The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: Carl f k on May 15, 2013, 08:40:31 pm
-
Does anyone use one? I am thinking of making one ..so they all eat from it because willow wont let holly in the shed where the feeder is now, also what about the hay getting wet with this gawjus British weather, will they eat it wet? Thanx for any advice :bouquet:
-
What does Holly do at night if Willow won't let her in? And during the day if it rains? I had a goat here who was not liked by mine and they wouldn't let her in.
Maybe you'd be better dividing the shed. Willow couldn't guard two doors at once.
-
Shed is divided so I move willow and allow holly so go in, leave her in there if it raining but let her outside in the dry got water outside but not hay but she's not left on her own long so won't starve
-
You can make a covered outdoor hay rack - have a look on ebay or some of the smallholder sales sites for design ideas. I don' t think eating wet hay is a good idea due to potential mould spores etc :-\
-
Can't you put two racks inside? I tried the sheep hay feeder but they waste so much it ends up as bedding all round the feeder and grass gets ruined. If you could make one with tray below the rack to catch fallout it would work. Mine liked sitting on it too. I hang racks on hurdles so they can access both sides.
-
Can you divide the shed by using hurdles down the middle? that way you can insist both goats are in - tempting with food etc - then close each pen for a few nights while they get used to being together. Bribery works well with goats I've found! If you can get hold of some aromatherapy oil of rose, waft the bottle around (no drops anywhere, just the smell is enough) - calms them down
-
There's room for 3 devids in there so mite do that so I can keep kids off mum at nite
-
We attached a wide-slat pallet to the front of our field shelter, which we stuff with hay, and it works grand.
The tin roof overlaps quite far at the front so that stops it getting wet from above but we are in the Irish lake district, the land of horizontal rain, and it still stays dry.
-
I have a couple of those 'hook on the gate' type hayracks for outside and I made wooden lids for them, just 'hinged' by drilling three or four holes along the back edge and putting fencing wire through. Yeah, it rains far too much here to have hayracks outside without lids.
Even so, I think making some divides inside your shed, so they can each eat and sleep peacefully, is a good idea :thumbsup:
Here Ellie used to attack Rowan. I penned them side by side, with a (very strong) wire mesh panel between them. They had some humdingers of head-butting fights through the mesh partition! But it survived, they calmed down and now Rowan has accepted her underdog status, they choose to sleep peacefully near each other and Ellie actually starts calling if she can't see Rowan.
-
When I first got Cloud I put hurdles across the back of the shed so I could keep her separate from the other two until they got used to each other and rigged hurdles across the yard so she could have some time outside. She spent her entire time getting through the barriers so she could be with the others. They butted her a bit but she persisted and now they lie down together.
-
after looking at the prices for proper outdoor feeders, we recycled the drum from an old tumble drier! Works a treat as it already has ventilation holes on the bottom and won't rust