My Sheep Journal~ I'm a grandma! Black Betty had twins!!!

[abooth]

So I built a hay feeder myself and it came out pretty good. I will take a pic of it in a little bit here when I go out to feed.

 

[abooth]

Here is my hay feeder. The bottom is about 8 inches of the ground and it angles away from the wall. I had been using a hay net but it needed to be filled every other day and I am going out of town in January and want the sheep to be very easy to take care of. My mom is watching them for me while I'm gone. The boards are 1 by 4's and they are spaced about 4 inches apart. I had all the wood hanging around so I didn't have to buy a thing. I fit a bale of hay in there but I think I can set a whole bale on top after I fill it so while I'm gone they can eat it down and my mom can just cut open the bale on top once they have eaten a bit.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I'll bet your mom will appreciate that!

 

[Beekissed]

I like that! It's very similar to something we've been working on with round bales. Do you get a pretty good deal on the square bales? We didn't have any way to pick up the rounds but back in September we found a guy just a few miles away who will deliver only two at a time (that's about all we can store under the roof) since he's so close. We're still supplementing with square bales of alfalfa but at $35/4X5 round (including delivery charge) it's really helped to cut down on cost. It would fit nicely in your feeder!

I really caught a deal on my hay this year and got it for $2 a bale. It isn't choice hay but it was the only hay available at the time....all the farmers snatched up all the hay around here as quick as folks made it. We had a very bad winter last year and a horrible drought this year....this all resulted in a rush on whatever hay that was available this year.

The sheep seem to be really getting/staying fat on it, so it must not be too bad.

Abooth, that is a good looking feeder!!! Pretty professional looking, I might add.

You might want to add a hinged topper to it, so you can lift it up, put in your bale and close it once again.

I only tell you this because I had a similar hay feeder last year and the sheep found it a delightful place in which to bed down, poop and pee. They climbed right into it, the little brats!

That is the main reason I switched up....no more lifting that bale into the feeder and then trying to keep the hay from being ruined by the sheep.

I had built mine much like yours in that it could hold a bale at a time.

 

[abooth]

Thanks for the advice on covering the top. But I think it is too high for them to get into and they show no inclination to do so. Also the hay rack serves a second purpose...my easter egger pullet just started laying and she lays her egg in there. It is one of the only places she can leave her egg where the sheep can't step on it. I had thought of making it a little higher to hold more hay. Maybe if the sheep start climbing in there I'll raise the height to keep 'em out.

 

[Beekissed]

Gotcha on the chicken nest! I allow my birds to keep a few "secret" nests in the hay also, just as long as I can reach them easily!

Darn things have started using my sheep as a trampoline to propel themselves into the higher stacks of hay.....

 

[Beekissed]

Sheep are still doing well with this feeder. They seem very fat and well contented and I'm not losing hardly any hay...this is all good!

This icy wind is wicked and makes our 16 degree weather feel like 6. I felt sorry for my sheep today but then...when I do...all I have to do is look out in the fields at sheep that don't even have a barn.

I put up additional wind blocking in the sheep hut and spread a thick layer of wood shavings for them. This weekend I need to renew their kelp/salt rations and fetch a ram....if I'm going to breed at all, I'm getting a late start.

 

[abooth]

Good luck fetchin' your ram. Where do you get that sea kelp?

 

[Beekissed]

I had my local feed store order it....that way I didn't have to pay the shipping. I have been using the same bag for two years now!!! $50 for 50# of kelp. I used this bag on my milk cow, multiple bottle calves, all last winter for the sheep and a bottle calf and all this year with my three sheep.

I still have 1/3 bag left.

It goes a long way and they only eat it when they crave it...I assume they crave it when there is a deficiency.

I mix it half and half with coarse salt.

Joel Salatin swears it has practically eliminated his incidence of pink eye in his cattle due to the high iodine content.

 

[Royd Wood]

I do admire anyone who makes home made things including feeders but last week I went out and bought a 10 ft sheep hay feeder (too busy or just plain lazy ???). It cost just over 300 bucks but I reacon its saving me a bale a day ($3.50) so will soon pay for itself.
ps Still lovin the journal Beekissed