In order for the chicken to have good health, it must be given fresh water. Many poultry farmers turn to specialized stores and buy expensive drinkers, but is there any point in this if you can do it yourself? What are the ways to build drinking bowls for chickens with your own hands at home? Instructions on this topic are waiting for you in the article.
There are several ways to build water supply systems for chickens with your own hands, all of them are based on the principle of simple to complex. The easiest way is to make a cup drinker. Some kind of basin or bowl can act as such a structure, however, it is absolutely impractical. Firstly, you will have to change the water often, and secondly, the chickens can get dirty and sit on the drinking cup.
A more common and practical option is a chicken drinker made from a plastic bottle. It’s quite simple to do and it won’t take a lot of time. In addition, this option is perfect for adult chickens.
Tools and materials
- Of course, first of all you will need a plastic bottle, preferably a 5-liter one. However, you can use larger or smaller containers.
- The second item will be a bowl, preferably made of plastic.
- And of course, you can’t do without tools. The only tools you will need are scissors; you can use a regular or stationery knife.
Step-by-step instruction
- You need to cut a hole in a large plastic bottle. It is worth considering that the hole should not be higher than the level of the basin in which the bottle will be located. The average height is 10 cm.
- Place the container in a bowl.
- Pour water into the installed container, but you will have to cover the hole so that the water does not spill out.
- When using the drinker, the water will fill the basin as it decreases, depending on how much the chickens drink.
Automatic drinker
The most convenient, as practice has shown, is an automatic drinker for chickens, also called a vacuum one. It's very easy to make one with your own hands.
The advantage of such a drinking bowl is that the water in it can be changed no more than once every 2-3 days.
You can simplify your life a little and buy a special saucer or bath in the store in which you will place a container of water. However, in order not to spend extra money, you can do everything yourself.
Tools and materials
To create an automatic drinker for chickens with your own hands, you will need:
- A jar or bottle, preferably a 5-liter one. This will be the main container for water.
- A bathtub that can be used as any basin. It is important that this basin is not too shallow, otherwise water may spill out. In addition, such a design will not be stable. You can use a special stand, which is sold in any specialized store. It has a special recess into which the container is placed.
- Small wooden blocks and caps from plastic bottles (required if there is no special stand).
- Glue.
Step-by-step instruction
An automatic drinking system is easy to build in a short time.
- Stands, for example, small wooden blocks, must be attached to the neck of the jar or bottle using glue. This will serve as some kind of support. Place the stands correctly on both sides, parallel. If you use a jar, then you need to cut recesses in the bars in the shape of the plastic lids.
- Glue two plastic lids to the bottom of the bath. Just like the bars, the lids should be placed parallel on both sides. It is worth considering that the bars should be located in these covers. This will help the structure be more stable.
- Pour water into a container and place it in the bath.
You can buy fresh products on the shelves of all stores at different times of the year.
It won’t be a problem to buy chicken meat either.
But still, farmers themselves grow various vegetation and domestic animals on their plots.
They will all tell you that products grown with their own hands are much tastier and healthier than those from the store.
Urban summer residents can keep a small vegetable garden, but not everyone can afford to raise poultry.
But for our skillful hands, creating a drinking bowl or feeder for poultry with your own hands is not such a difficult task.
Properly made products are one of the important tasks when breeding poultry.
By what criteria can feeders and drinkers for poultry be classified?
In supermarkets you can see a wide variety of poultry feeders, which come in different colors and sizes. But at the same time, the bird can also eat from a self-made feeder.
Handmade feeders much cheaper than those bought in a store, as well as the period of time spent on making such a product is small.
On the Internet you can find many different ways to make feeders and drinkers. You will read some of the methods and materials used in their manufacture in our article.
Classification of feeders according to the material used:
- The first feeder is wooden. This feeder can be used to feed poultry with dry food, for example: grain, compound feed, various mineral components: chalk, shells or pebbles.
- The second feeder is metal or plastic. You can put wet food in these feeders. After which it will be easier to wash them.
- The third feeder is a feeder made of mesh or metal rods. This type of feeder is suitable for feeding fresh greens.
Classification of the feeder according to the type of feed supply:
- Feeder in the form of a tray.
Such feeders look like a small flat container, which has sides on the sides that serve to prevent feed from being scattered in the house. This type of feeder is most suitable for feeding small chickens.
- A feeder in the form of a trough, in which a pinwheel or limiting removable grid is attached to the tray.
There can be several compartments inside the container so that several types of feed can be poured. These feeders are placed behind the cage, which makes them very easy to maintain.
- A feeder in the form of a bunker, such a feeder is made for feeding dry food to birds.
This type of feeder makes your work easier, since in the morning you pour in enough food to last the whole day. After which the feed flows from the hopper into the tray as needed. And with a closed bunker design, the feed is protected from various contaminants.
How can you classify feeders according to their position in the room:
- The first are feeders that are placed on the floor. These feeders are more often used because they can be moved to any part of the house.
- The second are feeders that are placed in the air. Such feeders are placed on any side of the poultry house, they are attached to brackets or any other holding fasteners.
Requirements that must be observed when making a home feeder
- The first requirement to consider is to ensure proper use of the feed.
The feeder must be made in such a way that birds cannot climb on it, scatter food, or even spoil it. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to make sides on the feeder or any other covering for most of the food inside the feeder.
- The second requirement that needs to be taken into account is ease of maintenance.
This device must be constantly filled with food, and washed and cleaned from time to time. With all this, the shape, size and material should not create uncomfortable conditions for carrying out these events.
Therefore, when making a feeder, you need to think through all the main points: small dimensions, ease of movement, cleaning and disinfection.
- The third requirement that must be taken into account is the optimal size.
You need to make the feeder so that all the birds can eat from it. An adult chicken requires about fifteen centimeters of length, and for chickens half as much space.
It is also necessary to take into account that weaker birds can also have access to the feeder.
Description of the feeder manufacturing process
Feeders made of plastic
The simplest versions of hanging feeders can be made from an ordinary plastic bottle with a handle, which is attached to any side of the poultry house.
The main point when making such a feeder is to take a durable bottle that will not break on the sides.
A hole must be made approximately eight centimeters up from the bottom of the bottle to provide access for the birds to the food. With the help of a notch on the handle, this feeder is easily attached to the net.
Hopper feeders are sometimes called automatic feeders. To some extent she is much makes your work easier and makes the process of feeding birds more automatic, since dry food independently flows from the hopper into the trays when it is eaten.
To do this, take a large plastic bucket with a handle, regardless of what was stored in it up to this point.
At the bottom of such a bucket you need to make several holes, through which the food will then pour out into the compartments of the litter box. The size should be ten centimeters larger than the size of the bucket used.
If you don’t have a menagerie, you can use a larger bucket. All parts of the feeder must be connected with self-tapping screws. The top of the bucket needs to be closed with a lid. Such a feeder can be placed on the floor of the poultry house, or it can be hung at a distance of about twenty centimeters from the floor.
Feeders made from sewer pipes
Feeders of this type are of great interest to poultry houses.
To make this type of feeder, the following materials are used: uPVC or PVC pipe with a diameter of about 150 millimeters, two plugs, one tee, all parts must be of the same material.
Everyone can take whatever length of pipe they want. Of course, a longer tube will hold more grain, but a longer tube will not be as stable.
After determining the length of the pipe, it is necessary to cut two pieces of twenty and ten centimeters in size. After that, the longer piece is attached to the pipe using a tee and the holes are secured with plugs.
A smaller cut piece of pipe is attached to the branch of the tee, which will be used instead of the tray. And the feeder is ready, all that remains is to pour the feed into it and attach it to any wall of the poultry house, with the long end up. In order to prevent birds from accessing food at night, the hole can be closed with a plug.
If you have a lot of poultry, you can make several of these feeders, or make a more complex feeder. To do this, you need to cut two pieces from the pipe, one of which should be thirty centimeters in size.
Now the two parts need to be connected to each other with a knee. In a smaller piece of pipe you need to make several holes about four centimeters in size. Birds will peck food through the holes. At the end, it is necessary to close both pipes with plugs, and a more complex design of the feeder is made.
Feeders made of wood
Feeders made from wood are more expensive than those listed above.
To make a wooden feeder you will need the following: materials:
- Thick wall plywood
- Screws
- 90 degree hinges
- Skin
- Saw or jigsaw
- Roulette
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Band-saw
- Screwdriver
- Drill
- Drill
- Clamps
Let's list basic moments when making a wooden feeder:
- First you need to decide on the size of the feeder.
- On thick-walled plywood it is necessary to draw out all the details of the feeder
- After drawing, you need to take a saw or jigsaw and cut out the parts.
- Next, you need to make secret holes in the cut parts with a drill for fastening with screws.
- After this, you need to sand the feeder so that the birds do not get hurt.
- Next, you need to connect the front, back and side parts of the feeder with screws and clamps.
- On the back and front of the panel you need to cut a 15 degree angle at the top and bottom. Next you need to install the parts flush with the top edge and attach them to the side parts using screws. You can make the front wall of transparent plastic, which will allow you to control the feed level without even opening the lid.
- Next, you need to take a piece of timber and make a part with an angle of thirty degrees and screw it to the feeder.
- Next, use hinges to attach the lid to the side parts. After which the manufactured feeder must be treated with antiseptic agents.
A feeder made of wood can be made in the form of a long box or box, which is then placed outside the boundaries of the walking yard, with this protecting food from spoilage. When using these feeders, your feet will be cleaner because you won't have to go near the birds.
A timber is taken, from which a box-shaped frame is made, about 25 centimeters high and about 20 centimeters wide, after which it is sheathed with plywood or boards. One wall needs to be made at an angle.
The size of the mesh cells should be such that the chicken can stick its head through to peck the food. The top of the feeder is covered with a lid made of the same plywood or board.
Making birdbaths with your own hands
When designing drinkers, you need to take into account some problems that you need to get rid of:
- Dishes with water that stand on the floor are constantly dirty.
- Large containers should not be placed in the poultry house, since the water located in them quickly loses its suitability.
- Birds jump into outdoor drinking bowls and pollute the water.
- Bacteria and microbes quickly appear in an open water surface.
- The water in such drinking bowls needs to be changed several times a day.
- Water in floor drinking bowls can freeze in winter.
How to make a birdbath with your own hands from a bottle
Nowadays, automatic drinkers that meet all requirements are very popular. But novice poultry farmers can use homemade drinking bowls. In our world, recycling plastic bottles is a big problem. But skilled poultry keepers have found a use for such bottles.
Of course, you can simply place trays with water in the poultry house, but the chickens will not only drink the water from them, but also splash around there, and even worse, defecate there. And lazy poultry farmers will constantly clean these drinkers. And others will make drinking bowls that will be intended only for drinking.
An important aspect is that the water in the drinking bowls was always clean. Since drinkers made from plastic bottles are open-type drinkers, contact between birds occurs through them, which means that a sick bird can infect a healthy one.
There are many ways to make drinking bowls from plastic bottles, we will talk about one of them in this article.
The best option for locating the drinker would be on the wall rather than on the floor, since Drinkers placed on the floor quickly become dirty.
You can make a frame for attaching the bottle to the wall, from which the bottle can be easily removed. The frame can be made from wire or a drywall profile where the bottle will be located. The lower part of the neck should be below the side of the container, which will prevent water from overflowing. That's it, the birdbath is ready.
How to use this drinker correctly? To do this, you need to take a bottle, fill it with water, close the lid, turn it over and insert it into the frame. After this you need to open the lid.
The water will start pouring into the container, but when the water level reaches the neck, the water will no longer pour out because the atmospheric pressure will act on the water in the container and accordingly hold it in the bottle. Then, when the water level is below the neck, the required amount of water will pour out.
In order to equip a poultry house with drinkers, you need to take into account the amount of water consumed by the birds. These standards depend on the age of the chickens, nutrition and air temperature and other factors.
Basically, an adult bird consumes half a liter of water per day. It is also necessary to take into account that birds do not cluster near drinking bowls. Therefore, you need to make drinking bowls so that birds can approach them from different directions.
Drinkers made with your own hands are very helpful for novice poultry farmers. Later you can purchase more automated drinking bowls.
Not a complicated version of a nipple drinker with your own hands
Making such a drinking bowl will not be difficult or costly.
You need to take a plastic bottle and make a hole in the lid with a diameter of nine millimeters. You need to screw a nipple into the hole you made, then screw the cap with the screwed nipple into the bottle.
The bottom of the bottle must be cut off. The finished drinker needs to be hung in the poultry house and filled with water. Then attach a drip eliminator and a microcup drinker to the cap.
You can also use a bucket instead of a bottle, in which you can make several holes. And then do everything the same as for the bottle.
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You can find fresh fruits and vegetables on supermarket shelves at any time of the year. It’s not a problem to buy poultry meat today. Why, then, do not summer residents stop growing their own crops and do not give up farming? We are sure that each of the gardeners and poultry farmers will tell you how products grown with their own hands are tastier, juicier and more environmentally friendly. But if even urban summer residents can maintain a vegetable garden, then raising chickens is not such an easy task. However, for our folk craftsmen, a do-it-yourself feeder is not a problem. If you wish, we will select information on homemade devices for you.
Balanced and, very importantly, timely nutrition is necessary for chickens to be healthy. But modern people have a lot to do and it’s not always possible to keep track of feeding times. It is much easier if the feeding process takes place using a device that supplies food automatically. We bring to your attention several options for homemade feeders and drinkers. We will be glad if any of the proposed models will make your life easier.
Constantly remembering poultry feeding hours is very difficult. Considering that the farmer may be away for a day or two, hopper-type feeders become an indispensable item.
Option #1 – pipe to you, hen!
The most ingenious inventions are usually very simple. This is exactly what the idea of using polypropylene pipes can be considered.
To assemble the necessary device you will need:
- pipes of various diameters;
- couplings;
- connecting devices.
We attach a part called a “connecting elbow” to the polypropylene pipe. We place the resulting structure in the chicken coop. We pour food into the pipe from above, and then close the upper end of the structure with a lid. The feed is fed into the knee under the influence of gravity. As the chickens consume feed, it will be added to the knee from the pipe. In the pipe, the level of the product will gradually decrease. After a few days, it will be possible to pour a new portion of food into the pipe.
This design is good if there are few birds on the farm. Otherwise, the connecting elbow can be replaced with another pipe, securing it parallel to the floor. Birds will be able to get food from a horizontal pipe through holes in it. Such a feeder not only saves the owners time, but also space in the chicken coop: it is conveniently located and does not bother anyone.
This is how a simple feeder made from polypropylene pipe looks like. Agree that it’s difficult to come up with something simpler than this basic device
Of course, if there are a lot of chickens on the farm, you can simply make a lot of pipes for feeding them. But we will do it easier and attach another pipe to the main one - a horizontal one, in which we will make holes
This device has one drawback: the lack of limiters. Chickens can climb onto the pipes, trample and ruin the food.
Option #2 – bunker type devices
If you buy an automatic bird feeder in specialized stores, you will have to pay a decent amount. Moreover, a large farm will require several similar products. Meanwhile, there is nothing complicated in the proposed design.
When choosing a menage or portioned dog bowl to make such a feeder, do not lose sight of the fact that its diameter should be greater than the diameter of the base of the bucket
You need to prepare:
- a plastic bucket that was left after the renovation;
- a sectional bowl for dogs or an inexpensive vegetable bowl, also made of plastic;
- sharp knife.
We cut holes in the bottom of the plastic bucket in accordance with the number of compartments in the container. The size of the holes themselves should allow feed to flow freely into the manure. The bucket and the menagerie must be connected to each other using screws.
It is better not to place the feeder on the ground, but to hang it. In this case, the likelihood that chickens will climb on it is minimal.
The food is poured into the container and the bucket is closed with a lid. The feeder can be placed on a horizontal surface or suspended so that the birds can freely get food. By hanging the bucket by the handle in the right place, you can be sure that the chickens are fully provided with food for several days.
Option #3 – basic dining room
Construction requires very little time and the simplest materials. Prepare:
- container with a plastic handle;
- chain-link mesh;
- sharp knife.
The plastic container must be emptied of its contents, rinsed thoroughly and dried. Carefully cut out the front part. We make a cut in the handle of the bottle so that it can be hung on the mesh that surrounds the chicken coop. We pour the food directly into the bottle. It is important that the container is at a height that is as comfortable as possible for the feeding bird.
The feeder is built in a matter of minutes. It’s good if the chicken coop is fenced with a mesh, otherwise a piece of chain-link can simply be pulled in the right place
Option #4 – plywood feeder
Another option for a bunker can be made from a sheet of plywood. We cut out vertical high walls and build a box without a front part. The height of the feeder is approximately 90 cm. Thanks to this size, you can fill in a large amount of feed at once.
The feed should not get stuck at the exit. To do this, place a piece of plywood at the bottom of the box so that it has a slight slope towards the front. Now the bulk feed will roll down to where it will be accessible to the chickens. The optimal slope when using granulated feed is 20-25 degrees, and when feeding grain - 12-15 degrees.
A plywood feeder is also a simple device. It’s just more difficult to care for than plastic products. An antiseptic coating can help, but plastic is still more hygienic
The horizontal area in front of the inclined plane is the place where the feed will fall. A common problem with many home-made structures is the lack of restrictions, thanks to which chickens cannot climb into the feeder, spill the feed and spoil the feed with the products of their vital activity. In this case, the problem is solved with the help of restrictive sides. The front side should be at least 6 cm, and the side sides should be twice as large.
The advantages of this design are its spaciousness and security. Using this device, you can be sure that the food will last for a long time, it will be spent rationally, it will not spill and will not be spoiled
All you have to do is attach the front wall and you're done. The feeder will last a long time if it is thoroughly treated with antiseptic preparations. Use a spray gun for this purpose. A finished and even elegant look will be given to the product by coating with acrylic paint. You can assemble all the parts together using a screwdriver and self-tapping screws.
Option #5 - plastic devices
Food-grade plastic is an excellent material from which you can make comfortable drinking bowls and similar “plates” for chickens. The undoubted advantage of these devices is their mobility. They can be carried and placed where it is convenient for the farmer.
To work you need to prepare:
- two plastic buckets;
- two water bottles that are used in a household cooler;
- a piece of polypropylene pipe approximately 25 cm long and of large diameter;
- electric drill and drills 20 and 8 mm in diameter;
- electric jigsaw.
It is necessary to make holes in the buckets in such a way that the birds can freely reach water and food, but cannot get inside. To make the openings uniform and neat, you can use a template. By applying it to the walls of the buckets and tracing it with a felt-tip pen, we get the contours of future holes.
From an aesthetic point of view, these drinking bowls and feeders are very good. But they are also incredibly functional.
Let's mark a hole by drilling a hole in each with an 8 mm diameter drill. We use a jigsaw to cut out the openings. For plastic, a file is suitable for both wood and metal, but you need to choose a product with a small tooth.
We make two limiters from a piece of polypropylene pipe: for food and for water. Thanks to this device, the neck of the container will not touch the bottom of the bucket, and it will be possible to control the supply of feed and water. Using a jigsaw, we divide the pipe into sections of 10 and 15 cm. Take a short piece and drill three holes at a distance of 3 cm from the edge with a drill of 20 mm in diameter. We also drill holes in a long section of pipe with the same drill, but at a distance of 5 cm from the edge. Next, use a jigsaw to cut out segments in a long section to make something like a crown with three teeth.
It is very convenient that the buckets have handles by which these structures can be transported to the place of use. There you can either install devices or hang them all by the same handles
Fill the containers with water and food. We put a long limiter on the bottle with food, and a short one on the one with water. Cover the containers with buckets and turn them over. The devices are ready. So easily and quickly both a feeder and a drinking bowl can be made from materials that are easy to obtain. Thanks to the presence of handles, both devices are convenient to carry. This is the most hygienic and successful option.
Video master class: bottle feeder
There were more ways to make a fattening device. To eliminate this obvious injustice, we invite you to watch a video on how to make a very simple waterer for chickens from plastic bottles that can be bought at any store.
Surely every farmer who raises chickens knows how important it is to feed them properly. But, in addition to a quality menu, birds should always have clean and fresh water. After all, like humans, animals can be without water for much less time than without food. In order to fully satisfy your pets' need for water, everyone can make drinking bowls for chickens from plastic bottles with their own hands. We will try to figure out exactly how to do this now!
Features of the drinker
If you want your chicken farm to prosper and uninterruptedly provide you with fresh eggs and meat, take care of its proper maintenance. The amount of water that one chicken needs to consume depends on its age, temperature, and feeding diet. But on average it should be about 0.5 liters of water per day. Using a regular container or bucket to provide chickens with water is not entirely correct.
It often happens that birds trample there with their paws, thus dirtying the container itself and the water in it. In addition, water from an open container easily splashes across the floor and your chickens end up in a swamp, which is naturally not very good. Therefore, it is recommended to use closed sippy cups. They are easy to make with your own hands, and today we will look at the option of a sippy cup made from plastic bottles. In the next video we invite you to see exactly how to do this yourself.
Plastic is an inexpensive and practical material. And almost everyone probably has plastic containers on their household, so the cost of such a device is minimal. The design can be a simple five-liter bottle with a hole, or a nipple drinker, also made on the basis of a five-liter container. Any designs made from such containers are very practical, they last quite a long time and are made very quickly.
How to make it yourself?
To make a drinking bowl for chickens with your own hands, you need a minimum of skill. The convenience of such a device is that it can be made automatic and the water will be replenished independently as it decreases. The only thing you need to watch out for is replenishing the water supply in the container on time. The simplest version of a sippy cup is simply a bottle with a hole at a short distance from the bottom (15-20 cm), which stands in a tray or bowl.
Some go further and make a nipple sippy cup based on a five-liter container. Nipple designs are good because chickens do not have the opportunity to climb into them with their feet and stain the water with droppings, since they are suspended in the air. However, their disadvantage is that several chickens cannot drink from such a drinking bowl at the same time, so you need to correctly calculate their number so that a fight does not break out among the birds.
Simple option
So, in order to make the simplest drinking bowl for chickens using a five-liter container with your own hands, you will need:
- the bottle itself is 5 liters;
- bowl, tray or other container;
- sharp knife.
Step-by-step instruction
- Take a large bottle and make a hole in it at a height of 15-20 cm from the base.
- Fill it with water, while covering the hole with your hand or finger.
- Then place it in a bowl or other container and open the hole. Water will flow out of it to the level of the hole and will be replenished as the water decreases.
Nipple cup
To make a nipple structure with your own hands, prepare:
- five-liter bottles in the required quantity;
- nipple according to the number of plastic containers;
- an awl to make holes.
Step-by-step instruction
- Make a hole in the lid of a large container using an awl or other convenient tool.
- You insert the nipple into it, and cut off the bottom of the bottle so that you can easily add water there as needed.
- You hang the sippy cup in the chicken coop and it is ready for use.
Vacuum design
There is another design that is made from two plastic containers - this is a vacuum drinker. In order to make it at home you need to have:
- 5 liter bottle;
- smaller volume containers (for example 1.5 l or 2 l);
- self-tapping screws
Step-by-step instruction
- The neck of a five-liter container is cut off to form a kind of bowl.
- Next, we take a container of a smaller volume and insert it into our bowl, fasten the lids of both bottles with self-tapping screws, so that the neck is neck to neck (see photo above).
- Next, punctures are made in the bottle inserted into the bowl below the sides of the bowl. It is through these punctures that water will flow into the drinking bowl itself.
- Water is poured through the neck of the bottle inserted into the bowl, the structure is turned over and secured in a convenient place. We suggest watching the following video to see how the design should look in the end.
Photo gallery
Video “How to make a nipple drinker for chickens”
This video clearly shows the entire sequence of actions for making a plastic nipple drinker with your own hands!
Original bird drinkers are one of the affordable and effective ways to decorate the landscape of your garden plot with your own hands.
Using even the most basic materials at hand, you can create not only a beautiful, but also a useful vessel that will last a very long time.
Before you start creating an original product, you need to think carefully about the materials for its manufacture.
Any available materials will be suitable for these purposes. The main thing is to have a good imagination and not be afraid to get dirty.
Of course, materials such as cement, sand, wood or plastic film will never be superfluous when creating a drinking bowl, but this does not mean that if they are missing you should give up.
It is quite possible to use old unnecessary dishes or stands for flower pots.
What is needed to make drinking bowls?
So, to create the first type of drinkers you will need:
- a small piece of plywood;
- polyethylene oilcloth or paper;
- sand;
- a large leaf; burdock or cabbage leaves are quite suitable for these purposes;
- cement mortar;
- non-toxic paint;
- small brush;
- clear varnish;
- one pair of seals so as not to get your hands dirty.
Creating a blank for a decorative drinker
Before you start creating a birdbath, you definitely need to make sure you have a small piece of plywood. In this case, it will serve as a surface on which work will boil.
There is no need for new material; the one that has already been used will do just fine, as long as it is even.
The next step is mixing the cement mortar. To make working with it as comfortable as possible, its consistency should be similar to sour cream.
In order for the finished product to be of high quality, the solution must be thoroughly mixed; there should be no lumps or undissolved materials in it.
When all the materials for the decorative drinker are prepared, you can safely get to work. First, the plywood needs to be covered with plastic film or plain paper. By the way, old newspapers are quite suitable for these purposes.
You need to pour a small amount of sand on them.
The depth and width of the finished drinker will depend on how much sand you pour. The standard height of the slide is no more than 30 cm.
The sand needs to be leveled to the shape of a leaf and covered with oilcloth. First you need to lay a cabbage leaf on the oilcloth, and then cover it all with a cement solution.
Cover with cement mortar
It needs to be evenly distributed with your hands, leveling the edges of the future drinker with the edges of the plant.
The resulting workpiece must be left for 24 hours so that it dries completely.
The blank for the decorative drinker is completely ready and now you can safely begin its decorative finishing.
Decorative finishing
And now, the day has passed, which means it’s time to separate the cement mortar from the cabbage leaf.
Separating the sheet from the cement
The result is a not entirely beautiful, gray, rough container. If you leave it in this form, then it can simply - simply - ruin the entire aesthetics of your garden. That is why it is recommended to carry out several very simple measures to improve the appearance of the drinking bowl.
In order to level the surface of the product, it is necessary to sand it. A smooth surface is necessary to make it easier to apply a layer of paint. Otherwise, you may end up with an unsightly, porous paint job on the container.
Once the drinker has been thoroughly sanded, you can begin painting it. You can choose absolutely any color, it all depends on the personal preferences of the creator. These can be bright, colorful shades that can lift your spirits even in the gloomiest weather.
You can equally well use pastel colors that create harmony and comfort.
In order to give the drinker some originality, it is recommended to use different shades when painting its upper and lower parts. After the product is completely painted, it should be left until completely dry.
This the process can take from 12 to 36 hours, depending on the quality and structure of the paint.
It is important to remember that when painting a decorative drinker, you must use only non-toxic paint. Otherwise, decomposition products may harm animals that drink from it.
In addition, when the container is heated by the sun's rays, toxic paint can emit an unpleasant odor that repels birds and insects.
After the paint has completely dried, the resulting container must be coated with colorless varnish. This will allow it to last for a long time without losing its original appearance.
The decisive stage in the process of creating a drinking bowl for animals is the process of putting it into operation. So, what is the best way to use the resulting product? Where to install it? There is no clear answer to these questions. Everything, again, depends on your imagination.
You can place a drinking bowl filled with fresh, purified water in the shade of plants.
Decorative drinking bowl with water
The relatively low air temperature in such places will ensure slow evaporation of the liquid.
Or you can make several such drinkers at once and place them one after another.
The result is the so-called leaf fall.
To improve the visual effect, you can install figurines of artificial animals next to the finished product.
Here's how to make simple nipple drinkers for birds with your own hands:
A simple drinking bowl made from old dishes
If you have neither the desire nor the opportunity to tinker with building materials, but you really want to decorate the landscape with your own hands, then an excellent decorative drinking bowl can be made much easier.
To do this you will need:
- Old dishes. It is advisable to use a deep plate, such as a salad bowl.
- Acrylic paints and brushes.
- Clear varnish.
- Three iron chains or ropes, at least 35 centimeters long.
- Wire.
The first step is to prepare the salad bowl. To do this, you need to make three identical holes in it near the edges, the distances between which should be approximately the same.
The future drinking bowl must be thoroughly washed from dust and wiped dry.
After this, you can begin to paint the drinking dish. Of course, you can use it as it is, but it’s much more interesting to create your own drawing. You can depict anything, everything that your imagination is capable of.
The drinker must dry for at least 12 hours from the moment of painting. After drying, it should be coated with colorless varnish and left for two days.
You need to insert wire or rope into the holes made in advance. There should be three ropes. They need to be fastened together at the ends into a strong knot. An S-shaped figure is made from wire.
Use the top hook to secure it to a tree branch, and hang the drinker on the bottom hook.
There is another simple way to build a decorative birdbath with your own hands.
To do this you will need:
- an old stand for a flower pot or an unnecessary plate;
- acrylic paints;
- brush;
- colorless varnish for fixing;
- wooden block or stump.
This method of making a birdbath is ideal for those people who have recently cut down a tree on their property. After all, an ordinary stump does not look very aesthetically pleasing, but with the help of such a simple method you can add not only beauty to it, but also benefit.
An old plate or flower pot stand should be thoroughly washed and dried. As in previous versions, it must be painted with paints. The resulting workpiece can only be simply secured to the hemp.
Drinking bowl on wooden legs
It will be just wonderful if you decorate the stump with wood carvings.
If there is no hemp on your site, then you can safely take three branches, about 75 cm long, and dig them halfway into the ground.
For good stability of the drinker, the diameter of the branches should not be less than 7 cm.
In this case, the distance between the free ends should not exceed the diameter of the selected plate.
After which you just need to place the pre-decorated plate on the free edges.
That's all, the original birdbath is ready!
In such simple and accessible ways, you can give the site originality, thereby emphasizing the uniqueness of your own personality.
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