hay feeding trailer

[jt]

i am think about making a 5 roll feeding trailer out of a cotton trailer frame... i have always fed using a hay ring. is there more waste using the trailer?

any other positive/negative comments on using the trailer appreciated.

thanks

jt

 

[MikeC]

Michigan State University animal scientists studied four hay feeder design types: cone, ring, trailer or cradle. All feeder types allowed approximately 14.5 inches for each animal. Dry matter hay waste was 3.5%, 6.1%, 11.4% and 14.6% for the cone, ring, trailer and cradle feeders, respectively. There were differences in the behavior of cows at the feeders that may be involved with the differences in wastage. Cows eating from the cradle feeder had about 3 times as much butting and displacement behavior as other feeder types and four times as many entrances compared to cows feeding at the other type of feeders. The researchers determined that slanted bar designs encourage animals to keep their head in the feeder for longer periods while eating. Source: Buskirk, et al. 2003.
http://www.msu.edu/~buskirk/Publication ... 81-109.pdf

 

[jt]

thanks mikec.. i had a feeling there would be more waste, but didnt realize it would be that much more. my computer is real slow tonight, and i couldnt get the link up, but i will try to read it tomorrow.

jt