# Feeding time chaos



## Melissa'sDreamFarm (May 26, 2011)

Okay, I know I'm not the only goat owner out there who gets mobbed at feeding time. I have done a lot of rearranging over the past few months on feeding areas and nothing works. My current situation is I have moved the grain trough to the fence and cut a hole big enough for a bucket and "planned" to dump the grain in eliminating me having to actually enter the pen (which was a disaster with escaped goats and cracked corn for the chickens and a subsequent "bloat" issue). 

So now they stand in the trough waiting for me to dump the bucket. Well I can't, either the goats head or body is in the way (sometimes more than one is standing in the trough). So I'm back at square one, opening the door and entering the pen with the water hose and trying to hose down goats (one actually likes getting wet) and get the grain in the trough. Then my milker (who isn't milking anymore) won't eat with every one else. She wants to eat on the milk stand, lol. I haven't been letting her in the morning and it just makes me sad. I usually let her the PM feeding when I have more time. 

What do ya'll suggest? I do work Mon-Fri from 8 AM to 5 PM so the mornings are really tight for me, but I have a little more time during the summer and now is the time for construction projects if I need to make something. I need a force field. :/


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## terrilhb (May 26, 2011)

Take a spray bottle with you. I have to use mine for my boys. They think they are always starving to death.  After a few times they should be good for awhile but than they forget and time to spray again. Good luck


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## ThreeBoysChicks (May 26, 2011)

Great idea, I have been having this issue also...


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## AlaskanShepherdess (May 26, 2011)

Using a spray bottle has been working _really_ well on my boys here. Not so well on my herd queen and "I'm a Princess" daughter.


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## Melissa'sDreamFarm (May 26, 2011)

Spray bottle, well the water hose is not working. So I don't know if a spray bottle will be any better. Only a few of my goats respect the water hose. Everyone else just stands there and gets soaked.


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## julieq (May 26, 2011)

That's why we switched from Nubians to ND's, i.e. there's less chance of being trampled during 'morning rush hour'!


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## elevan (May 26, 2011)

My goats go into their feeding pen and get "locked" in.  I put the food bucket on a strategically placed high shelf and go in.  I take the feeder off their shelf (they are not left down) and hang them in their spots.  I tap the feeder closest to the bucket with my hand and then grab the bucket and quickly fill the feeder farthest from me and circle back.

The extra steps seem to cause confusion amongst my herd and allows me to not get mobbed during feeding.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (May 26, 2011)

I have a set of feed pans outside the pen so that if I don't want to go in with the bucks to feed before work I can just fill the pans without going it.  The bucks just stick their heads through the cattle panel to chow down.  If they're blocking the pans with their heads I can just scoot the pan away, fill it, then scoot it back.


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## Melissa'sDreamFarm (May 26, 2011)

Ahhh Nicki, brilliant. I need a cattle panel section in my fence. This would allow for me to feed outside and hang removable feeders. This way I could collect the feeders, fill and place on the panel. 

I do have one boer goat with horns, this would be tricky for her. I was considering having them banded, but then I Googled it, yuck. 

I am smarter than my goats and I will eventually outsmart them ALL!! Maybe, lol.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (May 26, 2011)

I don't know how you'd manage with the horned goat... but the cattle panels have worked nicely for us because the holes are plenty big and they're rigid enough not to be damaged.


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## 20kidsonhill (May 26, 2011)

We have it set up so atleast part to half the feeding stations can be filled from  the outside, and then I go in and spread out the rest of the feed in the inside.    

All our feeders are built with covers over them so the goats can't stand in them. just get their heads in them. 

when I go inside the pen, I carry the bucket of feed under one arm, a small feed scoop in the other  hand, get a scoop of feed and poor a small amount where ever I can find an opinioning and just keep doing this until all the feed is spread out. 

For the buck pen we put dog food bowels on the inside of the fence and we used a pvc pipe as a long funnel, with a laundry soap container taped on one end and turned into a funnel.  then we funnel the feed into the bowels through the fencing squares. 

These are easy to put together and are sturdy, No goats standing in them.  But you do have to go inside to fill them up, This is where a bucket under one arm and a feed scoop in the other hand works well, scoop the feed in small amounts over their heads, once you get going they are distracted and you can keep moving along to spread out the feed. 







These hay/grain feeders line the outside of our pens,  You put the hay in the back of them, and there is a trough for the grain. They aren't as easy as a project to make, but have been holding up for years, and are great for feeding on the outside of the pen. You do have to clean the hay out of the grain part every know and then, but the goats learn that you aren't going in to feed and normally stay back.


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## 20kidsonhill (May 26, 2011)

n.smithurmond said:
			
		

> I don't know how you'd manage with the horned goat... but the cattle panels have worked nicely for us because the holes are plenty big and they're rigid enough not to be damaged.


Mine would get there head stuck in cattle panel, but it is always worth a try. I worry more about the bossy goat slamming into the other goats with their head stuck in something. same with key hole feeders.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (May 26, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> n.smithurmond said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, this is a concern.  We haven't had this problem, but it's certainly something to be aware of.


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## Melissa'sDreamFarm (May 26, 2011)

20kidsonhill I like that 2nd feeder hay/grain combo. Do you feed the grain first (falls through the fence into the trough) and then put the hay?


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## 20kidsonhill (May 26, 2011)

Melissa'sDreamFarm said:
			
		

> 20kidsonhill I like that 2nd feeder hay/grain combo. Do you feed the grain first (falls through the fence into the trough) and then put the hay?


Yes, I try to. I try to feed the amount of hay they will eat up between feedings, so I don't have to deal with too much hay in my way. sometimes I misjudge it and don't feed quit enough, then they are all crazy, because they are too hungry, or I over feed and have some hay in my way. 

I do have to go in the pen and scrape out the hay dirt fromt the grain trough every couple days or so, depending on how dirty the hay is. This winter or hay was very dirty, because of drought. The goats seem to learn that I don't have grain quit yet, and do a pretty good job giving me space to scrape them out. Then I spread the grain from the outside and fill with hay.  These feeders don't waste any hay.  But they aren't an easy project to make, but very sturdy, exterior divider wall, and do hold up pretty well even outside. They are heavy to move. My husband and I can move them on our own with effort, but we often use our small tractor with a bucket to move them around. 

In this picture you can see the hay rack part better.


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## mossyStone (May 26, 2011)

I really like those feeders  2kidsonahill, i midht see if we can make a few of those for the stalls Love um!


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## 20kidsonhill (May 27, 2011)

Let me ask my husband about the instructions/patterns.  He built them with a friend a few years ago. 

If you need me to send you better pictures and measurements, e-mail me or IM me. I will see what I can do.


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## Melissa'sDreamFarm (May 27, 2011)

The back part I can figure out, but the tray I would like dimensions. Such as how deep, wide and tall (for goat heads). The tall part would help me with the angle. 

What type of welded wire is that?

I'm definitely making this one and trying it out.


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## Goatherd (May 27, 2011)

> What type of welded wire is that?


Obviously, it's not my feeder, but the wire looks like a hog panel.  Maybe I'm wrong.


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## Melissa'sDreamFarm (May 27, 2011)

I thought hog panel too, but this looks a little more narrower than a 4x4 opening.


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## 20kidsonhill (May 27, 2011)

Sorry, my internet shut down for a while.

I think it is  smaller than 4x4, I think it is actually goat/sheep panel.  


I will get with my husband and get instructions, or atleast measurements and more photos for you. 


Here one is being used in an outside pen, under an extension of our barn.  But we have just put them out in the field near a fence line, but the goats can jump into the back half if they aren't used as an exterior wall.


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## Roll farms (May 27, 2011)

We have feeders a lot like 20kids, except the 'tray' part is 8" pvc pipe cut in half.  
I like them b/c I can just slide a round shovel through there 1x a week and scoop out the chaff / dirty / stemmy stuff...and the plastic's easier to clean / less prone to holding bacteria than wood.
We used 'goat panels (4x4 openings) for the mesh part.


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