I’m moving up in the world this year! I have always fed my sheep hay on the ground during the short winter duration when we have to feed. Lots of people do this, and it’s often the only practical means to deliver hay for very large herds of animals. Ruminants eat off the ground the rest of the year, after all.
But there are some downsides.
One is that it can increase their parasite load. Worm eggs come out in feces, and hatch into larvae that hang out low in forage, waiting to be re-consumed. Since sheep tend to poop in the hay and then pick around for leftovers in the subsequent days, they can pick up a lot of worm larvae. This can be remedied by increased de-worming, but that’s both cost-wise and labor-wise inefficient. And it accelerates the rate at which a particular de-wormer becomes ineffective.
The second downside of feeding on the ground is just waste. The sheep eat their meal, then bed down in the comfy leftovers. The laid-on, pooped-on hay is no longer palatable, they refuse to eat it, and it goes to waste. Tight portion controls help with this, but when feeding lower protein hay, it’s ideal if the sheep have it in front of them 24/7, to be sure they eat enough. It’s tougher to feed them only twice a day and make sure they are taking in an optimal amount. Given their choice, my sheep will eat three or four times a day, starting very early in the morning.
And that leads to the third downside: feeding twice a day. Sheep fed on a schedule need to be fed at consistent times. So it’s very constraining to one’s lifestyle. You have to work dinner plans around feeding sheep, and have to get up early on weekends to maintain their early morning mealtime.
Time for Hay Bunks
So, it’s been on my list to build some feeders, and I finally was able to fit the project in. They took me several weekends, first to build one prototype, then to build seven more. I finished them around Thanksgiving. Indeed, they solve the problem of waste- I’m getting almost zero waste now. Even what hay the sheep dribble out of their mouths falls into the feeder trough area, staying clean and dry, so they eat it later. Now I can feed just once a day, leaving enough hay out for 24 hours, plus a little, so I’m always sure they have plenty. I can fit two days’ worth of hay in the feeders if I need to, which enables me to do some weekend fun without having to plan around sheep meal times!
I think the sheep are eating better, too. Before, they’d come rushing when I’d bring them hay, always over-anxious for the next meal. Now, they can eat whenever they want, and when I bring fresh hay, there is still some left from the day before. Sometimes they come to eat when I deliver, other times they don’t. This is good, it means they are keeping themselves topped-off and aren’t in a hurry to eat again.
The Specs
I started with Premier’s plan for “large sheep and rams” (the variant on the last page where the sheep only eat from one side, so you can fill from the back). But, I modified it a bit. I figured that making the “back side” of the feeder only two feet high (instead of 27”) would make better use of eight-foot boards. Same with the 25” floor supports: shaving an inch off made it so you could get two out of an eight-footer. This makes the cutting math easy: all 2-, 4- and 8- foot sections.
I thought all-2×4 construction seemed overkill in expense and weight, so I switched to 1×4’s for most of the 8’ horizontals. I didn’t find it necessary to put a strip of plywood on the top, front face by the sheep, as the plans called for.
I wasn’t keen on the sheep putting their tongues on treated plywood for the bottom of the trough, so I switched to using untreated 1×4’s there. I butted them loosely, so they can drain water. I used untreated plywood for the sloped section on which the hay sits, because I put roofs on them, so it’s protected from the weather. I did use treated plywood for the sides, however.
Premier sells galvanized welded wire panels, which force the sheep to nibble little bits of hay through the squares. This prevents them from taking big mouthfuls, swinging their heads and dropping half the hay on the ground. But shipping of the panels is expensive. So I purchased utility panels at a local feed store, and cut them up. The panels come in 4×16’ lengths, with 4×4” squares. They needed to be 2×8’ panels, so I trimmed every-other-square along the lengths of the sub-rectangles, giving me enough edges to staple to the feeder.
This made panels that were a slightly different dimension than the Premier design. But it’s ok, I just jockeyed the position of the connector boards, and changed the dimension of the sloped plywood “slide” to accommodate.
I added lift-able roofs framed with 1x4s and topped with plywood. I hinged them on the top 1×4 front face. I can open them from the back and fill them. I added 3’ 1×2’s with angle-cut ends to prop the lids open (kinda like propping open a car hood). The props just lay down inside the feeder when not in use (they are unattached).
I’ve noticed that the front, inside of the trough does seem to get wet with rain (or maybe just wet from sheep heads). So I think that an improvement would be to cut the tops of the front vertical posts at a 45-degree angle, and have the roofs jut out in front as an overhang. If the vertical posts were angled, they would allow for the swing of the roof when it opens, even if it had a long overhang.
I split the roofs into four-foot sections because I figured eight-foot-long ones would be too heavy for me to easily lift with one hand. I worried that too much rain would leak in between the sections and get the hay wet, but didn’t think there was another option. It turns out, they hardly leak at all (I butted them as tight as I could and still have them open freely). They hay gets consumed fast enough that it’s ok of a few rain drips get in. Indeed, even at this length they are weighty. So definitely full-length lids would have been uncomfortably heavy for me. I find I have to be careful not to drop the lids when closing them, I think it could kill a sheep if it clipped her in the head just right.
I assembled the feeders over a week or so in the pasture, and started feeding out of them as soon as some were put together. Roofless, they were a little top-heavy on the front and were frequently tipped over. I’m not sure if this was from wind, or the sheep scratching against them. But with roofs, so far, they’ve stayed upright, even through some strong storms.
I pondered how to cover the plywood roofs. Not keen on painting in winter, or costly roofing options, I slapped on some inexpensive rolled asphalt roofing, single-ply, with nails. I think this might have worked ok, except that right now, the sheep have access to the backs of the feeders (eventually I will probably fence them out, because they annoy me when I’m filling the feeders with hay). They like to scratch themselves on the corners of the lids, so naturally this is damaging the brittle-in-the-cold roofing. So I will likely need to rip off the roofing in summer and resort to paint. Oh well.
I wasn’t sure on paper how many ewes could fit at an eight-food feeder. I guessed six. It turns out, right now, eight sheep can comfortably eat at one feeder.
But we’ll see if that ratio changes when the ewes are in their last week of pregnancy and wide as trucks! Since they now have hay available all day, it’s less critical; sheep which are hungry can beat the rush and eat at alternate times to get their fill. But I plan to feed grain out of these things too, so wanted to make sure they could all eat at once.
The next challenge posed was mud control in front of the feeders since there is such frequent traffic. Before when I was feeding on the ground, this was less of a problem since they spread hay all over the place. But hay is expensive bedding! Now, I’ve been adding mulch and straw, to keep their footing reasonably non-mucky.
Overall, I’m really pleased with the design, Premier has really well-thought-out ideas. It saves labor, time, de-worming, and hay. I spent over $1K in the project, but it’s worth it to me. Now I have an extra 20 minutes every day to do something else besides a second delivery of hay!
February 9, 2013 at 9:47 am
Impressive!
February 9, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Sort of unrelated, but goats are kind of weird with minerals so I offer minerals out of my hand when I top up. If they’re greedy to eat them from my hand, it tells me they aren’t happy with the minerals in the feeder (too stale, too dirty, too something). Same thing with hay – if they’re greedy with it, they’re not “topped up.” And, yeah, those suckers will waste hay. In the barn, with cheap grass, it’s fine, they’re spreading bedding. But my frugal side cringes when I see expensive alfalfa strewn across the floor. It either means waste, using alfalfa as bedding, or ick, strewing alfalfa across the floor before nibbling on it (but NEVER before pooping on it!).
That’s a really nice design you’ve got there. Effective and good-looking. I’ll have to take a good look at the plans you referenced.
February 9, 2013 at 10:17 pm
harrietnw- and oof, these days, there is no longer “cheap” grass hay, it seems like it’s all worth gold! Those 4×4″ squares are amazing, it really limits them to only taking a modest mouthful, just enough to chew. Instead of grabbing half a flake, and then dragging it all over. :-\
Premier’s plans are fabulous- really well drawn and easy to understand, with a lot of good tips in the text, too. Those folks amaze me, they do such a great job of contributing to the industry with helpful materials. I know it’s good for business, but they just do an exceptional job at it.
February 10, 2013 at 3:46 pm
Gosh..nice work, we are just starting to look for plans for a fence line feeder…will show the husband…
February 10, 2013 at 10:08 pm
Now, all you need is a conveyor belt from the barn down to the feeders and at the feeder end some automatic unloaders that flip open the roofs and deposit the hay in the bins. All, of course, driven by your smartphone app you will have to write so this all happens remotely from any location in the world.
Seriously, nice job!
Dad
February 11, 2013 at 4:22 am
Oh, if only I could automate the rest of it, especially the lifting of 90 lb bales!
February 11, 2013 at 6:01 am
NIce job, Michelle! This is definitely on my list for this year’s improvements; I thought I had winter hay feeding figured out this year with a slow feeder box, but my smallest lambs were jumping into the box instead of eating from the sides – and pooping/peeing on the hay as they munched, soiling it so then none of them would touch it, even half full of hay. Lots of waste. I am really looking for something that’s “rub proof” too, since this becomes a real issue as winter progresses (wet wool itches!). With the added hurdle of trying to find a waste reducing feeder that also doesn’t ruin the fleece with v.m. (in fiber breeds), and allows access for horned animals, it’s been a challenge. Time to just drop the cash and do it right. Premier does a nice job, but since my set up and flock is so small, it just never seemed applicable. I’ve learned otherwise! Now to find a decent, moderately priced grass hay!
February 12, 2013 at 5:35 am
mcfwriter – oh, yes, I think their design addresses all of these things. The feeders are only eight feet long (and I suppose you could even cut that in half). So they are very scale-able. They have a slightly different design using a different welded wire panel that’s labeled for ewes- but the two designs are pretty similar. I think I chose the “ram” design because it was closer to the welded wire dimensions I got. But this design doesn’t seem huge, my sheep are mostly medium sized. I think it could serve fairly young lambs, and even very tall sheep could eat out of it just fine.
February 18, 2013 at 4:23 am
I also find Premier great at feeders and many ideas. We have used them too and so happy to be able to modify for our needs. You did a great job on your feeders!!
February 18, 2013 at 5:31 pm
Thanks Joan!
February 18, 2013 at 7:16 pm
I like the feeders–hay rings for round bales work only so well, as the sheep like to jump inside the ring once it is eaten down enough.
Unrelated question, but burning in my mind:
I have a ewe that lambed twins yesterday. The second twin has to be bottlefed because she refused to nurse her momma (long story, but she has been sold). The first twin is nursing enthusiastically, but only on one side! I have already drained the less favored side twice, to encourage the first lamb to nurse there, too. I have held down the momma and tried get the lamb to nurse the less favored side, to no avail. I am concerned about mastitis. Do you have any suggestions….?
February 19, 2013 at 3:24 am
Rebekah, I can only imagine- my sheep are pretty agile, so I could totally envision them getting inside a hay ring! And then probably getting stuck in there and being stumped about how to get back out! 😀
I have had singletons only nurse one side as well, and it is bad news and will risk triggering mastitis. Twins are desirable due to this factor alone. I’ve had some luck with milking out the full side, and after a few days, just being lucky that the lamb figured it out. Or, if you have the time, hang around and keep bumping the lamb off the good side until he’s forced to use the bad side and figures out it’s just as good. Lambs seem to get hard-wired in to whatever nursing method they learned worked well at first, so if you can force them to re-train, they can; but as more days go by, the less mentally flexible they become in this matter!
I’ve heard of some people using duct tape on a teat to keep lambs off of it, tho I haven’t done that myself. It sounds a little uncomfortable, but is probably less so than mastitis!
Good luck!
February 19, 2013 at 6:31 pm
I am six months pregnant, so I’ve opted for the easier option of taping the teat that the lamb likes. I am using a type of medical tape that physical therapists use, that is gentle on the skin, and adheres well (since I already have it). A local neighbor/veterinarian suggested that I at least milk the full side a few squirts twice daily, to help prevent mastitis, and I will do that if need be…but it is rather difficult to do by myself. Thank you for all your suggestions!
February 20, 2013 at 2:35 pm
That lamb was persistent! He did not care about the available side on the ewe after I taped off his favorite side. I did not want to cause more problems, so I took the tape off the ewe’s teat and am milking the extra-full side a few squirts twice a day with an iodine dip afterwards. Fortunately, the ewe finally figured out that I am trying to help her, and is struggling less each time I pin her against a wall.
February 21, 2013 at 3:17 am
Rebekah, I totally know what you mean, once lambs figure out one good nursing method, they are very inflexible about learning a different one! But you can force them with persistence. I bet if you let the lamb get hungry for several hours then hold him on the opposite teat, if he figures out that works, he may be willing to take it up.
I had to transition a couple of several-week old lambs onto a bottle after their mother died an accidental death, and it was an epic battle! They held out for several days, barely eating anything and fighting the bottle tooth and nail. But then, a switch will just flip in their minds, suddenly they get it, and they they are totally into it after that!
March 2, 2013 at 2:50 pm
I left that one teat taped all morning, and tried getting the lamb to nurse on the other side, but he still didn’t cotton to the idea. I ended up milking the ewe a few squirts twice daily on the full side, and dipping it in iodine once daily (for a week). Now about two weeks since she lambed, that side of her udder is drying up very well, with no mastitis!
March 3, 2013 at 2:13 am
Rebekah, glad it worked out!
September 6, 2014 at 3:07 am
Hey, Michelle, Are the feeders still holding up okay to the rain? I’m thinking about building something with your mods, but I want to use big bales and not mess with hay every day… so I don’t want 700+lbs of hay getting wasted to rain.
Thanks for all the pics. It’s hard for me to visualize it from Premiere’s diagrams. You did a great write-up on it!
September 6, 2014 at 3:24 am
Yes,they are doing great. It may be worth enclosing both ends fully, both to keep the sheep from pulling hay out of the sides & to keep rain out. I do find a small trickle of rain leaks in through the split openings in the roofs- which one could expect- but since I only feed daily amounts, they eat all the hay out of there before it has a chance to stay wet and mold. So I suppose something different would be needed if a larger amount was going to be left in there longer. I find that this design can fit maybe 1-2 small square bales per feeder, splitting them into flakes to spread out evenly, so I’m not sure how they’d handle large bales?
September 11, 2014 at 11:03 pm
Thank you!! I’m thinking about building it on skids with a metal one-piece roof and a higher back. We’ve been using a small bale feeder and love not messing with hay every day. The savings on big bales and the convenience of handling hay by tractor every couple of weeks… Time to build something. 🙂 Thanks!!