The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Pets & Working Animals => Horses, ponies, donkeys & mules => Topic started by: Rosemary on December 04, 2009, 07:55:14 pm

Title: Feeding hay slowly
Post by: Rosemary on December 04, 2009, 07:55:14 pm: For various reasons, I don't like feeding hay from haynets so I put Smokey's hay on the floor of his loose box. This is fine insofar as he doesn't waste any (the amount he gets is restricted to keep his weight down) but he eats it really quickly. The yard owner said he thought he had seen something that would help but he couldn't remember the name. It was basically a box with a mesh top; you fill the box with hay (or in Smokey's case 1/4 fill it!!) and put the mesh on top; as the horse pulls the hay out through the mesh it falls down.

I don't think it woudl be too hard to make something like this but if there is a product commercially available, I'd like to have a look at it.

Can anyone help?
Title: Re: Feeding hay slowly
Post by: daniellestocks on December 05, 2009, 07:08:06 pm: You can get them corner munching station thingys, you have the bars at the bottom and the feed manger sits on top, you could apply the same design but with mesh instead of bars?
pic from robinson
Hope it helps, Danielle x
Title: Re: Feeding hay slowly
Post by: little blue on December 06, 2009, 11:49:58 am: Search under goat mangers, they are suppose to cut down on waste, and may slow down your boy.
Title: Re: Feeding hay slowly
Post by: Rosemary on December 07, 2009, 04:26:28 pm: Found a USA thing called the "Slowdown Hay Feeder / Soaker" but can't find if it's available in the UK. Also a Hay Hutch, again USA.

May have to get one made...
Title: Re: Feeding hay slowly
Post by: milly molly on December 10, 2009, 11:30:44 pm: we did this for a while until we needed something bigger, an old bread delivery basket or similar and a car elasticated cargo net clipped on over, works fine.

mandy ;D
Title: Re: Feeding hay slowly
Post by: Hellybee on February 28, 2010, 08:42:28 pm: I have heard of people putting one net inside the other, or use a small hole haylage net ? :D
Title: Re: Feeding hay slowly
Post by: daniellestocks on March 01, 2010, 04:58:00 pm: Out of curiosity rosemary, did you make something??
Title: Re: Feeding hay slowly
Post by: Hellybee on March 02, 2010, 09:02:15 pm: Ooops sorry I shouldve read the thread properly ::)
Title: Re: Feeding hay slowly
Post by: Rosemary on March 02, 2010, 09:35:44 pm: Not yet. I found a feeder called the Hay Hutch but it's quite expensive. There were a few ideas on You Tube - mainly wooden boxes with either haylage nets secured inside them or with weld mesh tops that go down as the hay drops down. I think we'll be able to fashion something once we move north. No doubt it will feature on TAS somewhere.