Pigeons are decorative birds requiring care from their master. In order to keep these short-billed birds well, it is important to provide them with the most comfortable living conditions. Part of them consists in equipping an aviary or dovecote with feeders and drinking bowls. Pigeon feeders can be purchased factory-made or do-it-yourself.
Do-it-yourself feeders and drinkers for pigeons
The issue of nutrition and its organization is one of the main issues for the successful breeding of birds, because it will be inconvenient for this winged to receive the necessary amount of food or water, this will affect their health. Feeding feeders can easily be made with your own hands, like drinking bowls. This will save on further bird care.
The health of pigeons depends on their content
Bird feeders and drinkers, as well as their effectiveness, are an important part of caring for pigeons of any breed. Before starting such animals, it is important to solve this problem, because the state of bird health depends on these containers. The comfort they need will make them healthy. The birds eyes will shine, even breathing and noticeably shiny plumage will be clearly audible. Any poultry breeder will say that all these are signs of quality care.
Beginner poultry farmers may postpone the construction of pigeon feeders for some time. This is due to the fact that the chicks cannot eat on their own for the first week. But as soon as they firmly get on their feet, it is urgent to get down to business: to make feeders and drinking bowls for pigeons. Before you take up the tools, you need to know about all the nuances associated with the design features.
Requirements for pigeon feeders
Do-it-yourself feeders for pigeons are made quickly. Their manufacture may take from several minutes to 2-3 hours. Each version of such devices has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. It is important to study in detail all varieties of the design so as not to make a mistake in the manufacturing process. This can lead to additional waste of materials, as well as difficulties in keeping birds. Before choosing a model for a future device, you should be aware of the requirements that a bird feeder should have. These include:
- The presence of protective elements in the design of the feeder, which are necessary to protect the inside of the structure from litter and droppings of birds.
- Ease of use. The birds should have an unhindered approach to food.
- Design features to protect the container with food from the paws of birds.
Pigeon feeders can satisfy all these requirements even with the simplest design. The birds get the necessary comfort even from an ordinary tin can or cut plastic containers, but if the number of heads is large, such drinkers become ineffective. In addition, the life of such feeders is small.
If the poultry farmer decides to seriously take up the manufacture of a home-made device, he should study several theoretical and practical manuals on this topic. A person can also get the proper level of knowledge from experienced poultry farmers who share their tips on the forums, as well as post photos and videos of the construction of their feeders on the Internet.
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Making a simple feeding trough
It is not difficult to make a pigeon feeder, especially if its design does not require any special, complex and time-consuming actions on the part of the bird owner. One of these is a cardboard product. Its advantage is that it does not require financial costs and is easily constructed from another material - wood. There are more disadvantages. The main ones are:
- fragility;
- the need for frequent sprinkling of feed;
- inefficiency of use in pigeons with a large number of birds.
If the poultryman has a desire to make such a feeder with his own hands, he will only need:
- cardboard (2 ordinary boxes fit);
- thin wooden slats;
- stapler or glue.
This do-it-yourself pigeon feeder is designed as follows:
- To the inner four corners of one of the boxes are attached with a stapler or glued rails vertically 10-15 cm above the level of the box itself.
- The roof is cut out of cardboard. It is made even or pike-like (optional).
- The finished roof is glued to the ends of the vertical battens.
The design will be more durable if, instead of cardboard, a person uses stronger materials. Woodwork is most effective even with a large number of heads.
You should also take care that the feeder is located above the floor level of the dovecote so that birds and litter are not brought into the tank. If dirt and dust enter the feed, it will harm birds.
Making a hopper feeder
A hopper feeder is a good reliable option that will be most effective with a small number of goals. To make it, you only need a plastic bottle and a knife. Such home-made devices are made as follows:
- Cut the bottle into 2 parts so that the top piece of the bottle is 1 centimeter shorter than the bottom.
- At a distance of 2-3 cm from the bottom, holes 3 cm in diameter are cut out in a circle with a step of 2 cm from each other (the larger the bottle, the more holes will turn out, and therefore more birds can eat food at the same time).
- The upper cut off half of the tank is placed with its neck down, into its second part.
This pigeon feeder is called automatic. It is easy to improve. All that is needed is another plastic container with a lid, but with a large bottom diameter. Such a capacity for pigeons works on the principle of an auto-drinker.
The instruction for manufacturing such a device is extremely simple.
Following the example of water containers for pigeons, they make a feeder with their own hands. The manufacturing instruction is the same, only instead of the bottom of the bottle, the prepared container is used with pre-cut holes for the top of the device and windows for the birds themselves.
Immediately after completion of construction, pigeons are let into the feeder to check if everything is working correctly.
Such a feeder for pigeons allows you to free a person from the constant sprinkling of grain to pigeons. The larger the size of the feeder, the more free time the poultry breeder will have. Such home-made devices will not only fit pigeons with a large number of birds.
Drinking bowls for pigeons
Drinkers and feeders for pigeons have a large number of varieties. Both those and other devices can be in the form of a conventional container, as well as closed with automatic feeding of the product. The dimensions of the container are selected based on the number of goals contained. Also, the dimensions of the container must be correctly calculated. A too wide drinker for pigeons can be perceived by the bird as a place for swimming.
You should also consider the possibility of heating water in the winter. For such purposes, a stainless steel vessel is better suited. Heating has its own characteristics, which must be considered even in the early stages of making a drinker for pigeons with their own hands.
Vacuum Type Drinking Bowl
Drinking bowls and feeders for pigeons are most often made automatic. This allows you to reduce the number of times of pouring water or pouring grain, which gives a person more free time. Vacuum drinking bowls for birds are easy to construct with your own hands. The poultry breeder needs to prepare:
- a jar of any volume with a plastic lid;
- a few screws and a screwdriver;
- saucer made of plastic.
Such a feeder is designed in a few minutes:
- Screws are screwed into the cap so that they rise 3-4 mm above the level of the cap and their caps are in the same plane.
- Water is poured into the jar and tightly closed with its lid.
- Turn the jar upside down and put it with screws on a saucer.
Such a vacuum drinker allows water to be constantly at the same level in the saucer. This design is simple and reliable, and a person can only monitor the amount of remaining water in the bank and replenish it in a timely manner.
The correct design of the drinking bowl and feeder makes it easier for birds to access food, and the conditions and comfort of keeping birds determine their health and growth.