# Show me your hay feeders (pretty please?)



## LoneStrChic23 (Jul 30, 2010)

My adopted grandpa is a handy man extreme & loves to tinker & build.

He has gobs of very nice scrap lumber & said he'd like to build me some hay feeders 

I have to gather pictures of what I want & let him know how big I want it. Plans/instructions/tips would be nice, but if the pictures are good he can build them off the pics...

So.... if y'all could be so kind to post pictures of your hay feeders I'd love ya forever!!

I'm wanting to reduce waste & keep the lil ones from jumping in it.......With the amounts of hay I'm feeding I have to find a way to save as much as possible. 

Also is there any safe paint/sealer I can use on these to prolong their life & appearance or with the mouthy goats should I just leave it plain wood?

TIA!


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## Suzyq2u (May 17, 2010)

Hubby built this one w/ scrap, no plans. Lid works great to keep out the rain (the one time we've had rain) and the chickens. Maybe it could have been a schosh wider if we were to do over? It's not quite the width of the bale. Can't see it from the pic but there's a ledge in the back where there are little trays for mineral and baking soda as well.


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

ours just eat off the round bales - lol


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## Melbertsch (Mar 2, 2009)

This is what we use, it holds a bale at a time. The only drawback is that some of the kids get up in the feeder when the bale gets low.


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## KimM (Jun 17, 2005)

This was made for big goats and has since been cut down shorter for Nigerian. We're getting ready to make another smaller version.


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## LoneStrChic23 (Jul 30, 2010)

Awesome! Thanks so much!


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

KimM, I love that feeder!


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

I would use a horse panel if I was to improve Kims panel so that the holes are 2x4 so less hay can fall out.

For round bales, I use a cattle panel and ratchet straps, I set it on a pallet on the round end so the center is facing up wrap the panel around it and secure it with the straps. Then I tarp it using big clothes pin type clamps to hold it down, do not use hay string or bundgies, that almost caused a loss of a goat here. I cant find the picture but will post it once I do. I have very very little waste doing this. This does not work for goats with horns.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

Our hay feeders are almost the same as SuzyQ's only we have ours mounted to the wall's in the barn stall's & in their lean too's so they stay dry for all seasons here.

No I wouldn't paint them, when it starts to peel, etc. I'd be worried about the goats(kids mostly) eating it or peeling it off.


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## Sededl (Jan 14, 2011)

Suzyq2u said:


> Can't see it from the pic but there's a ledge in the back where there are little trays for mineral and baking soda as well.


Suzy, What is the baking soda for?


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## cmharris6002 (Jan 27, 2006)

Here is my lento feeder.



















Awwww, yum, yum, yum....


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## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

Baking soda is to adjust the rumen pH. Goats know when the rumen is getting too acidic, and will eat the baking soda to make the adjustment... The rumen is supposed to have a neutral pH.


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## Suzyq2u (May 17, 2010)

saanengirl said:


> Baking soda is to adjust the rumen pH. Goats know when the rumen is getting too acidic, and will eat the baking soda to make the adjustment... The rumen is supposed to have a neutral pH.


This


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## gila_dog (Jun 17, 2011)

Mine is made from a 55 gal plastic barrel sawed in half lengthwise. It's located inside the hay barn, outside the goat room. That's so the goats can be fed from the haystack, which is right there, and we don't have to carry the hay into the pen and get mugged. The goats just stick their heads thru an opening in the wall, and chow down. There are pieces of livestock panel on top, hinged so they open up and away. That keeps other critters out of the goat pen. Any hay that is wasted is pulled into the goat room and dropped on the ground where it becomes "bedding". Since the hay is always indoors, it never gets rained on. We also toss other goodies, like vegetable scraps, watermelon rinds, etc. into the feeder. That's also where their salt block is.


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## LoneStrChic23 (Jul 30, 2010)

Great pics everyone, thanks for sharing!


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## bluetogreens (May 31, 2010)

Suzyq2u said:


> Hubby built this one w/ scrap, no plans. Lid works great to keep out the rain (the one time we've had rain) and the chickens. Maybe it could have been a schosh wider if we were to do over? It's not quite the width of the bale. Can't see it from the pic but there's a ledge in the back where there are little trays for mineral and baking soda as well.


basic plan i came up with for this:

width=36" ( I would now of changed this to 48 but did not have any scrap that size)
depth=36" (last 8" are for the little trays to be screwed to the ledge )
height to platform=26" 
total height=48" (ish i actually never measured the total height after i made the slats etc)

the outside of the feed slats are 2x4's cut for bottom left and right and a 5/4x6 for the top, the bottom 2x4 is ripped at a 30 degree angle as are the 1x2's spaced at 5" apart. i started the angle 12" in from outside edge, which while I really did just eyeball it, it is not top heavy with the full small bail in it. and of course she has allready climbed on it to better reach the lower limbs of that cottonwood tree and it hasnt collapsed yet, so i did something right.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

I can't find a pic. but in the book; the homesteders guide to raiseing small livestock, there is a key hole manger .this desine is the best for saving haythough a little more tricky to build .any manger where the goats can backout with a mouthful and drop it allows them to waste expencive hay . if you have a good craftsman and tinkerer at your disposal get him to make the fancy one  they step up on a board to get into the "hole" then down into the slot to eat and can't back out


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

The problem with keyhole feeders comes if you have a goat who bullies the others. A goat with her head in the keyhole can't see the bully coming and get slammed.


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## IndyGardenGal (Apr 5, 2009)

This is one that DH made for my girls.


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## mrstillery09 (Jul 12, 2012)

This is a great topic! Our hay feeder is not good enough, we have large bales, our goats have horns...so I haven't really brain stormed an idea worthy of putting together just yet. I'm hopeful this topic will change that!


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

LSC you're getting some great pictorial representations of workable feeders for goats. I'll add mine tomorrow when I can get out for some pictures.

There are a few things You might want to consider no matter what design you choose. 

1. You might not want to paint it. Goats may actually chew on it at times. 

2. You might want to consider placing a stoop under it for goats to place their front feet on in order to eat out of the feeder. (This raises the feeder high enough so there is never any possibility of droppings getting into it.) 

3. You might want to make sure all edges are rounded/smoothed and not sharp.

4. If you can place it strategically so as to be able to fill it without entering the goats' area, it might save on your toes and/or keep you from being bumped around a bit.

5. I have not found a way to keep the laying hens out of any feeder; so if you do, please let it be known.


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

Kim and Indy I have that same feeder except mine has a roof, was going to post to share, but dont feel thats required now but it is on my FB page


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)




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## GreenMomma (Jun 3, 2008)

I like the idea of being able to feed from inside the barn, to an area that I won't be overrun. I like to go out and feed while still in my fuzzy jammies sometimes, lol. This way I would still be clean enough to lounge a while longer. Or feeding at night while on our way out for the evening... I'm going to have to build something like that this week!


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## fadedpolaris (Jan 8, 2013)

I REALLY like your feeder, southerngurl!


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

Me too!  I love being able to feed from the barn side. I can put anything in it, pellets, hay etc.


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## punchiepal (Oct 11, 2008)

This is not mine but this guys feeders for big rounds are really neat.
http://waterloo.craigslist.org/grq/4146508365.html


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Here are the two I built that works best for large goats. (Kids have their own feeder closer to the ground.)

The smaller feeder is adjacent to a little holding pen where I can store bailed hay if need be. I created a basin in the bottom and placed some "field fencing" inside to keep the goats from wasting hay. Notice it has a stoop for them to stand on. 

The larger feeder was my very first construction, done when I actually had time to work on one. It too has a basin in the bottom and a step; and it is adjacent to the area where I store hay so all I have to do is throw the slabs over that half wall into the feeder.

Notice the areas behind the steps. The kids love to sleep in those areas!


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## parrotman (Jan 27, 2008)

> This is not mine but this guys feeders for big rounds are really neat.


That is a SERIOUS hay feeder! Although, I think it could use a few more bolts.


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## Josie (Mar 30, 2012)

parrotman said:


> That is a SERIOUS hay feeder! Although, I think it could use a few more bolts.


Lol. I had the same thought. There are a lot of bolts on there.


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## Doug Hodges (Jul 22, 2013)

I bought 3 of these
View attachment 17837

View attachment 17838


I don't have any boers. That's the factory pic. The second one is Troubador. He loves the feeder.


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