Patent ID: 8418651

Claim:
A deer feeder system ( 10 ) for receiving and supporting a quantity of dry particulate food for being eaten by deer, the system adapted for covering and uncovering the food at the discretion of a user, the receiving, supporting, covering and uncovering being done in a safe, convenient and economical manner, the system comprising in combination: a trough ( 14 ) having a vertically disposed open front ( 16 ) and having a parallel rear panel ( 18 ), the open front and rear panel having upper edges at a common elevation, the open front and the rear panel having lower edges with the lower edge of the front being at an elevation lower than the lower edge of the rear panel, the trough having a horizontally disposed bottom panel ( 20 ) with a front edge and a rear edge, the front edge being located beneath the open front, the trough having an angled panel ( 22 ) with a rear edge formed as an extension of the lower edge of the rear panel and a front edge attached to the rear edge of the bottom panel, the rear and bottom and angled panels having laterally spaced side edges, vertically disposed side panels ( 24 ) with the side edges attached to the side panels to create a chamber ( 26 ) between the side panels, the chamber having a horizontally disposed rectangular open top; a vertically disposed divider panel ( 30 ) located within the chamber, the divider panel being parallel with and spaced between the open front and rear panel closer to the open front than to the rear panel thereby forming a major chamber ( 32 ) rearwardly of the divider panel with the angled panel ( 22 ) beneath the major chamber and a minor chamber ( 34 ) forwardly of the divider panel with the horizontally disposed bottom panel ( 20 ) beneath the divider panel, a passageway ( 36 ) formed between the divider panel and the bottom panel whereby food in the major chamber will move to the minor chamber upon depletion of food from the minor chamber as caused by deer eating food from the minor chamber; legs ( 40 ) extending downwardly as extensions of the side panels for supporting the trough at an elevation for presenting food for being eaten by deer; a lid ( 44 ) in a rectangular configuration with depending side flanges ( 46 ), pivot pins ( 48 ) extending through the side flanges and the side panels for rotating the lid between a closed horizontal orientation covering the open top of the chamber, including said major and minor chambers, and an open vertical orientation allowing the filling of the major chamber with food; critter guards ( 52 ) extending downwardly from the front edge of the lower panel adjacent to the legs to preclude small animals from crawling up the legs and entering the chamber and eating food; and two similarly configured diamond shaped strengtheners ( 56 ), each strengthener covering portions of a leg and a side panel and the rear panel.