A bunker trough is any device for feeding animals that has a capacity for food stock. It is convenient to use for any farm animals. It can be filled with food, which is enough for a day with the correct calculation, and this will save the farmer’s time. It has such a feeding trough and many other advantages, which we will discuss further, and also learn how to build a similar device with your own hands.
Why on the farm is better to have a bunker feeder
Most often, inexperienced farmers resort to two types of poultry feeding - from a bowl or from the floor. But both options have more minuses than pluses. For example, in a bowl, chickens will trample, and dirt will get into the food, or simply turn it over and will not be able to get food. 
Pouring food on the floor is also not the best option, because the bird will be able to eat large grains, and it will mix small food with dirt, tramp in the cracks and may not even notice.
Therefore, the best option is to use bunker capacity.
Important! Bunker can fall asleep once a day. Such a system is suitable, for example, for broilers: they constantly eat, and only such capacity for food will be able to feed uninterruptedly.
This feeder has the following advantages:
- feeds as it is eaten by chickens;
- protected from dirt and garbage by birds;
- can accommodate a daily dose of food;
- provides free access to food at any time;
- it is convenient to fill up the feed and clean when necessary.
What should be the requirements for the parameters of the feeder
There are several basic requirements for any poultry feeder:
- Protection of the container against dirt and excrement - for this purpose, special bumpers, turntables and shelters are used.
- Ease of maintenance - food containers should be washed and cleaned regularly, regardless of whether animals brought dirt there. In addition, feed should be filled there at least once a day. In order to spend less time on this, farmers are advised to construct or buy mobile, lightweight feeders from universal and quickly cleaned materials (plywood and plastic).
- Dimensions - it is important to provide the bird with such feeders so that all individuals of the livestock could have access to them at the same time, otherwise the weaker will be oppressed. The tray should be at least 10 cm per head, and in the circular trays per individual should be up to 3 cm. These figures should be halved for chickens. It’s not necessary to make one huge power station, just make a few smaller objects.
Homemade plastic bowl feeder
It is easiest to make a feeder made of such materials - even if you don’t have a big bottle, a bucket or PVC pipes in your house, their purchase will not be too expensive. Such materials are easy to clean, and the food delivery system and storage tank are easy to maintain.
Let's sort two variants of feeding troughs - from a bucket and PVC pipes.
Important! Only dry food can be stored in bunker feeders. If you fall asleep wet there, it can soften, heat up and stick to the walls.
Tools and materials
For bucket feeders you will need:
- a plastic bucket (for example, from a water-based paint) for 10-15 liters;
- tray in diameter is two times larger than a bucket;
- knife;
- screwdriver;
- bolt.
For a vertical PVC pipe feeder, you will need:
- pipes (take the quantity you need from the calculation that there is one pipe for 1-2 individuals);
- cover with a diameter like a pipe to cover it from above;
- coupling with 1 or more branching;
- brackets.
Step by Step instructions
We make a feeder from a plastic container:
- Cut near the bottom of the bucket in a circle windows with a diameter of 30-40 mm.
- Put the bucket in the tray and make a hole exactly in the middle in both objects.
- Secure these objects with a bolt.
- Pour the food into the bucket and cover with a lid.
Feeding trough from a pipe:
- Slip on the pipe coupling with branching.
- Attach the pipe vertically to the grid or post with the help of brackets.
- Pour the feed into the pipe and cover the top with a lid to prevent dust from entering there.
- It is better to take a pipe the size of half your height - this will facilitate the process of filling the feed.
How to make a bunker feeder of wood
For the manufacture of such a power supply fit sheet wood - plywood or chipboard.
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First make a drawing, as in the picture below. Start from these sizes or you can substitute your own. After creating the drawings, all data is transferred to the wooden material. 
Basic tips on making the object:
- smoother and more accurate cut out with an electric jigsaw;
- the lid is attached exclusively to the hinges so that it can be opened and closed.
Did you know? Chickens have a good memory. - if one individual is lost and does not return to the barn, it will be remembered for more than one day. And on her return, even after a couple of days she will be accepted back.
Tools and materials
It will take:
- plywood;
- jigsaw;
- drill;
- bolts;
- reiki;
- sandpaper;
- hinges for the cover.
Bunker feeder for chickens. Review: video
Step by Step instructions
- Based on the size of the feeder on your drawings, we cut out parts of the object from plywood. If you follow the scheme that we attached, then we need to cut: two side walls, anterior and posterior walls, a side and a bottom.
- After you cut out all the parts from the drawings, you need to grind the edges of fine-grained sandpaper.
- Drill holes in places where you will fasten parts of the structure. It is best to attach the rails on the connecting joints - this will strengthen the feeder.
- Assemble the structure, fastening its parts with bolts and screws.
- Attach the top cover on the hinges.
Improving the feeder pedal with dispenser
To the wooden bunker power system separately, you need to build a special pedal and cover for the tray with feed.
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It works like this: the chicken gets on the pedal and the lid rises. While the bird is on the pedal, it can eat.
Suitable design only for a small number of chickens. It is also important to bear in mind that the pedal must weigh less than a chicken in order for it to be able to lower it. 
Tools and materials
You will need:
- plywood;
- bars;
- bolts;
- 2 loops;
- drill;
- jigsaw or saw.
Did you know? The yolk inside the chicken egg is always placed at an equal distance from all sides of the shell.
Step by Step instructions
- When creating such an automated mechanism, take into account the parameters of your feeder and take measurements for the necessary details.
- Cut a cover out of plywood to the size of the feed tray and a slightly larger rectangle, which will be a pedal.
- Divide the bars into 6 parts: 2 long for the pedals, 2 shorter for the cover, 2 for fastening the previous 4.
- We take plywood, which will become a lid for a tray with food, impose on it bars shorter at the edges, fasten each of them with a drill.
- At the free ends of the bar we make 2 holes at a distance of 5 cm - the hole near the end of the bar should be slightly larger than the bolt. We also make holes on the side covers of the feeders and fasten our construction to them. It should be free to rise and fall on the tray with food.
- Attach the same principle to the longer bars to the pedals. To attach the free ends to the walls, make holes at a distance of 1/5 from the height of the bar. And at the very end below, make another hole. Thus, you will have two holes on the bar, placed vertically - the upper one for attaching to the wall, and the lower one for fastening with a small bar.
- Now we connect the bars from the pedal and the cover with small bars. Secure the bolts as tightly as possible so that the mounting does not loose.
- Check the operation of the structure - when you press the pedal, the cover should rise. If this does not happen, try to loosen the bolts.
The bunker feed system for poultry is very convenient to maintain and organize meals. It does not need to be filled every hour, it is easy to clean and serves for a long time. And if you make such a feeder with your own hands and treat it with an antiseptic, then it will be able to feed your birds for years.
