Starting making new feeders soon for partridge.
Got my springs and got my drums, what height does the point of the spring need to be from the floor for partridge!
Im sure i read 9" to top of spring but that seems pretty low to me!
Any help much appreciated!

I'm sure the ones i've used are nearer 9" from the bottom. I would set them so they can reach with ease but have to work a bit so they clear up as they go otherwise you will end up with a heap of grain on the floor.

I go for 9" for the Red Legs and greys a bit lower, and 16" for the pheasants when they are fully grown.

Hope I'm not stating the obvious when I say-

You can tell how well they are being used by the funnel in the grain when you look inside and of course the amount taken.

You will need to move the hoppers a lot to stop them making holes or muddy patches underneath.

I close up the springs so they have to work for the food or they will peck a seed out and eat it and leave that which falls! OK for othre birds but not necessarily the birds you wnat to feed.

Provide a source of water nearby unless there is a natural one.

One last thing- once you have made a leg that fits the side of the barrel and is the right height keep it and make a template out of it. Also use threaded rod plates and nuts as they are cheaper than coach bolts by far. I dont paint mine green to make them fit in but leave them blue so I can see where they are! I'm getting forgetful in my old age and can point to which onmes I want tending as its surprising how someone trying to find a painted one can miss it so easily!!!
Keith

Try Screwfix Direct for coach bolts, even with postage for a small delivery, I got 100 for about £12

Dave

If your only on a small scale a pathing slab works well to stand the hole hopper on if this is not possible i use a slate or even a piece of old dry stone walling this helps prevent the wet muddy holes Keith mentioned.

Cheers thanks for all the help!
Im making 30 feeders and incorparating a drinker with them, i will take a photo when i get my prototype done! Not saying i will be able to download it onto bleeding computer though!
Was going to hessian sack greys next to each feeder, 3 lots of 15 a week apart (all 3 lots from different sources) at each feeder.
The feeders are gonna be spread over about 1800 acres, am i going to get a covey of greys a 1000 strong or do you think they will keep apart!

Got any photos of the feeders + drinkers yet?

Give me a couple of days!
Just creosoted all legs so removed the ones i had on prototype!
And then give me a couple more days to download them onto computer! lol

Here you go!
Drinker is an upturned 5 gallon drum in the cut off end of a 45 gallon drum and held up with a piece of bungee, it acts just like an old bell drinker! Idea is empty drum is just replaced with one that has been filled back at yard.
Just a little concerned about evaporation but wont know until we try.
These feeder drums are maybe a little broad but they were cheap and beggars cant be choosers.
Cant see spring on picture but it is opposite side of drum to drinker.
Couldnt post a very big picture, and how the hell do you post more than one picture!

There is a forum upload limit, email them to me and i will host them for you.

amatex.90 (at) gmail.com

I admire your construction skills! The legs look great!!

I'm sure that they will work fine and look small enough to be easily portable.

If you are seeking input here is some- (If not, sorry , it's well intentioned!)

My concern would be the birds messing in the water and spreading/generating diseases.

Instead of the displacement style idea why not consider a bucket with nipple droppers on fed from a reservoir on top of your feeder?

I would recommend buying a parcel wrapping device- the band sort that you can attach things with very firmly as the bungee will be eaten through in no time I suspect.

I know from my own feeders that I went through 10-11 variations before finding one that suited and as far as drinkers 4-5 styles. I have ended up with spring feeders ( because the pecker manufacturer disappeared) and nipple drinkers
( because they are proven to be excellent and almost bomb free ( no cracking in the cold) on a variation of devices.

I think the cost involved is worth it.

Regards
Keith

I do agree with Keith about the drinker . But with not to much work you may be able to loose some of the surface area . You would only need an area of about 25mm around the drinker so if you still have the other ends of your barrels you maybe able to cut them to size so they sit inside the bottoms. remember you will have to cut a piece out to let the water through. Hope this gives you an idea. Keep up the good work. Happykeeper P.S perhaps Keith could post some pics of his designs.

Thanks for the input!
So how if i cut the other end of the drum to fit in the bottom so it acts like a cover with a hole cut say a couple of inches round where the birds can drink, would they use this?
We were planning on using these feeder/drinkers each place we release a couple of sackfulls of greys so there isnt gonna be too much traffic.
Would it be worth dosing the water with wormer?
In main release areas of pheasants and reds we are using mains water in a couple of places and where mains arent available IBC's!
We were gonna run alcothene of these and put low pressure bell drinkers on this. Is this gonna be the best way or not?
Advice and criticism honestley appreciated!

O and keith thanks for the compliment about my legs!
Glad to know that its not just my missus that likes em!