PVC gravity feeder ?

pcappy08 · January 01, 2013, 01:23:00 PM

Now that gun season has passed where I hunt I would like to put some PVC feeders out with my cameras to see who made it through....having never made them before I have two questions.....first. Will the smell of PVC glue and paint make deer avoid the feeder? Second what size PVC do u guys recommend ? Thanks for the input and happy new year !

David McLendon · January 01, 2013, 01:32:00 PM

Five feet of 4" with a screwcap on one end and elbow on the other with a two foot section cut in half to be open on top.

mountain lion · January 01, 2013, 01:34:00 PM

I don't think the smell will effect the deer, it never did for me anyway. I use 4" PVC with a 45 degree on the bottom and a screen and drain on the bottom of that that way if it rains the water can drain out and then I use a 4" cap for the top. Super easy to make

January 01, 2013, 01:40:00 PM

12" x about 4 1/2' with three 1" holes. holds a little more than a fifty pound bag of corn. it takes a little muscle to get it hung back up after filling it. the deer wont mind the glue and paint smell at all. but i dont use glue, i use plywood and screws.

MikeS · January 01, 2013, 03:45:00 PM

That looks like a good way to spread disease throughout the herd to me. I would think a feeder that broadcasts the food around would be a liitle safer for the herd. Or, am I just a worry wart?
Mike

bentpole · January 01, 2013, 04:07:00 PM

Easier just to dump a 40Lb bag here in Jersey. It's harder for a stranger to find it too. I hope you have private property too. Experience taught me a PVC feeder shows other hunters where your hunting. The feeder above at least 3 deer can eat at the same time. Those PVC feeders only let 1 deer eat at a time. I had a bud that had private property in Blairstown. He grabbed 2 45 gal plastic drums off a job site.He made a water tight top for it and cut 6" round semi circles around the bottom so more than 1 deer could eat at a time. Cost him a fortune every season to keep them filled. The deer did come in though. Bear will come in also. Make sure you lock up your camera good too. Over the years since we were able to bait here in Jersey I learned that the deer get smart quick. Most of the nice bucks that come in come in after hunting hours. Hope I helped.

NoCams · January 01, 2013, 05:06:00 PM

6" PVC, cause I was able to get scrap this size from water dept. Bought some 90 degree elbows and they work great. About 5' tall and the piece that elbows out at the bottom is about a foot long. This will make it a gravity feed where the corn will, "self feed" when a deer eats some or bumps the feeder. When filling, we hold the scrap plywood lid for the top over the lower end to keep the corn from rushing out till we get it filled. Once it is filled it will not run out unless the deer eats some or bumps the feeder. Screwed some plumbers strap close to the top, then another piece about 3 feet down from that for screwing it to the tree. Will hold it to the tree good enough with some 3" wood screws , yet allow a little movement so the deer can bump the feeder if needed to keep the corn flowing. You could also use tie downs or ratchet straps or even rubber bungees too I bet if you did not want to screw it to the tree. Cheap and works great for us. Will hold about 30-40lbs of corn / protein pellet mix.

wtpops · January 01, 2013, 05:08:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by pcappy08:
Now that gun season has passed where I hunt I would like to put some PVC feeders out with my cameras to see who made it through....having never made them before I have two questions.....first. Will the smell of PVC glue and paint make deer avoid the feeder? Second what size PVC do u guys recommend ? Thanks for the input and happy new year !

With what your going to do you dont need to use glue just tap it together with a hammer or just bounce it on the ground. It will stay together

pcappy08 · January 01, 2013, 06:01:00 PM

Thanks for the input guys.....bentpole I hear ya...I was just thinking the feeder may help the feed last a little longer than spreading.....it would all be taken down when they start shedding....just for inventory not to hunt over.....thanks for all the input guys!

KSdan · January 01, 2013, 06:43:00 PM

Best PVC I saw that keeps waste down, prevents deer from passing saliva, all while not feeding non-deer species:

-Put a cap on the BOTTOM of the vertical large feeder pipe.
-Then drill a 1.5" hole in the bottom of that cap.
-Take an 24" long 1" piece of pvc. Fill with sand and cap both ends.
-Slide the 1" pvc into the large feeder pipe cap hole. With 12" inside the large feed pipe and 12" out.
-Run a stiff wire (like coat hanger) across the large pipe through small drilled holes, while passing the wire through the small holes in the top of 1" pvc. This allows the 1" to hang there while 12" is outside the pipe. It has a slight pivot to it.
-You can even tie a white piece of cloth to the 1" hanging outside if you want.

Now, hang the feeder up with the bottom of the pipe about 3-4 feet off the ground. The deer will come and get use to bumping the 1" pipe (where the rag can help- as they mess with it) which allows feed/corn to dispense from the 1.5" large feed pipe hole. Essentially, deer only get a little at a time, while other animals can not activate it.

3arrows · January 01, 2013, 07:08:00 PM

A 5 gallon spreader feeder is cheaper in the long run with the price of corn.

Hummer3T · January 01, 2013, 08:27:00 PM

I have tow, I use 4", my feeder is made up of a 6 foot piece with a removable cap on the top end and a 90' elbow at the bottom and a cap on the straight through end. I strap to a tree, fill with peas or oats and they feed out of the elbow. If you could get larger tube 6 or 8 inch I would try that.

Slickhead · January 01, 2013, 10:14:00 PM

Take a 50 pound bag of corn
Buy a 1 lb can of grape drink mix (Krogers for $2)
Pour powder in bag and shake
Seal up and leave for a week (aso can be done in 5 gallon buckets with lids.

Then pour out or broadcast spread by hand.
I have found that browse animals prefer to hunt and peck for kernels than eat from piles
also it lessons the chance of saliva contact disease (which IMO is low risk)

NoCams · January 01, 2013, 10:54:00 PM

pcappy08,
That is exactly what we use ours for too,...... to run the cams a few months and see who survived and also maybe help them thru till green up in March / April.

We built the feeders cause we had the scrap 6" pipe which was most of the cost for this project and was also good father / son time. I also did not want to just pour out a pile of corn to get rained on and possibly sicken some deer or worse yet kill them. Also cuts down on crows eating it all up.