Last fall, North Carolina farmer Johnny Pigg came up with a design for two "indestructible" cattle feeders. The idea works so well neighbors are now asking him to make the feeders for them.
"Cattle can't damage them and they'll never rust. And they were much cheaper to make than any comparable size commercial feeders I've seen," says Pigg.
He uses 20-ft. long sections of 24-in. dia. corrugated plastic culvert pipe that has a smooth inside surface. He cuts the pipe in half lengthwise with a chainsaw.
To the underside of each half he bolts three rubber tires -- one on each end, one in the middle -- so they lay flat on the ground.
Pigg then bolts 4-in. wide plastic pipe over the sharp edges.
The ends of the feeders are capped by pieces of 2 by 10-in. treated lumber that are bolted in place.
"The whole project took only an hour and a half or so," Pigg says. "Total cost for two 20-ft. feeders was much less, compared with the four 10-ft. commercial feeders would have cost. And these will last forever."