Cleaning your feed equipment

[Our7Wonders]

With the two sided mount to the wall type, how do you clean it - aside from having to unscrew it from the wall? Do you just wipe it out? It gets a bit crusty in there after a while so I'd like to be able to take it off every now and then and give it a good cleaning/disinfecting - but I can't unscrew it each time I want to clean it.

Do you use these, and if so how do you clean it?


Speaking of cleaning - how often do you do a thorough cleaning on your grain ration feeders? Do you wash them out each time? I suppose I should but that's not real practical for me. What about your water buckets?


edited to change the title to fit better.

 

[freemotion]

I scrub less in the winter when the germs and algae don't grow, and daily in the summer when they do. I keep a toilet brush (never used in a toilet!) hanging from the fence and swish out the water tubs and buckets once a day or even each time I change the water when it is really hot.

I rinse the feeders each time in the summer as I feed "wet" stuff like veggie trim and soaked beet pulp. I use the individual square feeders that slide onto a 2x4 so it is easy to gather them all up, stack them, carry them to the hose, rinse 'em, and spread them in the sun to dry. In winter, I will scrub them out in my kitchen sink as needed, or rub a mittenful of snow inside them to clean them outside. They are usually licked clean in the winter and freeze-dried in the garage between feedings, though.

The only feeders that are semi-permanently attached to the walls here are the mineral feeders, and they tend to get only 2-3 removals and cleanings before they get ruined, mostly from goat feet standing in them.

 

[PattySh]

Same here for the most part. In the winter I scrub with a brush then swirl and empty dirty heated buckets as necessary to remove slime. I have a bucket I use only for dumping "ick" water into so I don't have to unplug and dump outside. I use mostly rubber feed pans and in winter are washed only as needed to remove any poop or crud. In warmer months I also have a pressure washer and pressure wash all my buckets, water tanks, feed dishes often in warm months then sun dry them as flies and mold are hazards. I use a firm brush with a bit of bleach/water in my permanently attached goat mineral feeders, feeder on my milking stand and corner horse feeders and dry out with an absorbant terry towel. I also take the milking stand out probably 3 or 4 times a year and pressure wash it and sun dry it.

On occasion in a pinch I have taken an unscented baby wipe to the mineral feeder or goat stand feeder if it isn't too bad. Doesn't work on rubber pans, they need to be scrubbed.