How to make a sheep feeder

Sheep are animals that almost always feed exclusively on dry feed, silage and various root crops. The main problem with this diet is that food tends to get enough sleep from the feeder when the animal eats. That’s why a sheep feeder is needed, which will minimize “extra” feed consumption. Not every farmer knows how to build do-it-yourself feeders for sheep.

Content
  1. Materials from which feeders can be made
  2. Feeder from arena
  3. Feeder from metal
  4. Feeder for dry food
  5. Some secrets for a good feeder
  6. Feeding trough – nursery

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DIY sheep feeder

Materials, from which feeders can be made

Sheep feeders are usually made at home by farmers themselves, since finding suitable containers for food it’s difficult, and if you find it, it will be expensive. That’s why it’s easier to build a structure with your own hands at hand. Such materials can be used:

  • any wooden boards or bars;
  • playpens;
  • any possible metal sections.

Experienced farmers advise using wooden bases.

  • You will need 4 wooden beams, the length of which is at least 130 cm, and the thickness is at least 60 x 60 mm.
  • Two beams must be fastened together with a cross, and then with a good support. The main support will be attached to the center, and on the sides of it there will still be fastenings of cross-shaped supports. If you turn the finished structure over, you can see the V-shape of the entire support.If it doesn’t work, something was not correctly attached, it is better to start all over again, following all the instructions.
  • When all the fasteners are installed correctly, you need a small block, the approximate size of which should be 40 x 40 mm. Such slats need to be nailed to each other at a distance of 26-31 cm.

In fact, a lot depends on what exactly you are going to feed your pets. The sheep’s head will easily crawl through such openings, the animal will be able to get hay, grass and oats, but the other food will remain all in the feeder and will not lie on the floor (ground).

Feeder from the arena

A sheep feeder can be lighter and more practical. If the old playpen is littered with the house, you don’t need to do anything, since the drinking bowl is almost ready. In order to build a large bowl for animals, both plastic and wooden playpen are suitable. Most farmers recommend putting the playpen on any platform with an approximate height of 60 cm. It will be much easier for sheep to get any food, especially hay, grass, oats. At the same time, other smaller food does not get enough sleep and the animal does not trample on it.

If the place for feeding the sheep is on the street or near the corral, it is best to equip the canopy so that the food does not get wet and does not spoil.Due to the fact that the arenas of the old production are made so that the planks between them are 6-10 cm apart, some will need to be removed so that the lambs can comfortably eat. The best option is 10 cm between the planks.

Metal feeder

Many farmers may accidentally find metal sections at home from a peak-shaped fence or old lattice from the window. These materials are great in order to build an excellent feeding trough for sheep. At the same time, such a metal base, and later on the design, is the most reliable, durable and strong. This design can withstand wind, frost, rain and snow.

  • Metal parts (2 sections from the fence and 2 bars on the windows) must be connected to each other at an angle of 90 °, for this welding is needed .
  • In order for the base itself to be completely stable, you need to attach 4 additional supports to it.
  • Put such a feeder with a “skate”, after having welded 4 supports to it.

The appearance of such a feeder is very interesting and beautiful, it is suitable for any type of feeding, including hay and oats. The main plus of the drinking bowl is that the owner can independently adjust its size. If you need to build a small bowl, it makes sense to take small metal bases, if large – the opposite.

When keeping a large herd, you can make several long bowls at once and connect them together.It is extremely important to correctly calculate the number of holes and sheep. There must be 2 sheep per hole. They can calmly eat in turn. In addition, the same system can make mobile, portable, compact feeders. It is advisable to make them for 1-2 sheep and folding. This is especially useful when traveling with pets, for example, at an exhibition or during grazing. Little sheep cannot always get their own food, so such feeders are very useful.

Dry food feeder

Veterinarians advise you to constantly give dry food to the sheep:

  • grain bases;
  • ears of corn;
  • silage;
  • various root crops.

Unfortunately The above feeders are not very suitable for this. It is better to do others for this type of feeding. For this type of bowls, wooden boards and bars are needed. What sizes they will be decided only by the farmers themselves, starting from the size of the herd and the premises where they are kept.

  • The first thing to do is to connect wide and oblong troughs with the help of large nails. They can be attached to the sheep’s convenience in front with a small and narrow wooden line.
  • Then stable and wide legs must be nailed to such a structure so that the sheep can’t turn the feeders over, sprinkle all the food on the floor and methodically trample it in the ground.

In winter, you need to give sheep food on schedule, because in the cold season they should have stability and constant food. In any case, the feeder should always be filled so that they have unhindered access to it.

All types of silage and root crops should be given only in the room where the animals are kept, as they can freeze in the feeder on the street, and then stick to the wooden base. These types of feeders and a variety of do-it-yourself drinking bowls for farmers will cost inexpensively and be convenient for both animals and owners.

A few secrets for a good feeder

If you carefully look at the behavior of sheep and sheep, you can replace the fact that they choose each blade of grass for 20 minutes. That is why it is best to make a separate feeding trough for each feed so that the animals themselves can regulate their diet. In addition, the feeder can actually be made according to the drawings, which was designed for one-time feeding. Its essence is that the average volume of one feeding is 250-300 g. Sheep should have enough of such feeding.

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Secrets of a good feeder

When the first portion is eaten, the second immediately pours automatically. Of course, there is also a minus here: it is difficult to calculate so that the second and third servings are eaten not by one sheep, but by three different ones.But such feeders are interesting in that after all, 300 g of dry food for lambs is the norm, and they are full. The construction of this type of feeder will relieve the owner of all the hassle. He will only have to feed the food a couple of times a day.

The manger

The manger is one of the most popular manger options. They can be constructed in 20 minutes. Moreover, this is a universal option, as it is suitable for absolutely any type of feed. It is made of simple racks, on which, in turn, one solid bottom is attached, it is better that it is made of wood or metal. If you want to use metal, you must make sure that the animal does not get hurt. The ideal distance between the bars of the gratings is 10 cm. They must be installed with a slope inside. For concentrated feed, it is necessary to produce gutters with an upper width of 15 cm, the bottom should be 13 cm, and a depth of 12 cm. Pay attention to the “instructions”:

  • Such a feeder must have a bottom, preferably made made of wood.
  • The distance between the slats should be about 10 cm.
  • If you feed the livestock with concentrated feed, the gutter is made as follows: width – 15 cm, depth – 12 cm.
  • If stands for such a feeding trough are meant, their height should be 10 cm.

For small Little lambs feeder is built a little differently.It is made in the form of a large wooden trough on a stand, the height of which is 10 cm. Small slats are clogged from above so that the pets could not spread the feed throughout the territory. In total, 26 linear centimeters are calculated for an adult sheep, 16 centimeters for a lamb. The main thing is that all the materials are safe and the sheep in no way could get hurt about them. Of course, the materials must be environmentally friendly. Do not use bars or metals that were previously chemically treated.

Do-it-yourself sheep feeder.
Volgograd Edilbay LLC. Hay feeder in winter.
Lamb
tire feeder

Do-it-yourself feeder is a simple and cheap way to do exactly what is perfect for your animals and the area where they live, and also help to save significantly on feed.

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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