Freemotion: regarding your personal size hay feeder

[Our7Wonders]

In the pictures of your indoor and outdoor personal size hay feeders it appears you are using 2x4 fencing - is that right? Do your does do ok pulling hay through that? I ask because I just constructed something very similar but the does are having a tough time pulling the hay from the small openings. I think 3x4 would be perfect, maybe even 4x4, though I'll likely have a bit more waste with 4x4. The problem is I can't seem to find anything with those kind of openings without buying a whole roll of fencing - that would be a VERY expensive feeder!

My gals are full size Nubians and it just seems to be a bit tight for them to get in there - I'm concerned that they're going to get sores on their mouths trying to squeeze in there. Any suggestions?

FWIW it's a much better feeder than the large bucket I've used for the last week. They MAYBE ate 15-20% of their hay - they'd dig for the loose alfalfa leaves and then let all the stems fall on the ground.

Thanks,
Debbi

 

[freemotion]

I find that those racks work with hay of a certain stemminess....too stemmy, the holes are too small. I have third cut hay this year and they pull it all out within minutes and stomp all over it....so I made up a bunch of hay BAGS with a tiny hole a couple inches up from the bottom....about 1.5x2.5".....and that is working well with this hay. If they have to work a little to get it, they seem to waste less.

Yes, I used fencing with 2x4" openings in the wire. You may be able to spread the wire on a few of the openings for the hay you have now....trust me, they will find the bigger holes quickly enough!

 

[Our7Wonders]

Thank you!

 

[freemotion]

Oh, the other thing I thought of.....the hay needs to be tight against the fencing for this to work well...so I use ball bungees on the indoor ones to keep the rack tight against the hay and the wall, and regular bungees on the ones outside on the gate, as you probably saw in the picture. I did it that way when I first got the idea and just threw something up to see if the concept would work.....and for once, the first try worked. Don't we wish life were always that simple....

I made four prototypes of the hay bag until I got one with a hole small enough that they couldn't pull all the hay out at once. Then I had to make seven bags. It is actually working so well that I may make seven more so that I can fill them in advance and feed really fast, or leave them for someone else to hang if I'm going to be home late from work.

Another thought....I'd considered making the "grid" for the wire fencing hay feeders from baling twine, the plastic kind, knotting it sort of like a hay net but in a smaller grid, and flat in the wooden frame. I used a horse hay net once and had a goat horribly tangled in it and never used it again, but so far, no accidents or injuries on these ones, and I've been using them for a while.

 

[Beekissed]

A cattle panel might suit your needs...this way you don't have to buy a roll of fencing. My sheep are feeding through a cattle panel and it seems to be just the right size to allow for their heads but to keep waste to a minimum if you keep the panel against the hay pretty tightly.

 

[Roll farms]

We used goat panels (4" openings) and have had good luck w/ those.

I buy the bent ones at 1/2 price, since we're going to cut them up anyway, who cares if they're not perfect.

 

[freemotion]

Bee, my goats would have the entire winter's worth of hay on the ground overnight if they had access to your cattle panel sheep feeder! Goats are naughty!

 

[ChksontheRun]

Can anyone post pics of their feeders. We have one that is 4 x 4 and so much ends up on the ground. Perhaps that is just the breaks.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

We used goat panels (4" openings) and have had good luck w/ those.

I buy the bent ones at 1/2 price, since we're going to cut them up anyway, who cares if they're not perfect.

We're using panels too, but uncut because we don't presently have a tool that works well enough to cut them. What are you cutting them with?

 

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

I cut my goat panels with a hack saw. It did take some time, but when my husband finally had a chance to help me, he sawed through them like butter. :/