[Womble]

As per the title really.  I plan to make some hay racks a bit like this



or this



But most of the ones I've seen people actually using have trays underneath like this



or ingeneously this:



What do you think?  Is the tray underneath required to prevent wastage, and does it work for this?

If I do need one, it would be easier to incorporate into the design now than to add later.

Cheers!

[mowhaugh]

Yes, to help prevent wastage - doesn't totally stop it, but certainly reduces it, I would put one on.

[SallyintNorth]

Yes, reduces wastage.  But try to make it so that it doesn't create a ledge the greediest can use as a foothold to reach up and over the others

If you're interested in your fleeces  , then trying to get them to eat from the sides, and have plenty of space per mouth, is a big help.  Any setup where one sheep drags hay out over the top of another, or reaches up to pull hay out above its own head, drops hay seeds and other debris in the neck wool

[Rosemary]

The ones we have are almost at ground level so seeds don't fall into eyes and into fleece (well, less so anyway). Also remember that sheep (and cattle and ponies) are physically designed to eat from ground level not from above their heads (I know they browse from time to time but you get my point).

[Slimjim]

I have a hay rack that was something else once but works well. Unfortunately I have just one like it. It is a rectangular cage of 4" x 3" weld mesh with vertical sides; a hay bale exactly fits inside so easy to load and remove the twines. I have made a hinged lid and it sits on half a pallet to keep it off the ground. So while very little gets on to the sheep's head, neck etc. the waste is strewn around the base.
The problem with trying to re- use hay spilled into a tray underneath is that unless the lid extends well beyond the rack, the tray will collect rain that blows in from the side and the hay will be wet.

[Marches Farmer]

If I was making one (we have the wheeled IAE hayracks that are like a rectangular wheelbarrow, with lid and tray) I'd have the lid jutting out more.  This would provide more rain proofing and stop sheep climbing on top of each other as there'd be no point.  If you have holes drilled in the tray it won't be wet enough for the hay to rot.  I always pick up the hay in the tray every time I fil the rack and put it back inside anyway.  I'd also make the rack the correct size to take a whole small bale - that way you'd just need to snip and pull off the baler twine rather than wrestle with armfuls of the stuff..

[waterbuffalofarmer]

what about just using a round sheep bale feeder, I find they're the best to use and only set you back about 70-80 ££s each.

[Whittsend]

If you are making your own feeder putting a waste tray on sounds like a really good idea.  I had so much hay waste from my three Ryelands last year, feeding from the ground, that I spent ages trying to work out why this was happening and how I could reduce the waste but not cost me a fortune.  When I put hay on the ground they were so busy pushing each other out of the way and walking all over the hay as they did so, that very soon they had spoilt the hay and wouldn't eat it. This year I have bought a four feet long, hook onto a hurdle, hay feeder from our local Wynnstay store.  I keep a six by six (with one side normally open) hurdle pen in their field,  for any inspections/ treatments,  and have hung the feeder on the outside of one of the sides.  The four sheep choose which side to feed from  (I now have a very cheeky, castrated, welsh mountain  ram lamb  in with my ewes). As Sally recommends, they have plenty of space per mouth. My Ryeland heads are too big to go through the bars of the hurdle from the inside but the welsh does poke his head through sometimes if he goes to that side. I worried about  it at first, but he doesn't have horns to get stuck and seems to go in and out easily. Only a small amount of hay ends up on the floor and that gets hoovered up quickly, after the hay in the rack has gone because, I assume,  no dirty feet have been trampling it.  It is working well for me, at a fraction of the cost of any free standing feeder, with or without waste tray, that I could find.

[Bramblecot]

Yes to a tray,  a lid, enough space and large enough to take a small bale easily .  If you feed hard food it can be put in the tray and there's space for all to get a share.  I can't believe it when I see food just thrown on the ground to be trampled

[Crofterloon]

I also use the hay racks with trays to feed lambs pellets, if you use a trough there is always lambs that stand above the trough and pee or foul the feed.

[Womble]

Oh 'eck. I was worried you'd all say that, and now I'm not sure what to use for the tray. I'm sure I must have something lying around though - will go and look once it's stopped snowing!

Also remember that sheep (and cattle and ponies) are physically designed to eat from ground level not from above their heads.

It's funny you should say that. Searching google came up with this design of 'slow box feeder' for horses.



The idea is that they eat as out of a trough, but have to pull the hay up through the mesh, so I guess there should be no wastage at all.



I just wonder if I can adapt the idea so it would work for the sheep?

[SallyintNorth]

I'd be very frightened of that design with sheep.  If it's low enough for them to eat from the top, they'll jump on top of it and their legs will go through the gaps 

[Marches Farmer]

Absolutely, and then there's the likelihood of eartags getting ripped out.  While I take the point on feeding from ground level don't let's forget about the way sheep love to graze from the hedge and, in the case of our BF's, use a well-choreographed routine where one uses another's back to reach a branch and pull it down so they can all feast.

Also with this design wood in contact with well ground will rot very quickly.

[Womble]

Oh well, back to the drawing board, and thanks for saving me from my own bright ideas, both of you! 

[SallyintNorth]

That's what you call a goat-in-a-manger, eh?!