Deer Feeder Plans?
12-03-2002, 10:39 AM
#2
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Austin TX USA
Posts: 22
RE: Deer Feeder Plans?
I've made deer feeders from scratch a number of times, its not very hard.
First, you have to determine the size of the drum on top of the feeder. You can use 30 or 55 gallon drums, or if you want a smaller feeder you can use an aluminum trash can. Next you want to figure out how to put the feeder up. If you are going to hang it from a tree, bolt some good sturdy brackets near the top that you can tie a rope or chain to. If you are going to stand it up from the ground, I have found that small pipe brackets work well to attach to your legs. (they're kinda shaped like this -^- you can use hook bolts to go through the legs and hold the feeder up, this also makes it easy to take down (remove the hook bolts and it comes right down)).
Finally the last and most important thing you need is a good feeder mechanism. Things to consider... Do you want it on a timer, or on a little electric eye? Do you want to use batteries, or batteries with a solar pannel (little more expensive)? They even have them with remote controls so you can set them off when you want to. All things considered, I go with a spincast feeder - http://www.spincastfeeders.com. They run a little over $100 according to which model you get, but they do have a wide variety, are easy to use, and last a long time. My father is considering getting a new one cause he's had one for 15+ years and its still running (he's gonna make a new feeder and wanted to begin anew, gonna keep the old one as an extra)
I would suggest bolting everything to the can, the mechanism, the brackets or legs you use to keep it up, everything. If you go with the spincast, they only use 3 bolts to attach to the can, i would suggest drilling 3 more for a total of 6. If you go with an aluminum trash can it may be neccessary to beef up the bottom of the can, this can be done by puttin screws in the bottom lip where the can is pressed together (look at one and i think you'll know what im sayin).
Dont forget to put a hole in the bottom of the can, its hard to feed that without it.
A regular sized aluminum trashcan can hold about 110-120 lbs of corn. The only problem is attaching the lid to the can, tried numerous ways, and most held no problem, but getting them off to refill was a bit difficult. I've been using bungee cords for about the last 2 or 3 years, just replace them when they go rotten. But I'm working on a latching mechanism of some sort...
Also they make these neato cones you can put in the bottom of the can so that the corn funnels to the hole and you dont have that little bit that never gets used (never used one, but i think i might try to put on in the next one)
(continued on next post)
First, you have to determine the size of the drum on top of the feeder. You can use 30 or 55 gallon drums, or if you want a smaller feeder you can use an aluminum trash can. Next you want to figure out how to put the feeder up. If you are going to hang it from a tree, bolt some good sturdy brackets near the top that you can tie a rope or chain to. If you are going to stand it up from the ground, I have found that small pipe brackets work well to attach to your legs. (they're kinda shaped like this -^- you can use hook bolts to go through the legs and hold the feeder up, this also makes it easy to take down (remove the hook bolts and it comes right down)).
Finally the last and most important thing you need is a good feeder mechanism. Things to consider... Do you want it on a timer, or on a little electric eye? Do you want to use batteries, or batteries with a solar pannel (little more expensive)? They even have them with remote controls so you can set them off when you want to. All things considered, I go with a spincast feeder - http://www.spincastfeeders.com. They run a little over $100 according to which model you get, but they do have a wide variety, are easy to use, and last a long time. My father is considering getting a new one cause he's had one for 15+ years and its still running (he's gonna make a new feeder and wanted to begin anew, gonna keep the old one as an extra)
I would suggest bolting everything to the can, the mechanism, the brackets or legs you use to keep it up, everything. If you go with the spincast, they only use 3 bolts to attach to the can, i would suggest drilling 3 more for a total of 6. If you go with an aluminum trash can it may be neccessary to beef up the bottom of the can, this can be done by puttin screws in the bottom lip where the can is pressed together (look at one and i think you'll know what im sayin).
Dont forget to put a hole in the bottom of the can, its hard to feed that without it.
A regular sized aluminum trashcan can hold about 110-120 lbs of corn. The only problem is attaching the lid to the can, tried numerous ways, and most held no problem, but getting them off to refill was a bit difficult. I've been using bungee cords for about the last 2 or 3 years, just replace them when they go rotten. But I'm working on a latching mechanism of some sort...
Also they make these neato cones you can put in the bottom of the can so that the corn funnels to the hole and you dont have that little bit that never gets used (never used one, but i think i might try to put on in the next one)
(continued on next post)
12-03-2002, 10:41 AM
#3
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Austin TX USA
Posts: 22
RE: Deer Feeder Plans?
(cont)
Anyways, hope this was helpful. Go to the local hardware store and look around, my ways work best for me, and you may figure out something that works best for you. If you have any questions, i'll try to answer them best I can.
Anyways, hope this was helpful. Go to the local hardware store and look around, my ways work best for me, and you may figure out something that works best for you. If you have any questions, i'll try to answer them best I can.
