question/idea for hay rings

[EKUgrad]

Could one get some heavier guage steel ones and have them sprayed with a spray on bedliner type material to prevent rust? It would seem to me that these would work just fine. I would want to over-engineer the bolt/latching mechanism due to the expected increase service life and wear/tear, but I would think that it would work.

What are y'all's thoughts?

 

[Chuck]

Might be worth looking into. Have you asked the body shop what they would charge? I have also noticed some of the tube type feeders (especially the cheaper ones) get water inside the tubes where it freezes and splits the tube. Seems like after they do that, they are not long for this world. Rust even faster since there is no protection inside the tube.

 

[EKUgrad]

I tried this once, sorry if it is a double post.

One could weld a cap on the ends pretty cheap. I know that Line-X is sold by the 55gal drum to the dealer quite a bit cheaper than you can buy similar stuff at stores. I was thinking about trying this some this fall/winter -- the only problem is that we generally get several good years out of ours before they are in rough shape.

I appreciate any thoughts that anyone has.

 

[Crowderfarms]

I would'nt trust the stuff sold at the store. I have a buddy of mine that tried it on his Ford super Duty, and it's all peeled off, even though he treated the bed surface first.Too bad Powder Coating is so high. I know that Line X , and some of the others are dog gone tough, we had it sprayed in the bed of our Mule, and it's indestructable.

 

[EKUgrad]

I don't trust the stuff at Autozone either -- seems like it would peel away too easily. I have Line-X in my truck and that stuff is pretty tough. I would want to use something like that b/c it would stand a better chance of holding up to the forks on the tractor picking it up out of the mud in the winter.

Then again, maybe I should just check into that mudfree way of doing things in another post.....

 

[MrBilly]

I have a half a dozen of the heaviest hay rings one can buy - they are J and L Haysaver cone feeders. They are so heavy that one or two people can not move them. They have to be moved with a front loader and a fork attachment. They are made solid, plate steel skirt, no taking them apart. Pipe steel and solid steal cross pieces as best I can tell. Made in PA. and when I bought them last year they cost around $625 (that is each) delivered, probably higher with the steel prices as they are?

Cone feeders do save hay as shown by university studies.

J and L Equipment and Manufacturing is in Stoystown, PA 814-893-5086

You can see them on my website:

http://www.sellfarm.com/farm_pictures.htm

Billy

 

[Crowderfarms]

Mr. Billy
Those are some serious Hay Rings. Way out of my budget though. By the way, nice website.

 

[flaboy]

I have a half a dozen of the heaviest hay rings one can buy - they are J and L Haysaver cone feeders. They are so heavy that one or two people can not move them. They have to be moved with a front loader and a fork attachment. They are made solid, plate steel skirt, no taking them apart. Pipe steel and solid steal cross pieces as best I can tell. Made in PA. and when I bought them last year they cost around $625 (that is each) delivered, probably higher with the steel prices as they are?

Cone feeders do save hay as shown by university studies.

J and L Equipment and Manufacturing is in Stoystown, PA 814-893-5086

You can see them on my website:

http://www.sellfarm.com/farm_pictures.htm

Billy

I just build mine out of landscaping timbers (3x4). I then put some vertical slats up the side all the cows from trying to get into the same place. I bury the corner posts and bolt everything together. Every once in a while I have to replace a broken board. It cost me about $40 to build one. At that price I just build them wherever I need them and don't worry about moving stuff around.

 

[jt]

i saw an interesting idea a while back on hay feeders... the build it yourself type...

it was built out of about 2 1/2 " pipe. a rectangle about the width of a bale, 6' or so, and about 20-25' long. enough to hold about 4 rolls.

of course i guess you could make em smaller, to hold 2 or 3 rolls if you wanted.

pretty simple too. about 3 pipes around it. plenty of room to stick their heads thru. i think it needed a little more blockage at the bottom to keep hay from wasting as bad. without something at the bottom, hay tends to get messy.

looks like one could take that idea and put some sucker rods around the bottom and have a decent hay feeder... of course you would have to have a front end loader to move it.

another thing... the only parts of it touching the ground was the legs. design it so you could change out the bottom 6-10" of the legs and that thing could last a long, long time.



jt

 

[jt]

let me add one more thought,

i think you would have to have a bottom pipe on the ends, 6' or so, to keep the legs from sinking too much. design that part to be replaced easy and maybe it would be a good hay feeder.

what do you think of this type feeder?

jt

 

[dj]

I try to pick up used well pipe at auctions for hay feeders
And I make them into 6'x6'x4' (with 2' gaps in between) squares so they don't roll out of the pickup. Never had a cow
caught in one and they seem to last 5-6 yrs
The coating seems like a waste as they would rust from the inside out like the fenders on my ford

 

[EKUgrad]

the goal would be to seal the ends of the pipes off -- no moisture getting to the inside so that it should not rust.

I hate the idea of paying $625 for a feeder, but I have to admit, they do look good. If I were to buy one of those, I would definitely find a way to spray something on them, even if it meant taking it to the Line-X dealer.

Thanks for the replies fellas.

 

[Bama]

Heck, If I spent that much on a feeder I'd have my kids wax it once a month.

 

[dun]

Heck, If I spent that much on a feeder I'd have my kids wax it once a month.

I was thinking pretty much the same thing, but I wouldn;t want it out where the cows could crap on it either

dun

 

[plbcattle]

I have tried almost every type of bale feeder there is to try to prevent waste.
I have found that unrolling the bale has less waste and they eat every bit of it and leave none on the ground this way. all the cattle can get in there and eat also.
just my 2 cents worth

 

[tom4018]

Seen something this week when I stopped in at a feed store that I am rarely at. They had some rings that were made out of some "black thick walled poly pipe" (my term) that looked interesting. The guy there said he used them and really liked them. $200 each. Any one seen these or anyone use them?

 

[EKUgrad]

Tom,

There was a discussion on here not too long ago regarding the plastic/PVC/whatever type pipe feeders. Those with them had not had them long but had no problems to report while those who did not have them came up will all types of potential problems as reasons not to buy them. The most often cited fear was cracking and brittleness in cold weather.

Whereabouts in KY are ya?

 

[tom4018]

EKU, Bowling Green area.