My $1.79 Mineral Feeder

Mesa Goat Man · #1 09/13/12, 07:11 PM

I saw the 4 inch PVC Wye Mineral Feeder somewhere on the web and decided I had to build one. So I spent about $15.00 building this one. My $1.79 Mineral Feeder - Goats

I really don't like it because you have to fill it too full so the goats can reach the minerals. The one I mounted in the bucks pen I had secured with an eye screw but they kept knocking it down.

I took a plastic vinegar jug and cut out the side opposite the handle. My $1.79 Mineral Feeder - Goats

I then took black tape and secured the plastic cap. You could just leave it open but it might create a venturi effect on windy days.

I then used a $1.79 aluminum snap hook to secure to the fence.
My $1.79 Mineral Feeder - Goats

This makes it easy to remove the jug if you want to clean it. I also use it for my baking soda. If you just fill it a little when it rains not much is wasted. We have to worry more about the wind then the rain and it has proven effective for that. And the bucks have not knocked it down. Yet.

topside1 · #2 09/13/12, 07:43 PM

Over time you will decided to use the PVC model again. Screw a block of wood under the bottom and also use a metal conduit strap to secure it to the pens wall. Also the upward pipe should be a lot taller to prevent climbing and to hold more mineral....Just a couple of pointers...Topside

topside1 · #3 09/13/12, 07:44 PM

Mesa Goat Man · #4 09/13/12, 08:11 PM

Way over kill IMO. Time will tell. Each to their own.

Ford Zoo · #5 09/13/12, 09:04 PM

Love the jug idea!! It's soooo in my price range

Clovers_Clan · #6 09/13/12, 09:22 PM

I love both ideas. Does anyone else here in the Southeast have any ideas to keep it from caking up? I can't leave it out but a couple of days, even in a tight dry barn. Same thing with baking soda. The humidity ruins it. We use a few grains of white rice in salt shakers to keep salt from caking in salt shakers. Would that work in a mineral feeder? White rice won't hurt the goats if they eat it, will it?

I usually put just a pinch of mineral and baking soda in the corner of the feeder with their grain. Nice reminder for them to take their vitamins! ;-)

andabigmac · #7 09/13/12, 10:23 PM

Slick!

FrogTacos · #8 09/14/12, 07:05 AM

I buy my baking soda in the 13lb bag from Sams Club - its sitting on a bench under my carport (where my goats can get it any time they want) I just roll the top down as they work on eating it. It doesn't get wet but they get debris in it from their faces. I don't do anything with it, they still eat it regularly, humidity doesn't seem to affect it or their desire to get in it.

My loose minerals are sitting on the ground right next to that bench, I just roll it down too. They dont ever dump the bags so its working very well for me.

nehimama · #9 09/14/12, 07:24 AM

Both are great ideas. I've also used an empty bucket with lid snapped in place. I cut an access hole in the side of the bucket, put in the minerals or baking soda, and use the bail (handle) to mount the bucket to the barn wall or to a stud. i love that folks share their great ideas here.

Pony · #10 09/14/12, 07:32 AM

Our minerals and baking soda often cake up, too, so I just keep the 50 pound bag of soda in the house (hey, it's not just for goats!) and keep the mineral outside in a big metal popcorn tin. We put it alongside their feed in the feed buckets.