The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: OhLaLa on January 13, 2014, 12:44:03 pm
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Our sheep love to sit in their hay. I'd rather they ate it.
So, as I've got quite a few horse hay racks I am wondering if they might be suitable for the sheep?
Three designs (can't think of a way to describe better):
Corner, galvanised, upright fronted.
Corner, galvanised, squared fronted.
Wall, galvanised, squared fronted
My concern is that the upright style might get a lambs head stuck, and the square style might get a leg stuck. The square type are very similar in style to the ones that are double sided for use on hurdles/gates (except mine are single sided and fix to a wall/barn).
Does anyone have any experience of using these, if ok to use, at what height?
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I'm assuming these are for indoor use? If so, any would be ok but I'd avoid corner ones as you can't get as many heads around a corner rack (or maybe use more than one). And if you are worried about the size of the holes, line it with some square mesh wire that has smaller holes. And put a lid on it to stop any stupid animals jumping in. :)
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I have used corner and straight hay racks on the field shelter walls. The sheep use them with no problem but I would sight them so the lowest part is at head height - to avoid grass seeds falling in their eyes :thumbsup:
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Can you put a wooden shelf with a small lip below the rack? A lot of the stuff that normally ends up on the floor will be caught in it and then you can simply put in back in the rack.
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We have used a wall mounted horse hay rack for 2 years now with no problems with stuck heads or feet. We mounted it so its a head height with a small gap above so they couldn't jump in the top of it.