Homemade Deer Feeders

 

Where To Purchase Homemade Deer Feeders

There have been so many deer feeders made over the decades, some of which are very clever. They are designed to provide deer with food that they may not be able to get, especially after a relatively dry season. It is done for the benefit of deer that are living in areas where food may not be readily abundant. You can get these from sporting good stores, and many other locations, some of which use many high-tech amenities. However, it's also possible for you to make homemade deer feeders. Let's discuss how these work and how you will be able to make your own.

What Is A Deer Feeder?
These are large feeders, ones that have several openings on the side. These are usually types, cylindrical by design, that extend in two or three directions. There is a ladder on the side by which people can climb up to the top to load it. There will be a lid which is typically designed to be somewhat loose to allow airflow. They are usually made of stainless steel, or some type of galvanized metal, to prevent any type of rust from occurring. Many of the professional grade ones are UV resistant. Additionally, they will use some type of HDPE plastic that can prevent the protein placed into the feeders from going bad prematurely. They can hold several hundred pounds of feed, typically in the form of large protein pellets. These are very similar to the type of food that she would provide rabbits or guinea pigs, though potentially larger in size.

How Do You Make Your Own Homemade Deer Feeders?

The reason that they are constructed in this way is threefold. First of all, the ports on the side are cylindrical pipes at a specific height designed to only be accessed by deer. Second, they are off of the ground, typically constructed with either a tripod like apparatus, or one that will have four legs, which will hold the tank in place. Finally, there is a tank in which the pellets will be distributed, usually conical in shape, allowing them to act as a standard gravity fed feeder. To make your own, you can do this in a couple different ways. First of all, the stands can be made of wood, or they could be some type of metal. These will be welded onto a metal box that you can make out of sheet-metal. The tricky part is creating the conical design at the bottom so that the pellets will continue to come out, even if you are not there. Finally, you need to have a lid, something that will require hinges so that you can open and close the feeder top when you are loading in more pellets. It also prevents creatures such as bears from potentially getting inside, even if it is knocked over. The total cost of this project will likely be around $100. It can be more if you do not have any welding experience. It will be necessary to weld many of the components together. The conical design may be problematic for those that are novices with using sheet-metal. Other than that extra expense, they are relatively inexpensive to build on your own.

It should not take more than a couple of hours to create one once you have the materials. The total materials will include four metal poles, three pieces of sheet metal for the conical bottom, sides, and the lid. If you are building a ladder, you will need additional pieces of metal which will be long and linear. All of this can be easily cut to form using an arc welder. Once it is put together, it should be in a location where it will attract deer. It should also be light enough to make it portable. You can often find schematics on the Internet that will show you the exact dimensions of each piece that you will need to cut and weld together. This will allow you to attract and feed local deer that are in your immediate area using your homemade deer feeders.