Chicken Ark Upgrades: Building a No-Mess, Hassle-Free Feeder

 TheCatawba Converti-coop (AKA Chicken Ark) has got to be the best chicken coop design out there for the small, urban, backyard flock of three or four hens.  We bought the plans online and it was the best twenty dollars we've ever spent.  You can see my previous blog post about building the Chicken Ark if you are not familiar with this ingenious design.

In this post, I'll show you how to make this no-mess feeder...

... and build it into your Chicken Ark so it hangs underneath like this:

This is the feeder I installed when building the coop.  It's no good for full-grown hens.

When I built this coop last year, I knew I wanted to add a built-in feeder and decided on the design pictured above that I found the idea for somewhere on the Internet.  It was great for the baby chicks and worked fine when they were pullets as well.  We loved the convenience of simply opening the door that it was attached to and dropping the feed in the hopper. We also wanted a built-in system so we could just pick up the ark and move it without worrying about the feeder.  But when the hens got older, it became a big mess as you can see below.

The bigger the hens got, the more they scratched in it.  We were losing a lot of feed this way and it was attracting mice.  I had to find a better built-in feeder before the rats started to invade.

So, after searching the Internet, we found this video

I knew this was what we wanted.  A feeder that wouldn't make a mess and waste our feed.  Now I just needed to figure out how to build it into our existing Chicken Ark.  I did a lot of calculating and searching for the bin that would meet the exact specifications for this and I'm posting it here in hopes of saving people some time.  Hope this helps.

The parts list is very simple:

All you need is a 3 inch pvc elbow and a small pet food container with a flip top.  If you are fitting this into the Chicken Ark, I highly recommend you save yourself some trouble and get this exact model.  You can find it at Pet Smart or click on the link above to get it online.  I looked all over for a container with the correct dimensions to allow the chickens to reach it when hanging from the floor of the coop.  This one works perfectly!  BTW, this picture shows the pvc elbow after it has been cut so you can get an idea of what it should look like.

Cut the end without the collar so there are exactly 10 millimeters (or 1 centimeter) of pipe left between the bend and the end.  You may have to get creative with your clamps to hold the pipe in place.

Next, use the piece of pipe you cut off as a pattern to trace the line for the hole you will cut out of the container.  It is very important that you measure exactly 20 millimeters from the inside bottom to the bottom of where your hole will be cut.  You may want to drill a series of holes before you start cutting with snips. I have learned from experience that the plastic will crack otherwise.

If you measured carefully, you should end up with a snug fit and a 10 millimeter gap between the inside bottom and the bottom of the pipe (see above pic.).

After testing it out with the chickens, I cut a hole in the bottom of the coop and dropped it in.

Careful measurement is key for a good fit.  If you are using the same container I used, here are the exact dimensions for cutting your trapezoid;  Back Width (hinge side of container) = 7 and 5/8" Front width (clasp side) = 6 and 7/8"  Sides = 9 and 1/4"

The ridge around the container holds it in place an inch or so above the floor so that the bedding (wood chips) don't get into the feed when you open it.  This is another reason I recommend using this exact container.

As you can see, I also had to modify the roosting pole a bit.  I raised it a little higher on both ends and ran it through the exact center of the roosting area (the original plans had it a bit off center).  It's very easy to move it over when you want to open the feeder.

Here's the view from below.  This thing holds about 12 quarts of feed (14L) which will last my hens a week or more.  Makes feeding a lot easier and there's no more mess!

Here's one final shot so you can see the placement within the coop.

If this has helped you at all, please do me a favor and send me a comment.  It would encourage me to keep writing.

Next up, the no-mess, no-hassle, built-in watering system for the Chicken Ark.

Update (7-16-13):

This feeder didn't work out as well as I had hoped.  While it was an improvement, it still allowed some feed to fall to the ground as the chickens were eating.  The trouble is, chickens have big jiggly, floppy waddles hanging from their necks which sweep the feed out as they pull their heads out of the feeder.  Here's how I am trying to solve the problem:

I got a 99 cent test cap (3") from Home Depot...

Cut a small section from the bottom...

And used PVC cement to glue it in place like this.

So far it seems to be working.  I have been watching as the chickens pull their heads out of the feeder and I've only seen a few pieces of feed fall out. The hens have no problem reaching their heads past it as they greedily gobble up their feed.