I thought I would share some pictures for the hay feeders I build that I use to feed my goats. The 2 sided feeder design allows for goats to eat from both sides of the feeder. It works great especially if there is a bossy goat who likes to have her own " private eating area". The other goats just walk around and eat from the other side.
I found the basic plans for the feeders online here
http://www.premier1supplies.com/img/instruction/30.pdf. I basically used the plans listed in the first 2 pages. The only thing I modified was the plans for that feeder called for the finished feeder to be 8' long. I decided to just build 2 feeders both 4' long using the same basic plans.
They work GREAT!!! Being only 4' long makes them easy to move around. Each day I drag the feeder a few feet ahead or to the side to avoid build up in one spot. Everything needed to build them was purchased at the local lumber store and at tractor supply. Bascially the cost to build both feeders was $100. I purchased a goat pannel at Tractor supply to use as the feed pannel. That was the highest costing item costing about $55. You only need one. I have used the 2 feeders (You can only see one though in the picture) for over a year now and they have held up great and I can't say enough good things about them. The goats can only fit their mouths in a short ways and can not pull out a lot of hay at a time. They waste a lot less. Don't worry that they won't be able to empty the feeders by not reaching all the hay as they can easily get it all out and empty the feeder if you allow them to do so. The goats also have to eat with their head's raised which they not only enjoy, but can help them from picking up worms. All though I feed round bales and just put loose hay in the feeders with a pitch fork, each feeder can easily hold 2 square bales. Chaff and seeds/dust fall out of the bottom of the feeder by design making it easy to clean. It took me about one full day of construction to build both feeders and it was not that hard at all.
This is what it looks like when everyone is eating. Goats can eat from both the front or the back of the feeder.
This is a nice view of one side that the goats eat from without a lot of heads in the way.
A view from the opposite side of the feeder.
This is looking from the end of the feeder. I add hay on this end. If I were to build another one of these I would make sure I had the end walled off with ply wood all the way up to the top. You will see why in the next picture.
This goat loves to jump up to the top of the feeder and reach her head in. If I had put ply wood all the way to the top she couldn't do this. I strongly urge anyone who wants to build one to add plywood on the whole end. This will help keep smart goats from doing this.
If anyone wants a great hay feeder that is pretty cheap to build, but works great and saves hay I would give this one a try!
