Posted 2012-01-13 9:16 PM (#140019) Subject: low waste hay feeder
Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Northern CA
Hi all. I am looking to build some kind of feed trough for feeding my hay burners. They waste so much hay. If it is thrown on the ground, they pee in it! UGH!!! I don't really like to feed on the wall or in the air since It causes my gelding to cough and get it all up his nose. So, I am looking for something that sits on the ground that can be placed in the stall to keep it out of the rain. Something that will hold 4 flakes of hay at a time. My guys chew anything wood. ( I have beavers that look just like horses) Anyways, I used to use old water troughs (rubber-maid or metal )but they pull the hay out and onto the ground. Besides they toss or tip the trough all over the place. So... I am wondering what great inventions some of you have come up with. I would love to see pics of the things you have come up with. Please post pics! I need ideas! I am thinking of a box with (square or reqtangular shaped-so that they don't tip it)with a cut out piece of hog wire or some kind of welded wire on top so that they don't pull the hay out? Help!!
Posted 2012-01-16 12:29 AM (#140057 - in reply to #140024) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Northern CA
That is awesome...thanks for the info! I liked the box that will fit a whole bale. The wooden box would be easy enough to build. My horses might chew on it though.
Posted 2012-01-18 10:43 AM (#140115 - in reply to #140019) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 385
Location: high desert, CA.
My friends took two old tractor tires, and bolted them on top of one another. Then just put the hay down inside and let them feed. Of course some horses will pull some hay out and waste some, but most of it stays where you put it and you can roll them with the tractor or ATV to move them to less muddy or more convenient spot.
Posted 2012-01-18 8:52 PM (#140124 - in reply to #140019) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
Elite Veteran
Posts: 681
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
A friend of mine gets plastic food-quality barrels (@ 55 gal, I'm guessing) and cuts them in half crosswise and uses each end as a hay feeder. the barrels can be chained or bolted to the lower wall. Each one holds 4-5 flakes or more.
Posted 2012-01-19 10:44 AM (#140128 - in reply to #140019) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 376
Location: Missouri
For hay you need something that breaths. Otherwise you can have mold problems.
I use round feeders made from hog panels. I prefer the 2"X4" openings.
Just cut the size you want, pull them into a round shape and fasten with wire or hog rings. Hog rings are faster and neater, but requires a tool. You can wire the ends together.
Posted 2012-01-22 7:39 AM (#140189 - in reply to #140019) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
Member
Posts: 35
Slow feeders have been an interest for awhile now. I have built alot of different designs and good sucess with some. I have two favorites, one is a wood box that sits on the ground the other is a barrel that hangs from a post or tree. The wood box is about 18"wide 18" tall and 48" long. It has a wire grate with around 2" x 4" openings that fits in the box over the hay.
This is the barrel design, it is a pickle barrel. It hangs from the lid which can be lowered to the ground. I now have a slow feeder hay net stitched to the bottom of the barrel and it works good. My nets will begin to wear in about 6 months with 4 horses on it 24/7. The hay net hangs lower and is easier for them to get at the hay. There is some waste that falls to the ground but not too bad.
Posted 2012-01-22 8:43 AM (#140192 - in reply to #140019) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
Member
Posts: 35
I cant find a picture of the box feeder so I drew a quick model. My apologies it is not exact, the wire mesh is not diamond like in the drawing. The lid is a 2x4 frame with hinges on one side and a latch on the other "not in drawing" . Also my previous measurements were wrong, the box is more like 4 feet long 16" tall and 18 to 20 wide.
the hay goes in, the wire mesh frame goes on top of the hay and then the 2x4 lid/frame is closed. As they eat the hay the wire mesh just fall to the bottom of the box.
Posted 2012-01-22 4:20 PM (#140200 - in reply to #140191) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Northern CA
saltwater redneck,
That Appaloosa is gorgeous!!! Liked the barrel feeder too!
I am wanting something that I will put in the stall to keep out of the weather. I like that box idea with the hog wire? That was was I was thinking more of.
Posted 2012-01-22 5:08 PM (#140202 - in reply to #140019) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
Member
Posts: 35
thanks, that one is a handful.
You could make a smaller box version that holds less hay. I put the wire in an angle iron frame to get rid of the sharp edges and add weight. Make sure the mesh is small enough that if they stand on it a hoof cant fit through the hole size. I like the 2" by 4" mesh that Tractor Supply sells. It is a heavy gauge that hold up and will weld to the angle iron frame easily. I will still try to get some pics for everyone to see.
or google slow feeders for horses and there's some more there.
Thanks for this link,through it,I found the Natural Hay feeders for pasture use with square bales,I got in touch with the closest dealer who is working with us on delivering these at a halfway point,no charge!
Posted 2012-02-10 10:02 AM (#140716 - in reply to #140019) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
Expert
Posts: 2453
Location: Northern Utah
I went for a ride with some new folks this week. As I unloaded at his corral I noticed his feeder and I'm going to have to make one. He feeds the 3x3x8 and the 3x4x8 bales. Which is the same size bales that I buy my hay in. I've been flaking off a flake of hay and feeding it in a manager twice a day for the 4 horses. But with this feeder he loads a full bale with his tractor and it last 7-10 days for his 4 horses.
His feeder was made by Iron shop. It was tube steel welded together. Basically a platform 1 foot off the ground. with enough steel tubes acting as balluster to keep the horses from climbing in. The four corner bars supported a roof about 8 foot high that kept the hay under it dry. He had a swing open gate on the side facing the direction the tractor would approach. When he needed to load new hay in, He would open the gate and slip a new bale of hay in with his tractor and close the gate back. He had a large corded net hung from the roof that covered all the hay, It was fastened along the edges of the platform so the horses had to eat thru the net and couldn't get their noses under the edges.
The horses just picked at the hay thru the net and had self regulated after some use so as to not over eat. Now instead of having to feed twice a day, He loads the hay bunk once a week. If he sleeps in or is out of town for a day, The horses still get fed.
Since I've converted to the large square bales. this looks like a great solution. Hay stays dry, horses have constant access to feed, It's large enough that all 4 of my horses could eat at the same time and not get chased off by the alpha horse. Since I'm not an iron worker, but a carpenter I may try my first feeder out of wood.
Posted 2012-03-28 9:53 PM (#142599 - in reply to #140019) Subject: RE: low waste hay feeder
New User
Posts: 3
Location: New York
To ensure that the grid is small enough, if they are standing on it does not fit through the hole the size of the hoof. I like the "4" mesh tractor supply sales.