeders. This solution is more profitable than buying ready-made products, which are not always designed for the size of a particular flock. In addition, it will be possible to carefully control the results achieved, and use only safe materials. There are two main requirements: ensuring the safety of animals and ease of cleaning the structure. The feeder is designed in such a way that the birds are free.
In the first month of life, ducklings should be provided with a free passage of 0,05 m. By the end of the first year of life, this distance should be gradually increased to 0,12 m. The oldest bird will feel comfortable if she is given a passage of 0,15 m. Important : These figures refer to wet food containers. Tanks holding dry food should be half the size. The main materials of duck feeders are:
- steel sheets;
- plastic;
- wood.
Wood is considered the cheapest option. But it is useful only for dry food. Wet mash is much better to lay in a metal container. Drinking bowls that little ducklings will use should not be very deep. In this case, it is required to give them the opportunity to immerse their head in the feeder completely.
Specific varieties
If you plan to feed the ducks with a dry diet, you can make a tray feeder from improvised materials. The work will take about 1 hour, you only need a saw and plywood. Without problems, you can make a design designed for 10 or 12 adult birds. It must be accessible from both sides. It is best if the feeder is placed at a height of 0,18-0,2 m. In stores, you can find tray products with a locking part. This part is inserted into the grooves. This solution is good because it allows you to reduce the scattering of feed. A similar cover can be prepared at home. A good alternative would be to build up the sides, which tilt a little.
A hopper feeder is a very common solution. Therefore, the choice between bunker and automatic systems is not entirely correct. The peculiarity is that you can put food inside for several days at once. To reduce the labor intensity of the work, farmers, of course, prefer larger structures. The bunker feeder can be made not only from wood, but also from galvanized steel sheet. To do this:
- make marks with a marker;
- bend the sheet at the marked points;
- use self-tapping screws to hold the pieces together.
Speaking about original ideas, you should not think that they all require some kind of complex work or sophisticated manipulations. On the contrary, there are excellent ways to quickly prepare an automatic type feeder. It will replace broken products and help if the existing feeding points are not enough. To work, you only need:
- 5 l canister;
- steel wire;
- bowl for food.
Along the perimeter of the pelvis, 8 holes are made for the passage of the wire. Important: the wire itself is taken thicker. Holes in the container are made in exactly the right places. The wire is cut into precisely measured portions, and these pieces, after being inserted into the holes, are bent. If you do not bend, the design will not be able to hold firmly on weight.
A large canister or bottle is fixed upside down. At the same time, they carefully monitor that the feed comes from the lower necks without problems. Details can be varied, taking parts of different sizes and colors is also quite acceptable. But you definitely need to think about whether the feeder is safe. It is safety considerations, not personal convenience, that should come first for any farmer.
practical recommendations
Any poultry farmers who have accumulated any significant experience categorically do not recommend the use of thin plastic. The feeders made from it are impractical, unstable in the cold and serve too little. Many consider feed devices from sewer pipes to be the simplest option. You only have to:
- saw through several holes;
- install plugs;
- mount the entire structure on supports.
By varying the size of the holes, you can make either a drinking bowl or a feeder from the same pipes. As for bunker feeders made of steel sheets, they are advised to be folded like paper boats. The main thing is that the markup is done clearly. Even a very small mistake deprives the product of tightness. As a result, it starts to work incorrectly, unreliably. Do not assume that it is enough just to make the feeder correctly. No less important procedure is competent fixing. If a large pipe pops out of its mounts, it can cause severe damage to ducks or even kill a few ducks. And these animals are active and strong, they can turn almost everything in minutes. Therefore, saving money and time on fasteners is unreasonable.
If we are talking about feeding devices for ducklings, it’s easier here – you can limit yourself to hanging. However, suspended structures must also be held securely. Do not underestimate the ingenuity of the bird and the degree of danger if it gets to the feeder. It is important for farmers to take into account the practical division of devices. They are classified like this:
- products for supplying fresh grass;
- products for wet mixers;
- for dry food;
- for ducklings;
- for fertilizing with mineral compounds.
Fresh herbs help ducks improve their digestion. In addition, its introduction into the diet allows you to make the meat tastier. The best option is mesh devices. Through the mesh it will be impossible to pull the grass throughout the entire volume of the house. Mesh feeders are made primarily from flexible basket weaving rods. Wire will work too.
So that the grass poured onto the net does not rot, it is recommended to hang the structure. As for wet food, grooved products prepared from small troughs are optimal for it. How to make a gutter, anyone can figure it out. The advantage of such devices is ease of cleaning. And you will have to wash the drives for wet food often and actively. Dry food can be fed equally well through a hopper or chute. The second option is more convenient, as it allows you to partially automate the work. The mineral supplement is most often laid in bunker-type feeders. For this, separate sections are initially formed there. Mixing minerals and staple food is strictly prohibited!
Feeders for young ducks should be separate from those for adults. Regardless of the age of the birds that you intend to feed, you will definitely have to get rid of sharp corners and rough edges. Ducks, especially at a young age, are very tender and sensitive to mechanical injury. All steel elements must be ground properly. Unsanded wooden parts must not be used.
Before installation, you should carefully inspect the feeder: whether there are any deformations, chips and so on. If the product is made by hand, then it is worth preparing a drawing. It will help to avoid unnecessary mistakes, and therefore such preparation cannot be considered as an unnecessary complication. Important: in home-made structures, at least four compartments must be provided: for the main food, for the shell, for gravel and lime. This division will make the work easier.
Wooden feeders are considered not only those made from separate boards or from old troughs. Suitable as a base and fiberboard. It is most correct to make one feed container for 16-20 heads. If you make the design of a smaller capacity, you will have to prepare too many copies. If more, then backfilling the feed, cleaning and washing are unnecessarily complicated. The boards are recommended to be made with a height of 0,07-0,1 m. At the same time, the optimal width of the partitions is 0,2 m. Nails or self-tapping screws are used to attach parts. Connoisseurs advise using thin boards so that the feed device is easier to move and wash. Knowing what a homemade feeder should be, it is easy to choose a finished product according to the same parameters.
How to make a duck feeder with your own hands, see the following video.
