Making your own bucket feeder??

[suzyhomemaker09]

Ok this is the year that we've decided to go with a bucket feeder with the spring kid crop as there are most likely going to be way too many to bottle feed individually. After looking at the bucket feeders on teh popular goat sites it seems as though they could be made for alot less than they sell/freight for. Has anyone made their own and if so how did it work?

[collegeboundgal]

I made my own. it was reeaallly easy. I did buy the lambar nipples from sharon miller tho at www.m-ssupply.com , she has cheaper prices than others. I got my bucket and tubeing from a locol farm supply store. I drilled *I think* 5/8'' holes in sides of bucket, cut the 5/8 tubing to the desired lenghth (reaches to the bottem of bucket) and put the nipples on the top end. You might look into securing the nipples on with a clamp so the kids don't pull them off in their eagerness to eat. soooo much easer than indivually feeding each one of the little monsters.

-Melissa

[DocM]

I've had bucket feeders with and without tubing. The tubing is just one more thing to clean. I usually start my kids on pritchard nipples (hoeggers sells the clamps that will fit either pritchard or lambbars). I drilled the holes pretty close to the bottom of the bucket, and when it gets down there, I just tip it to the side.

[mygoat]

I wanted to buy my own first to get the dimentions and everything. From now on I'll just find a place to buy new buckets. I mean, I can drill holes and buy the nipples/tubing easily. For about 20.00 cheaper. And any size bucket will work, you just have to put the nipples at the right height.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Doc, I was also going to use a 3 and 1/2 gallon bucket (wallmart has nice ones in the paint center) with the lambar nipple holes in the bottom of the bucket, made perfect sense until I poured in the 3 gallons of milk and they started dripping/pouring out of the nipples! Threw the bucket away, drilled holes in the top, added my tubing and viola! Some things you simply can't mess around with! I know my business partner bought the Preimer buckets with the nipples at the bottom with valves, they leak also, and the nipples break quickly as the kids age. I just love my lambar buckets, and I just run soapy water through them after each use, taking them apaprt and clean with the tube brush on weekends. I have them in all sizes, tiny ones for 3 or 4 kids to start them on, and then they gradully move onto the big buckets in the holders that 12 kids can nurse off. Vicki