"Automatic" Feeder Knocks Silage, Hay Loose

"Automatic" Feeder Knocks Silage, Hay Loose LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment 24-1-30 "It used to take four and a half hours a day to feed my cows. Now it takes no more than a half hour," says Todd Amthor who came up with a new low-maintenance automatic hay and silage feeder. The feeder consists of a swinging gate fitted with "prongs" that automatically knock hay or silage loose. The Swift Current, Sask., rancher loads 80 2,000-lb. round bales, processed with a tub grinder, into the 30-ft. wide by 60-ft. long feed area. "That's enough to feed 100 to 120 cows for a month to six weeks," he says. The main frame of the 66-in. high swinging gate is made out of 3 1/2-in. dia. drill stem. It's suspended by hooks at either end that hang from rails along the side of the feed area. The gate slides back and forth freely. There are four equally spaced 6-ft. long, 7/8-in. dia. prongs made out of sucker rod on the top of the gate. They knock hay loose as cattle push inward, rocking the gate in and out. "A bolt-and-slide stop on the side of the gates controls feed rate by moving the gate in along the frame as the pile gets eaten. Besides manure management, all you do is reset the stops on the gates every three or four days and the feeder does the rest," says Amthor. Amthor has patented the design and hopes to be building both larger and smaller versions of the self feeder soon. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Todd Amthor, 451 2nd Ave. NW, Swift Current, Sask., Canada S9H 0P8 (ph 306 773-9683; E-mail: damthor@t2.net).

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