Walking W
Well-known member
I am grain finishing a heifer using a home-made automatic feeder. I have used it three times previously with little or no problems.
This girl is different. She bumps the feed chute trying to dislodge additional grain mixture so much that she knocked off some of the nuts and washers that keep grain from freely flowing from the feeder. I thought I was over-feeding(and I guess I was) because she got to where she wouldn't clean up her trough and even, for a while, stopped coming to the feeder when the alarm goes off letting her know it time to eat. I was rightly concerned about acidosis but couldn't figure it out right away.
Well, I backed her off like everyone in the forum suggested and started monitoring how much I was putting in the hopper. That's when I saw a shiny nut and washer in the feed trough. When I took the feeder chute off and saw what was going on, it made sense. She had been self-feeding in addition to my planned feeding schedule and had then been in acidosis and off her feed.
The feeder is back together and adjusted correctly with lock washers and double nutted to prevent her from helping herself now. The feed trough is cleaned up completely and she wants more every feeding. I am up to about 1.5% of my grain mixture and adding slowly trying to get her up to 2% of my estimate for her body weight. This feeder lets me feed up to eight times/day(I am only doing four times) and holds enough for a weeks feeding at 2%. She has free-choice hay and good clean water.
This girl is different. She bumps the feed chute trying to dislodge additional grain mixture so much that she knocked off some of the nuts and washers that keep grain from freely flowing from the feeder. I thought I was over-feeding(and I guess I was) because she got to where she wouldn't clean up her trough and even, for a while, stopped coming to the feeder when the alarm goes off letting her know it time to eat. I was rightly concerned about acidosis but couldn't figure it out right away.
Well, I backed her off like everyone in the forum suggested and started monitoring how much I was putting in the hopper. That's when I saw a shiny nut and washer in the feed trough. When I took the feeder chute off and saw what was going on, it made sense. She had been self-feeding in addition to my planned feeding schedule and had then been in acidosis and off her feed.
The feeder is back together and adjusted correctly with lock washers and double nutted to prevent her from helping herself now. The feed trough is cleaned up completely and she wants more every feeding. I am up to about 1.5% of my grain mixture and adding slowly trying to get her up to 2% of my estimate for her body weight. This feeder lets me feed up to eight times/day(I am only doing four times) and holds enough for a weeks feeding at 2%. She has free-choice hay and good clean water.
