You’re probably an animal lover if you’re here. You don’t mind animals coming to your door and asking you for some food, including the timid and tricky deer.
While getting the chance to see deer come and feed right outside your door is often a great experience, it doesn’t happen all the time. To get close to timid animals such as these, it’s always better to let them come to you using natural methods.
One of the best and most natural ways you can do this is by using the perfect feeder. It is also a good method to feed the animals safely.
The motorized feeder is a fantastic choice if you like this kind of wild animal. People also like to hunt deer, and using a deer feeder can be a great help for this as well. However, if all you want to do is feed them smoothly and give them a safer place than the wild to eat, then the DIY deer feeders below will work like a gem.
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PVC-Based Deer Feeders
Here we’re going to look at 2 wide PVC pipe feeders that you can make without having to invest a lot of money or working too much.
Not only are they simple to make, but they also only need you to have a 4-10 inches PVC tube. The feeders below should mostly be used on fences, posts, or trees if possible. This way, you can ensure that the deer don’t stray into any living household or your home.
1. Gravity Deer Feeder
It is one of the most natural ways of feeding deer. It’s also an incredibly effective way of attracting deer and giving them an easy way to get the food. As its name suggests, this feeder uses gravity to feed the deer. There is no real complexity in the feeder’s construction.
Things You Need:
- A grate
- A lid or plug
- A 3 by 6-inch PVC tube with a 4 inch diameter (a similar tube or pipe works will work as well)
- Ratchet strap, wire, or ropes (to secure the feeder)
Instructions:
- First, you’ll need to connect the wye to your large tube or PVC. Ensure you put the wye at the bottom and let the open side point up.
- Next, at the bottom of your tube, set your grate. This way, food can stay from sliding down with gravity. It also allows water to drain out and, in turn, helps keep the food from getting spoiled.
- You must keep water from entering the feeder. You can use either the lid or the plug and then place it on the top. That’ll help prevent rainwater from entering the feeder and damaging the food.
- Tie the PVC tube to a fence, post, or tree. Make sure you fasten the feeder as tightly as possible. Ensure it’s well-adjusted so that the PVC wye’s open side points up. This way the deer can eat without having any problem. You can use ratchet straps, ropes, or even wire to get this done.
- Lastly, add food into the feeder. Consider using any kind of grain or corn that’s affordable, and you can put in a few couple pounds. That’ll help ensure the feed stays full for several days. When adding food, all you need to do is open the plug or lid and then pour your grains in. Fill the feeder halfway through.
Gravity will work its magic, and finally, the deer will be able to eat without any problems.
2. Feeder on Demand
This kind of works the same way the gravity feeder does. It’s also one that attracts deer the most. So if you’re a tracker or hunter, this kind of feeder would be the most ideal for you.
You’ll need a few tools to make this, including brushes for the primer, a drill, a small spatula for your cement, and a saw for the woodcutting if need be.
Things You Need:
- Four eye bolts
- A piece of lumber or wood that measures around 10 by10 inches
- A spray paint
- Primer
- A two to three-foot-long PVC tube with a 5 inch diameter
- A PVC cap that measures 5 inches in diameter
- Cement
Instructions:
- To both the bottom part of your PVC tube and the upper part of the PVC wye, apply the primer. Do this so the cement can hold them together firmly.
- When you’ve attached the whole piece together, you’ll then need to drill in holes. These holes should be on the same side. In these two drill holes, insert two bolts. This will act as your securing point for the ratchet strap or rope.
- Next, place your PVC cap on top of your pipe. You can open or drill a tiny pilot hole on the lid. In this new bottom of the bucket hole, place another eye bolt. This can be used as a lid handle. The last eye bolt left can help secure the plug from the pipe.
- To finish the entire process, all you’ll need to do now is paint the feeder. You should consider using green forest or camo paint, so that your feeder does not look funny or awkward once it’s in the wild. You might also need to either wait for the smell to dissipate or get rid of it somehow.
- Add the corn or grains to the feeder and let gravity do its thing. You can use a lumber or wood piece to help keep the feeder above ground. This will prevent dirt animals as well as bugs from eating grains.
You can use this feeder generally at any time, be it night or day. It works the same way the gravity feeder does. However, unlike the gravity feeder, it keeps food dry and needs way less work. To keep water and moisture away, you can attach a protector.
Not only will it help attract all kinds of deer, but it works very well as well. Remember to fasten the feeder to a tree, post, or fence for better results.
Feeders With Barrels And Buckets
A lot of people use barrels and plastic buckets with lids to make DIY homemade feeders. This makes them easy to build.
However, that’s not all, though. They can hold way more food than most other feeders out there. You can use a 10-gallon or 5-gallon bucket feeder, plastic barrels, trash cans, etc.
1. Five or Ten-Gallon Bucket Feeder
This feeder can store a lot of food and sound when food falls. This, eventually, helps attract deer more because of the amount of food it can store and the sound provided when food falls. The only tools you will need are a hammer and drill.
Things You Need:
- A wire or sturdy rope that measures about 2 or 3 feet
- A 10 or 5 gallon bucket (depending on how much food you’re looking to store)
- A broom handle or metal rods with guides
- A metallic tin can
- A few nails
Instructions:
- Get your bucket, and then drill a small aluminum bolt hole at the bottom. This feeding hole should measure about 0.3 inches bigger than the metal rod or broom. This way, the deer food won’t get stuck when it comes down the sides.
- Next, get your metal rod or broom handle and then hammer in a few nails to its sides. The nails should be placed opposite of each other.
- Insert the metal rod or broom handle through the hole you made in the bucket. The end that doesn’t have any nails should be placed face down. The nails help keep the metal rod or broom from falling.
- Tie your wire or sturdy rope to the bucket. You can secure the other end to a tree, post, or fence. Ensure you hang the broom about three to four feet above the ground. Let it be a little close to the ground but not too much.
- To the handle’s bottom, attach your tin can. This can be done once you poke a small hole through it. Once you’ve managed to make the hole, pass your metal rod or broom through the hole and then hammer in a pair of nails in the end. Doing this will allow the deer to have manual service, and they can get food whenever they want by hitting the tin can.
- You can finish things off by adding your grains to the feeder and then closing the lid. Ensure you test the product first before using it. Shake the bucket back and forth to make sure food doesn’t fall. It should not be too little or too much. It should just be enough to last the deer long enough.
Wrapping Up
There are very many ways to make your homemade feeder. It all depends on how much food you want to store, how long you want the food inside to stay fresh, and how much space you’ve got to work with.
If you’ve got an idea of what you want, then this article should be of great help. Hopefully, this is all you need to help you get your feeder up and running.
