Need some ideas for hay feeder

[MistyMorning]

I could use some suggestions on a hay feeder for a smaller corral area. The larger round bale feeders just won't fit in the area well enough to maneuver a tractor around. Would a permanent bunker type thing on one side of the fence be alright or would that just get messy over time? Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[dun]

I could use some suggestions on a hay feeder for a smaller corral area. The larger round bale feeders just won't fit in the area well enough to maneuver a tractor around. Would a permanent bunker type thing on one side of the fence be alright or would that just get messy over time? Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated.

Just hold some in your hand and say, Here cowy, here cowy. That would give you something to do during the day after you eat your horse.

 

[grannysoo]

Round bale or square bale feeding?

 

[cfpinz]

I'm considering putting one of those feeder panels in one of the fencelines around the bull pen, then putting down cloth and rock in front of it. I get tired of watching the wife go in the bull pen to feed.

 

[MistyMorning]

Grannysoo - I would most likely use a combination of square and round depending on the season, snow, mud etc. The rounds are 3 1/2 by 4 I'm thinking.

dun - You suck

Tightazz - am thinking too that the area in front of a feeder will need something put down to keep it from getting really muddy. I'm also thinking it's a good idea for you to keep your wife out of that bull pen. I've heard bulls get pretty ornery when they see red!

 

[dun]

Tightazz - am thinking too that the area in front of a feeder will need something put down to keep it from getting really muddy. I'm also thinking it's a good idea for you to keep your wife out of that bull pen. I've heard bulls get pretty ornery when they see red!

If she can put up with "him", she can probably whip any bull on the place.

 

[hillsdown]

I could use some suggestions on a hay feeder for a smaller corral area. The larger round bale feeders just won't fit in the area well enough to maneuver a tractor around. Would a permanent bunker type thing on one side of the fence be alright or would that just get messy over time? Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated.

Misty have you though about getting one of those big turned tires to use as a feeder, they will be smaller than a round bale feeder but big enough to hole one of your hay bales..

If not I would make a bunk feeder with feeder panels in front of it so they cannot get in it. Also you can feed without going in the pen. Make an alley way where they stand that you can clean out once and a while with a tractor or skid steer.. Make sure that you can easily clean the bunk out as well as you will likely have left over spoiled feed once and a while.

 

[Jogeephus]

I have a similar situation in one pen and being extremely busy - ok lazy - what I did was just put the hay ring within 4 feet of the fence. I then pick up a bale with the loader and drop it over the fence and into the ring. It took a little getting used to but it works just fine and its great for people who are really busy like myself.

 

[iowafarmer]

We did a feeder pannel type, only went the cheap route. cfpinz pay attention and you might save some money rather than buy one of them spendy pannels. We did it for calves but if you enlarge certain parts such as poles and use bridge planks instead of 2x12's it would work. O this was a long a peice of cement already in place. Take your poles and put them in the ground 5 feet apart. Vary in size of pole and depth put in the ground according to size of cattle built for. example the bigger the cattle the thicker the pole and the deeper in the ground. cement can be pored around post but we just use p-gravel and pack it with a piece of rerod. Then add your boards or bridge planks. Build it to about the height of a round bale feeder bottom so about 2 to 3 foot tall so 2 or 3 bridge planks or 2x12 then leave a gap of about 2to 3 feet depending on size of cattle using it, smaller space for calves, larger for cows. Then you put another board at that height. Then we used small 4 inch wood poles and put those in on the outside about 3 feet from the fence and put 1x12s on those poles about a foot taller than the first height so between 3 to 4 feet. Basically its a box to keep the hay by the fence so that when they stick their head through the gap of 2 or 3 feet they dont push the hay away. Hopefully you get the idea as this plan can be modified or changed very easily. Could be change to make V-neck feeder out of wood also on the fence. Also guardrail couldbe used also instead of bridge planks or 2x12's. Dont but tons of ring shanked nails in it right away. Use the least amount of hardware possible, then quick try it out on what ever it is built for and then adjust so that it meets the size better such as making the gap bigger or lowering the bottom boards, or raising the top board. The box part will probably have to be cleaned out from time to time as fines do build up. If any questions just ask.

 

[cfpinz]

iowa - I was thinking of making it myself, ours would be more for grain when the bulls are in there and the steers if they're in that lot finishing. I like the looks of the SI Feeders (might not be the right name but the pretty green ones) and they don't look that hard to make one. Just need to make sure it's bull-tough and calf accesible.

 

[dun]

Just need to make sure it's bull-tough and calf accesible.

For calves I prefer setting up an area with a creep gate so they don;t have to compete with the grownups.

 

[cfpinz]

For calves I prefer setting up an area with a creep gate so they don;t have to compete with the grownups.

Friend of mine does that with his yard. He put some wooden posts in on the edge of his yard close together with a low board across them. He mows the grass and the calves do the trimming.

 

[MistyMorning]

I have a similar situation in one pen and being extremely busy - ok lazy - what I did was just put the hay ring within 4 feet of the fence. I then pick up a bale with the loader and drop it over the fence and into the ring. It took a little getting used to but it works just fine and its great for people who are really busy like myself.

Jo, you have succeeded in reducing my workload immensely and I thank you! Now I can concentrate on other things, like the garden, mowing, fencing, etc, etc, etc.

HD, I have not heard of that type of feeder, do you have a pic or a link for it?

 

[hillsdown]

They are just inverted tractor tires and you can get many different sizes, very large to very small. I had some inverted for me about 5 years ago and I used them to feed grain in (until my vet yelled at me because my cows were too fat ) .

Here is a link to show you kind of what I mean, there are many people out there that have machines to invert them as it is a very cheap solution, used tires are free.. They are very common around here and people use them from everything like feeding hay, silage, grain or even minerals.

http://www.bigskytirefeeders.com/

Here is a pic of Valentine by a small one, it is empty as I don't use them anymore so now they use it as a scratcher/belly rub..It is a crappy pic but all that I can find right now.

 

[BeefmasterB]

If it's really a small corral - hard to get a tractor into - I would go with the bunker/feeder-panels idea on the fence line where the hay could be dropped into the feeder from the other side. My aunt has this same set-up but under a shed = no mud. The back of the shed is actually one wall of a small barn and has a door that leads to the square bale storage. Between the wall and the feed bunker is a walkway so she can dispense the hay or feed the entire length of the paneled bunker - and she stays dry too!