Roofed Feeder Holds A Week's Worth Of Hay

Roofed Feeder Holds A Week s Worth Of Hay LIVESTOCK Beef I drive truck for a living and only get home once a week to my small beef cattle farm My home-built portable hay feeder holds enough hay for a week so I don t have to worry about my cattle running out of feed says Mike Wilson Mill Spring N C He made the 16-ft long feeder using industrial warehouse shelving racks tin off an old barn and an old trailer It can hold up to 5 round bales at a time The feeder s tin roof keeps the hay dry and it s portable which helps keep the ground from getting too muddy in one place says Wilson I got most of the materials free and spent a total of about $100 Comparable commercial feeders sell for $1 500 to $2 000 Each side of the feeder is made from 2 full shelving racks which in the warehouse stood vertically Wilson laid the racks sideways and bolted on diagonal cross members to keep cattle from dragging hay back out of the feeder Then he drilled holes in the trailer frame and bolted the racks onto it Two more shelving racks were bolted on top of the sides to support the roof The shelves bolt together where they meet at the top He cut off part of another rack and used it to build a slide gate on back The gate rides on a metal track and is removed to load bales The trailer s tongue hooks up to the tractor s 3-pt hitch To load bales Wilson raises the 3-pt to lower the back end of the trailer down to the ground Then he rolls round bales in by hand one at a time blocking each one so that it won t roll back Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mike Wilson 4360 Big Level Road Mill Spring N C 28756 ph 828 625-8220; alwilson24@thelearningcollege net

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