What pigs these goats are!! They are wasting too much hay!! My father has recently retired and is looking for things to do. WooHoo, hey dad, here's my list! I'd like plans for a wooden hay rack that can be wall mounted with a flat bottom to catch the alfalfa leaves that fall and diagonal slats for their heads to fit through. I've searched several of my goat books, but just can't find what I need. Can anyone direct me to a web site or specific book or goat periodical with info? Many thanks.

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), August 30, 2001

Answers

Charleen, go to horsepasture.homestead.com and look at the sheep/goat feeder they offer. I know people who have one and it really does cut down on the waste. You woulnd't believe how much hay (money!)it saves! The heart of the feeder is a grate that fits over the hay and the animal puts its muzzle, not its whole head through to eat. It can only get a mouthful at a time, not a whole flake to pull out onto the ground. I do recommend putting the top on it. Yes, the goats will play on that, but better that than standing in the hay. One thing I like about it is that the animals' heads aren't locked in so that if they get shoved aside or butted, they aren't trapped to take more abuse.

With a little imagination, it's a simple thing to put together a box with lid and make up some sort of grate with a wooden frame and rebar scraps or similar material to make the grate.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), August 31, 2001.

The trick with goats, which of course only works if they are hornless, is to have them put their heads through something, keyholes, cattle panels, wooden slats to get to the hay, which is then trapped behind, smaller wooden slats, the small hog panel type squares, or even chain link. The tray idea never works on the outside of the hay feeder like it should on paper, because the goats use it for stepping on, kids use it for laying on, and actually starts you worm cycle all over again. It holds the leaves, which the goats like the best, which then are full of worm and cocci nasties that the babies then eat! We are building a new hay feeder for the older doe pen, I am going to use the small hog type cattle panel, the hay that is wasted is going to get picked up and fed to the donkeys. Don't even bother using the larger type cattle panel squares, the waste is about as much as if you just threw it into the barn! For us the hardest group of animals to build for is the bucks, in rut there necks swell to such massive size they then can not fit their heads into anything the does can. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), August 31, 2001.

I use a feed sack for a horse. I let the goats pick out what they want then I feed what is left to the horses, and cow. We also have a hay rack in the barn for them. It didnt work out very well. They climb up the hay rack to eat out of the top, making it hard to keep it nailed to the wall. They hay tack is made out of a piece of a cow panel, hung at an angle with boards. So the top is open and the botton is against the wall. I tried a pan to catch the alfalfa. It was mounted on the wall, but they use it for a toilet so that didnt work. Plenty of alfafla is left in the sack so I just dont worry about it any more.I just give the sack to another animal the next feeding and give the goats a new sack. Goats can be contrairy you know. Keep the sack high enough the goats cant pee on it, and be sure they are healthy to prevent spreading anything throught your animals. I also rehab deer. I feed deer with a hay sack also.They eat like a deer. They eat the stuff the horses dont like anyway. Dock, weeds... It just helps out a lot. There is not much wasted hay this way.

-- the pooles (mpoole@link2000.net), September 03, 2001.