Hay Feeder Questions

[SarahFair]

I have decided its time to build a hay feeder. Too much hay is getting wasted and my goats are staying wormy...



I have a crib I got for free that I used for my son. The crib is almost 20 years old so I'm sure its not up to standards anymore.

Searching around the internet I found where someone set the crib upside down so the drop down side could be lifted up and cleaned.
Brilliant!


Now here comes the question..
I have family that has set up a square area they set hay in for horses. They can reach their necks over the railing and eat it... but its off the ground.

I'm debating what to set the hay on.
The ground?
A pallet?

My goats have horns. Some of them are rather large horns (on medium to large goats). I was thinking of cutting some of the slats out so they can actually reach the hay but I fear their horns may get stuck..



Those of you with larger feeders.. How much hay would you stick in the feeder at a time (for 4 goats)?
I put a full bale out there one time (not in a feeder but on a pallet) when we were going to be gone for a weekend.
Came back and they had eaten just about all of it (except what they had wasted pooping, kicking, and laying on)
Hay is $6.00 a bale here. I cant afford for them to buffet all day and turn super fat, but I need them to be able to reach it well enough.
I do like the idea of a bigger feeder because my herd queen HATES the lowest doe on the rung and will purposely chase her off every pile of hay or feed until its all gone (I spread the spots out 20, 40, 60 feet and she still chases her off).


Here is the idea from this webpage (with lots of other smart recycled hay feeders!)
http://absentjackacres.webs.com/hayfeederideasmore.htm

 

[Goatherd]

The crib idea sounds like a great one! A pallet would also be a good idea as it would keep the hay dry and off of the ground.

As far as the potential problem with horns, and even if they didn't have them, you could consider lining the bars of the crib with a smaller hole wire fencing which would prevent the goats from putting their heads in and getting their heads stuck. Although this would prevent them from getting the hay at the middle of the crib. Probably your idea of removing some of the bars would be best, but this will also allow them to waste hay as access would be very easy and we all know that if hay is easily obtained, it will be wasted!

I'll be anxious to hear what others have to suggest and what you finally do and if it works.

 

[ksalvagno]

It really is critical that the hay be off the ground.

 

[SheepGirl]

As to how much hay to put out, goats require 3% of their body weight in hay (or pasture) for maintenance. A gestating, lactating, or growing goat would require more. So if your goats weigh 100 lbs, they would need to eat 3 lbs of hay (plus waste I would put out 3.3 lbs of hay). Since you have four goats, let's say they all weigh 100 lbs, for a total of 400 lbs of goat. You would need to put out 12 lbs to meet their requirement plus an additional 1.2 lbs (13.2 lbs total) to account for 10% waste.

As for feeders...I have sheep, but I built this feeder for them: http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15452a

I have pretty much no waste issues, except for the big chunks of hay the ewes pull out of the feeder to eat and what gets rained on.

 

[SarahFair]

I went and looked at the crib and forgot about the part that holds the mattress.
Perfect to hold it off the ground.