The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: PipKelpy on November 22, 2021, 06:14:12 pm
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I like my cratches, sheep & cattle also manage and the 4ft ones I can wheel out of the quagmire when it appears.
However, Knickers has long legs, Mary is shorter but she too can stretch her neck, then tongue.
To make life easier for the Wiltshire Horns, I am considering (if I can find one in the area and my price range (I doubt)) purchasing a sheep ring feeder for horned sheep. HOWEVER, the only type I can find that horned sheep suit are the horizontal bars kind, apparently the tombstone cattle type, doesn't come in sheep version.
If I could find a decent feeder, has anyone, who runs cattle in with horned sheep (do any of you??) cut off the top horizontal bars and the uprights so that the feeder is low enough for the cows to reach over? I ask as my larger cratches, when the bull was here on his "holiday" earlier this year, to save my cratches, I opened the lids on the 2 that slid right to the floor and when he wasn't by them, the sheep nibbled. But that was 5 sheep, now there are an additional 8 WH hopefully to lamb in Jan/Feb time.
Or has anyone made a horned sheep feeder that cows can stretch into? They all live happily together but not all the cratch lids slide to floor and no I cant remove them.
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we use the horizontal bar version for our woodlands No problem at all
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Are the cattle also horned?
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Are the cattle also horned?
No, thankfully! I know some folk don't mind horns..... But I'm pleased mine don't have them. Have many a happy memory of grabbing Williams (bull) horns and asking him to shift his head when we were wanting to put a bale of silage into the rings. Him, Kneeler and The Ayrshire all had horns and you can bet when it came to grub time, those 3 would be in the way. Happy days!
So far, we're looking at making a feeder by cutting 2 calf hurdles down for the length and dad thinks scaffold boards for the ends. The calf hurdles are the ones with 8 bucket slots, so I'm thinking grind off the slots and anything that sticks out and make the 8 head holes 4. They are 2 of the most solid hurdles I've ever seen. It's sacrilege in a way to do it but they won't be used otherwise. We also have an almost brand new cow ring that mum says use each half for the cows and shove the hurdle on the back of it. This was purchased in preparation for when our 2, 20 yr rings rotted. They never really did as we looked after them and sold them couple of years ago. I can see what I want but making it is something else!
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Okay, if the cattle aren't horned then the horizontal bar type would work, I think. If the gaps are big enough for cattle heads to get in, you may find that sheep can climb in once it starts to get more empty, but tbh that shouldn't be a massive problem, and will still waste less than alternatives.