What your chicken feeder will look like

Here is a pic so you can see what your chicken feeder will look like when assembled.

What is in the box?

Inside the box you should find:

Timber Ply (12mm)

• 2 sides (LHS & RHS)
• Back (BACK)
• Upper Front (UF)
• Lower Front (LF)
• Lid (UT)
• Hinged Lid (HL)
• Tread (TR)
• Foot
• 2 Rails
• Bottom (made from thinner ply – not labelled or shown in pic)

Aluminium

• 2 x 600mm long angle
• 2 x 400mm long angle
• 2 x ~100mm long flat bar

Angle is the ‘L’ shaped pieces of aluminium.
Nuts & Bolts

• 34 x 8-10x25mm countersunk head Screws
• 4 x 3/16″x38mm Bolts
• 8 x 3/16″x18mm Bolts
• 4 x 3/16″x15mm Bolts
• 4 x 3/16″ Nuts
• 20 x 3/16″ Nyloc Nuts
• 16 x 3/16″ Washers

Assembly

Okay now that’s over, let’s get on with putting it together.

The tools you will need are:

• Phillips head screw-driver
• 3/16″ spanner
• Optional – Drill with 3mm drill bit or
• Optional – Hammer & nail

Step 1 – Back & Sides

At this time, all the arrows on your panels should be pointing upwards.

• Hold one of the Sides (LHS or RHS) and the Back (BACK) together, then with your other hands, screw 3 screws through the Side into the Back.
• Repeat with the other Side.

Step 2 – Upper Front

• Place the Upper Front (UF) in between the Sides (LHS & RHS) and screw 3 screws through each Side.
• Don’t bother to make these screws tight just now. We will tighten them soon.

Step 3 – Lower Front

• Place the Lower Front (LF) betwen the sides (LHS & RHS) and screw 3 screws through each Side.
• Don’t bother to make these screws tight just now. We will tighten them soon.

Step 4 – Lip

• Place the Lip (not labelled) in between the Sides (LHS & RHS) and below the Upper Front (UF) and screw 1 screw through each Side.
• Now you can tighten the screws holding the Upper Front (UF) as well.

Step 5 – Lip continued

• Turn the feeder upside down and screw three screws through the Lip into the Upper Front (UF).

Note: These holes have not been pre-drilled due to the angle that the Lip sits in relation to the Upper Front (UF). If you have a drill, you could drill 3mm holes to make it easier to screw the screws in. If you don’t have a drill, you could hammer a nail in at the right angle then pull it out to use as a screw hole or use nails instead of screws. If you don’t have a hammer, use your muscles!

Step 6 – Foot

• Place the Foot in between the Sides (LHS & RHS) and behind the Lower Front (LF) and screw 2 screws through each Side.
• Now is a good time to tighten the screws holding the Lower Front (LF).

• Turn the feeder upright again and screw 3 Screws through the Lower Front (LF).

Step 7 – Upper Top (UT)

• Place the Rails for the Upper Top (UT) approximately 15mm in from the edge.

Note: These Rails are going to hold the Upper Top (UT) in place, so we want them to be not so close to the edge that the lid won’t fit on, but not so far from the edge that the lid is sloppy.

• Once you have worked out the correct location of the Rails, turn over holding in place and screw in 3 Screws through the Upper Top (UT) into each of the Rails.

Step 8 – Paint!

Now is a good time to paint your feeder if you haven’t painted the timber parts separately already. Have fun! See you when the paint is dry.

Step 9 – Pivot Points

Now is the time to think about your Pivot Points. The Pivot Point for the Hinged Lid (HL) is fixed, however there are 3 options for the Pivot Point of your Tread (TR).

The Pivot Point closest to the front of the feeder gives the least leverage, meaning you need more weight on the Tread (TR) in order to raise the Hinged Lid (HL). Only a small movement is of the Tread (TR) is required to move the Hinged Lid (HL) all the way up.

Conversely, the Pivot Point furthest from the front of the feeder gives the most leverage, meaning you need less weight on the Tread (TR) to raise the Hinged Lid (HL). A larger movement of the Tread (TR) is required to move the Hinged Lid (HL) all the way up.

Note: For the purposes of this instruction, we are going with the middle Pivot Point.

• Take the 4 38mm Bolts and place a Washer on each of them. Thread the Bolts from the inside of the feeder through the Sides. Make sure you use the same Pivot Points on each Side!
• Place another Washer over each of the Bolts, then tighten a Nut to hold the Bolt in place. Now add a Nyloc Nut to each Bolt and tighten all the way for now.

Step 10 – The Arms

So, you have 2 pairs of aluminium angle with holes drilled in them. We will call these Arms.

The shorter Arms will hold the Hinged Lid (HL) and the longer Arms will hold the Tread (TR).

Let’s take a look at the shorter Arms. Each of them has 2 holes drilled at one end and 3 holes drilled at the other. The end with 2 holes will hold the Hinged Lid (HL). The end with three holes will be the Pivot end.

For the longer Arms, one end has 2 holes drilled, the other 1, and somewhere in the middle 3 more. The 3 middle holes are for your chosen Pivot Point (middle for us), the 2 at one end will hold the Tread (TR).

Take a look at the picture of the assembled chicken feeder and work out which Arms belong on the Right Hand Side (RHS) and Left Hand Side (LHS).

Let’s work with the Right Hand Side (RHS) first.

• Take a piece of Flat Bar. Place a 15mm Bolt through the end with one hole.
• Take the shorter Arm and place it so the bolt slips into the 3rd hole from the end (there is only one of these).
• Tighten a Nyloc Nut over the Bolt all the way, then loosen 1/4 turn.
  Place another 15mm Bolt through the hole in the other end of the flat bar. Make sure it is pointing in the same direction as the previous Bolt.
• Take the longer Arm and place it so the Bolt slips into the 1 hole end.
• Tighten a Nyloc Nut over the Bolt all the way then loosen 1/4 turn.
• Repeat for the Left Hand Side (LHS).

Note: We chose to use both the end holes as this raises the tread height to allow for greater movement. This would be recommended if you are using the front and middle Pivot Points for the Tread (TR) as we are.

Step 11 – Attach the Arms

• Place each Arm assembly onto the Side of the feeder making sure the Pivot Points line up with the correct holes in the Arms.
• Screw on 1 Nyloc Nt onto each 38mm Bolt sticking out of the feeder. For now, just finger tighten the nut, as we will adjust later.

Step 12 – Tread

• Place the Tread (TR) over the ends of the longer Arms.
• For each of 4 18mm bolts, place a washer onto the bolt first, then push through the holes in the Tread (TR) into the holes in the Arms.
• Screw on a Nyloc Nut from beneath and tighten, making sure the edge of the Arm is square with the edge of the Tread (TR).

Step 13 – Hinged Lid

• Place the Hinged Lid (HL) over the ends of the longer arms.
• For each of 4 18mm bolts, place a Washer onto the Bolt first, then push through the holes in the Hinged Lid (HL) into the holes in the Arms.
• Screw on a Nyloc Nut from beneath and tighten, making sure the edge of the arm is square with the edge of the Hinged Lid.

Step 14 – Pivot Adjustment

Now you have a Nyloc Nut on the inside and outside of each Arm at it’s Pivot point.

• Loosen the inner Nyloc Nut and tighten the outer Nyloc Nut on each Pivot Point so that the Arm is parallel to the side of the feeder and pivots smoothly.

Step 15 – The Bottom

I don’t have a photo of this, but you should have one piece of ply left, made of 7mm ply instead of 12mm ply like the rest.

• Drop the Bottom in through the top of the feeder or push it up through the hole in the bottom of the feeder, then make sure the front of it sits above the Foot.

The Bottom will stay in place because of the support of the Foot and the Back of the feeder. By not screwing it in place, it should be easy for you to pull it out when cleaning your feeder.

If somebody can take a photo of this for me, I would appreciate it!

Step 16 – Congratulations!

Your chicken feeder is now assembled. Fill up with feed and put it with the chooks! I am sure the guys on Backyard Poultry will give you plenty of tips for training your chooks to use a feeder, so happy training!

A Note on Adjustment for Different Sized Chooks

You can play with the weigh required on the Tread (TR) required to raise the Hinged Lid (HL) by altering the Pivot Points on the longer Arms.

You can also adjust the height of the Tread (TR) by changing the location of the Bolts going through the Flat Bar & Arms.

If all else fails, attach a weight to the Tread (TR) or Hinged Lid (HL) to alter the balance of leverage.