Hay rack/feeder

[TXMissy]

Hello ya'll!
I am looking for ideas on cheap things that can be used for a hay rack. We have hay nets but we lose a lot of hay. I don't want to spend 300 on a hay feeder.
Please give me your ideas !

 

[Mini Horses]

Wood and fencing. You can build for rolled or sq baled. Much depends on where you want to use it as well as animals to use it. Goats are notoriously wasteful of hay BUT for them, horns or not can be a factor as to what works.

Hay nets make me think horses. They're easiest for hay racks.

Many things can be put to use...big vinyl barrels, those huge containers for liquids. Etc.

Give us some info and someone will have a suggestion

 

[TXMissy]

Wood and fencing. You can build for rolled or sq baled. Much depends on where you want to use it as well as animals to use it. Goats are notoriously wasteful of hay BUT for them, horns or not can be a factor as to what works.

Hay nets make me think horses. They're easiest for hay racks.

Many things can be put to use...big vinyl barrels, those huge containers for liquids. Etc.

Give us some info and someone will have a suggestion

Yeah the nets are the ones for horses but originally, I wasnt sure what to use. I have 3 polled goats, 1 horned goat and 1 sheep. I am not very created...unfortunately. I buy square bales.

 

[animalmom]

How sturdy is your fencing... as in if you hung something on it would the fencing bend over?

I've used half of a small dog crate for a hay rack when the girls are confined with kids. I zip tie it to the outside of the fence and the girls pull the hay through the fence. Very convenient to fill on the outside.

Other options I've read about use a trash can lid, fill with hay and bungie cord to the outside of the fence, again the goats pull the hay through the fence. Not as easy to refill as the half of a dog crate but would work until you figure out something else.

Hope that helps.

 

[TXMissy]

How sturdy is your fencing... as in if you hung something on it would the fencing bend over?

I've used half of a small dog crate for a hay rack when the girls are confined with kids. I zip tie it to the outside of the fence and the girls pull the hay through the fence. Very convenient to fill on the outside.

Other options I've read about use a trash can lid, fill with hay and bungie cord to the outside of the fence, again the goats pull the hay through the fence. Not as easy to refill as the half of a dog crate but would work until you figure out-po

umm, I don't think the fence would bend its t-posts and hog or cattle panel. I also saw big trash cans with lids that have holes cut out and hay put in the trash can. And... another cool idea I saw was a wire laundry basket, the ones that come with a cloth bag over it, take out the cloth and use the wire part.. that might work.

 

[Alaskan]

We used a pallet up against the wall, inside a barn. Bottom of pallet touching wall, top edge of pallet leaned out a little.

Then I took deep sea net and super secured it over the pallet to make the holes even smaller.

It worked great for us... and was free.

Also... it didn't matter if the goats had horns or not.

 

[TXMissy]

We used a pallet up against the wall, inside a barn. Bottom of pallet touching wall, top edge of pallet leaned out a little.

Then I took deep sea net and super secured it over the pallet to make the holes even smaller.

It worked great for us... and was free.

Also... it didn't matter if the goats had horns or not.

Awesome! thanks! Pallets are easy enough to find.

 

[99OaksFarm]

Hello ya'll!
I am looking for ideas on cheap things that can be used for a hay rack. We have hay nets but we lose a lot of hay. I don't want to spend 300 on a hay feeder.
Please give me your ideas !

I have a section of goat/sheep fencing attached directly on the outside of the stall gate. It's a little hard to see in this pic, but this diy hay feeder works very well.

 

[Ridgetop]

If the goats are disbudded/polled you can make keyhole feeders. Make sure to put them high enough so the goats put their heads through the hole and then slide down into the slot below the hole. The goats have to stop chewing and raise their heads back up to remove them through the hole when eating and don't pull as much hay out of the feeder. There are instructions on line for these type of feeders. The holes are jist big enough t stick their heads into the feeder to eat so horned goats can't use them.

We used to male keyhole boards as well and they could be ttached in a corner of a pen at shows or during kidding.