My leukemia's back.

[Bunnylady]

I made my own hay nets out of baling twine, with openings that are about 2 inches square. The horses have to work a little harder to get the hay out; it takes them a lot longer to eat the hay I give them. They eat from the bag first, then vacuum up the scraps - we waste very little hay. There are a lot of designs for "slow feeders," some are as simple as a box you put the hay bale in, and a weighted frame with fence wire stapled to it that sits on the hay and goes down as the hay gets eaten .

 

[N F C]

@hbhoffman - I have a question about the no-waste feeders. I can see how it works; no problems there. My question has to do with "dead spots;" places that the food settles into that the chickens can't reach. See, we have huge humidity issues here; for 30 years I have had to deal with rabbit food that goes moldy in 3 days during warm weather, so I wondered - how often do you have to clean this feeder out?

DH made a couple of feeders similar to hbh's. With our humidity and moldy feed issues, I only fill it enough to cover the PVC pipes, that's enough for our 12 girls to eat off for a few days. When it's almost out, I dump the crumbs out where they can scratch for it, wipe it all clean, inside & out, and fill again. In the winter time, I can fill it up higher because it's too cold for the feed to mold.

Wish we could come up with something similar for our rabbits because we have the same issue with their feed...it goes moldy fast.

 

[N F C]

I made my own hay nets out of baling twine, with openings that are about 2 inches square. The horses have to work a little harder to get the hay out; it takes them a lot longer to eat the hay I give them. They eat from the bag first, then vacuum up the scraps - we waste very little hay. There are a lot of designs for "slow feeders," some are as simple as a box you put the hay bale in, and a weighted frame with fence wire stapled to it that sits on the hay and goes down as the hay gets eaten .

Our 4 goats waste a lot of hay, I'm going to pass that slow feeder on to DH and see what he can work out with that idea. Thanks!

 

[hbhoffman]

Hi all! Not really experienced in the horse or bunny dept...Ever seen the no waste chicken feeders that they have to step on? Wonder if there is a horse version of that for hay (or bunnies)? Also wonder if an old rope type hammock would work?
As to the chicken version, it gets cleaned out at the end of a full bucket. Since it is pellets and stays dry, no mold usually occurs. It does get left outside rain or shine on a cement block so it is exposed but with a tight lid and sealed pipe, no water gets in. By the time they gets to the bottom it is pretty well cleaned out as the food keeps falling all to the bottom. Someday I am going to cut a hole on the side and silicone a piece of plexiglass near the bottom so the feed level can be seen. It would be awesome to have a plexiglass version of this!
Bunnylady, Would a bunny be able to use one of these?? Wonder if you could make a more rectangular version of this with an opening on a lip instead?

 

[Bunnylady]

It's plastic - you have to be careful about plastic around rabbits, because they will chew it up.

There are several styles of hopper-type feeders, and I have had the same problem with all of them. A few pieces will settle in a corner, and get moldy, then a few more stick to them, and a few more; I bang on the feeders and peer into them every day to try to head the process off.

 

[donrae]

I get to go home today!!! Feeling so much better and anxious to be in my own space. And no PICC line for a week or so, so I can hop in the shower without the elaborate arm waterproofing. Yippee!!

 

[sourland]

Home sounds good.,

 

[N F C]

Yay, that's great news Rachel! Glad to hear it!

 

[FridayYet]

Wonderful - Sounds like you are on the mend! Hope you are getting some energy back as well.

 

[lazy gardener]