Hay feeder idea's...

[Wildsky]

I'm in need of some hay feeder idea's.

I have one horse and two goats, they tend to argue over hay when its alfalfa.

I'd like to have hubby (or me) build something to hold a bale (square) or two in order for everyone to be able to eat out of it.

I'd like it stable enough to stand alone, and light enough to be able to be carried by two people into the barn for winter if needed.

Any ideas?? pic's perhaps of your set up?

 

[valmom]

I swear I have tried everything with hay feeders! Disclaimer, though, I feed round bales.

I would think that something built out of pallets (usually free!) might work for a few square bales. One pallet wide, 2 pallets long built into a rectangle. If you remove half the slats, the goats could eat out from between the slats, and the horse could reach in over the top. You'd have to figure out some way to make the whole rectangle hold together strongly, though, or the horse may destroy it (well, mine would ).

 

[Wildsky]

I swear I have tried everything with hay feeders! Disclaimer, though, I feed round bales.

I would think that something built out of pallets (usually free!) might work for a few square bales. One pallet wide, 2 pallets long built into a rectangle. If you remove half the slats, the goats could eat out from between the slats, and the horse could reach in over the top. You'd have to figure out some way to make the whole rectangle hold together strongly, though, or the horse may destroy it (well, mine would ).

We do have a few pallets, but we use them to store hay on in our garage, to keep them up off the floor.

We have lots of pieces of plywood, we might be able to use that somehow. Perhaps a big V shape feeder with holes on the sides for the goats (?) we'd have to figure out how to stabalize it without adding too much weight or size so we can carry it into the barn for winter time.

My horse wouldn't break it I don't think, but she pulls hay out and spreads it all over the place!

We also do round bales, mostly in summer only. But we just cut them open and let the animals at em - we have hay ALL over the place. Lucky we have the chickens and such to dig around and eat all the bugs that collect.

 

[valmom]

Something like the second one on this website only made out of pallets so the goats can get their mouths into the hay.


http://www.horsesafeproducts.com/
http://www.horsesafeproducts.com/

 

[Blackbird]

We have one made out of pallets that could fit a full bale if needed. It is set up higher on concrete blocks and we have posts at the corners, but it's light enough, when empty, that it can be moved fairly easy and it prevents a lot of waste!

I'll get a couple pictures when I'm out doing chores.

 

[valmom]

My hay saga in pictures:

I have the worst time with wasted hay- I swear, since I switched to round bales (which I LOVE!) eliminating waste has been my carreer.
Had a skirted round bale feeder that the sheet metal rusted off of and I replaced with grain bags:


Obvious waste!
Then tried adding a hay net that I macrame-d over the bale- it helped quite a bit.



Then I tried a hay "bag" that went over the hay bale and they had to eat out of the top opening. Worked for a day or so until they ate down far enough to kick it all around the pasture like a huge soccer ball. But it was cheap!


Then we tried to build a platform with gates on it to try to get the hay up off the mud and out of the snow. I don't even have any pictures of that failure!

Finally, for the last 2 years we have invested in a hay house. Keeps the rain and snow off, and with a hay net over the bale inside, there is very little actual waste!



And, just because I love the picture- the trouble a yearling can get into!

 

[Farmfresh]

Thanks for sharing Valmom!

It is a never ending saga for sure.

Back in the day of feeding square bales we used an old rectangular metal water trough that the bottom had big holes rusted in it. With animals that feud we simply made a hole in a fence that separated two lots and scootched the tank halfway through the hole. Both lots were open and accessible. This allowed a "picked on" animal to simply run around to the other side of the fence to eat.

 

[Blackbird]

Trashy, but it serves it's purpose.

 

[Beekissed]

If there were some way to elevate a large plastic tote that is big enough to fit a bale of hay into, then you could place the lid, cut some nice smooth holes in the sides and the hay could stay dry and in place.

I am letting my sheep self feed right out of the barn/hay storage this year by placing stock panels in front of the stack and just tightening them into the stack as the sheep eat into it.

 

[freemotion]

When all I had here was a horse and two goats I had the least waste...ever! I simply fed the horse on the ground twice a day and the goats plowed into the hay and ate all the weedy stuff, and the horse cleaned up everything that touched the ground. No waste. Not a single blade was wasted. Oh, how I miss those days.....