How to Build a Livestock Feeder

How to make an animal feeder.

This is how I went about making this sheep feeder. From pallet wood, scrap corrugated iron and an old drum.

As always I started by cutting and pulling apart the pallets. 45 palings ended up being plenty.

I used a cutting disc on the angle grinder to cut the drum in half, length-ways.

I then cleaned up the edges with a rasp.

For the main structure I used the
center beams of the pallet.
(The stringers)

I made the back wall first and that is just a simple frame held together with bugle screws.

I use my speed square to keep all
my cuts straight.

Pre-drill all your holes then give them a chamfer.

I then started laying down all the palings
for the back wall.

Keeping the bottom edge flush.

To quickly mark where I wanted my holes, I used a straight edge to mark center
of my top and bottom beam.

Once all the palings are attached, flip it over and cut your top edge flush with the beam.

I want the front edge of the drum to be closer to the ground to make it a little bit easier
for them to eat out of.

I then drilled and attached the drum
to the back wall.

Moving on to the side wall, I drilled
two pocket holes on either side.

I wanted a decent pitch for the roof, so I made the front post a foot longer than the back.

Now to join your two "L" pieces together.

It's easier to lay one of the "L" pieces on a flat surface, with the other one balancing on top of both your top and bottom beam.

And it is a bit of a juggling act
so I give the bugles a good tap with the hammer, to get them started in the correct position.

Now we can walk that back over to the rest of the build and attach them at the bottom where we previously drilled our pocket holes.

To keep the front parallel with the back I cut two palings the same length as the base and attached them higher up.

It is now square and strong.

I pre-cut and drilled my side panels and used a spare paling underneath the base to give me a flatter surface than the grass.

Attach two palings along the lower front to give it a cleaner finish.

Moving on to these side pieces, this isn't necessary, but it does hide
the ugly sides of the drum.

For the back cut I set the circular saw at 15 degrees, and the front edge at 45 degrees, using the speed square to keep the cuts straight.

Mark where you will be making your cuts.

Then use a jigsaw to cut them out.

Moving onto the roof.
I attach the rafters from the inside.

To finish off the sides I attach a paling to the inside of the rafter to give me something to attach the side palings too.

I cut the back angle first, then mark where I'll cut the front edge.

And since the pitch of the roof remains the same you can use the off-cuts further up.

Moving on to the hay feeder at the back.

I cut 5 palings at 50 degrees.

Worked out my spacing and drilled
two holes for each.

Drill your holes at a bit of an angle to allow the screws to go straight up into your palings.

I decided I wanted the height of the hay feeder to be the same height as the back wall.
So I held the spirit level on the back wall and marked the height onto the paling.

Transfer that length on to the rest of the palings and cut those at 40 degrees.

Attach and pre-drill a hole into each
of those pieces.

Then bring in your joining piece.

The length of the roof was determined by the off-cuts of the corrugated iron.

I just needed to straighten up the edges.

Use tin snips or a cutting disc on the angle grinder to cut your sheets.

To attach the corrugated iron, I punched a nail through first to create a hole for the screws.

You would normally put the screws on the ridge, but the screws I have are not long enough.

And this is a feeder, not a house.
So I think we will be fine.

Now for another unnecessary step that does nothing for the structural integrity of the feeder, but does make it look better
is the fascia.

I joined these two pieces together before attaching to the feeder.

And then I made these little end caps. This step is crucial because it looks like garbage without it.

Here we have the hay cage at the top and the grain drum at the bottom.
Which also helps catch the fallen hay.

I really like the hay cage because it prevents them from pulling the entire thing out and stomping it into the ground.

I have more DIY farm builds
over on YouTube.

And I would love to have you there ♥