# What do you guys use for hay feeders?



## allanimals21 (Jul 6, 2012)

I know some people have different set ups.  What do you guys use?  I need to figure something out because mine waste so much on the ground!


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## 20kidsonhill (Jul 6, 2012)

any kind of hanging/standing structure you can make out of 2x4 wire works well.  The 2 x 4 does a good job keeping htem from pulling out too much hay, or even 2 inch spaced bars work well. Putting less hay in the feeder also helps.


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## boykin2010 (Jul 6, 2012)

Well.... I use two different kinds.  What I use inside my lambing stalls is a big kitchen trashcan with a hole cut out in the middle. Then I stuff hay down into it and they don't spill that much. My other one I let the whole eat out of is a big rectangle off the ground (it has legs and a bottom) and there are three holes where they get the hay out. It also has holes on each side. I will try to find a photo of it... They waste a little hay in this feeder but its easy to fill and holds I think 2 square bales each filling.


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## boykin2010 (Jul 6, 2012)

Here is my trashcan feeder 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





Here is my main feeder 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



It's not the best picture because it was dark when I took this but you can see it


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## SheepGirl (Jul 6, 2012)

I made a hay/grain feeder in my wood & metal structures class this past fall. It feeds 10 head and cost me $30 to build. Doesn't waste any hay, except for the hay the sheep pull out of it (which will probably only be an issue when feeding flakes; my sheep don't pull out much hay now that I'm feeding them hay from a round bale so it's all fluffed up for them).

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15452


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jul 6, 2012)

This is what I made.
It works pretty good too. I wish I would have made the catch shelf a bit bigger though.


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## bjjohns (Jul 6, 2012)

This is mine:





There is quite a bit of verbage and pictures about the why's and hows here, look for hay post#1:
http://www.b4boots.com/w/


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## Bifrost (Jul 10, 2012)

We made a 'V' shaped hay feeder from two wooden pallets and then put 4x4 welded fence cut to shape over the sides to keep them from pulling too much out. They still pull out quite a bit and I might go to 2x4, but I was worried that wouldn't be a large enough opening. I guess it is.


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## autumnprairie (Jul 10, 2012)




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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jul 10, 2012)

*Q: What do you guys use for hay feeders?


A: A hay feeder. *


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## goatcrazygirl (Aug 14, 2012)

We have a white rain barrel (the plastic kind that they use in barrel racing) with one end cut off. We cut a large hole in the side and put round wooden sticks aligned large enough for pygmy goat noses. I put the hay in the open end and then flip it upside down. The only problem with it is that the goats jump up on it and knock it over. Also, the hail and storming has basically destroyed. Good excuse to get a proper feeder, hey


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 15, 2012)

back side of a hay feeder. This is a fairly big project. the front side, where the goats eat out of also has a tray that grain can be fed in. 







front side of the same feeder





this is just a 4x4 goat panel attached to the exterior fence.





this is a free standing hay feeder, made from an extra peice of equipement.  We used 4x4 goat panels to complete the V-shape where we put the hay.  





A small metal hay feeder with slates, just make sure it isn't the kind where the slates narrow at the bottom. The slates should always be the same distance at the top and bottom. 2 to 3 inch wide slates work the best, but I think this hay feeder is a little wider than that. If a person was handy they could make a similar design our of wood.


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## marlowmanor (Aug 15, 2012)

Here is the link to the thread I made for the hay feeder my DH made. We just used a plastic 55gallon barrel. The only things we want to do it cut open the top of the barrel to make it easier to fill. Right now we just fill it by stuffing hay in the holes! That's a chore too! My goats like it. I am considering seeing if we can't put plastic fencing or something similar across the holes to make it less likely the goats get their whole head in there. Our pygmy doe has actually been able to climb in the barrel when it was empty. I'd like to prevent that if possible too and I think adding fencing to the holes will help that. So, yeah, you could consider it still a work in progress. There are a few things we want to edit about it.

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=20546


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