This is the first winter season that we are using our new hay feeder. In years past we have hayed the cows on the ground and in old tractor tires, but they always wasted so much of it. We already had a hay loft in the barn and thought it was finally time to make winter feeding easier and more efficient for us and to hopefully cut down on the amount of hay trompled and wasted.
We covered the back wall of the barn with tin to help protect it and my handy husband built a feeder out of long metal bars that look like rebar. We cut a hole in the hay loft, and now we can drop a bale of hay right down into the feeder... no more carrying them across the yard!
There is still some waste and we wonder if the bars shouldn't have been slightly closer together, but it is a vast improvement over ground feeding. The cows can reach their noses and tongues right through the bars. Cleanup has been easy this winter too with the addition of concrete in the barn area.
UPDATE: We added a wire cattle panel to the back side of the metal bars and it helps prevent even more waste!
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