My homemade mineral feeders

[PrettyPaisley]

I finally broke down and went looking for DIY mineral feeders that would be very difficult to destroy or poop in - and I think I found it. Now if I can only convince my almost 4 year old DD that she is not to play in the minerals and salt!

The picture is of celtic sea salt and Right Now Onyx minerals. We have the pipe but not the "Y" attachments to make two more; one for baking soda and one for Thorvin kelp. I so hope this method will ensure consistent feedings and help with parasites. We've had such a hard time this summer keeping them healthy!!



Those guys are 3 of the 4 kids we kept; our wether Rusty, Rosabell, and Sookie. Rusty and Sookie have a scur since it was my 1st year disbudding and Rosabell still has her horns because I didn't expect to keep her.

[nehimama]

Looks great!

[BlueRose]

I have a friend made something similar for chickens.

[Backfourty,MI.]

They look good, you did a great job.

[parrotman]

They're beautiful and in theory, you would think they would work. Now let me burst your bubble. I made the exact feeders that you made.
I no longer use them. The first thing I discovered is that they are very wasteful of product.
Everything below the "Y" is wasted as the goats cannot get their head/mouths in very far and essentially can only eat what is in the actual opening. If you put something in the bottom of the feeder to fill the voided space, it makes them very heavy.
If you fill the tubes entirely with product, you'll find that humidity and moisture get to the product and it clumps and is no longer viable or palatable to your goats. Yes, I kept mine indoors...never were used outdoors.
It could have just been me and my experience, but I would suggest living with these for a while before you make the other feeders.
But yes, they are very attractive!

[Bret]

They look nice.

I wonder if you could mix up a small amount of concrete and fill the bottoms up to a good level.

[parrotman]

I wonder if you could mix up a small amount of concrete and fill the bottoms up to a good level.

You can. I did. They weigh a ton.

[CJBegins]

I made one. In addition to the problem parrotman noted above, I found that the minerals would pour out once an avalanche got started.

I really wanted it to work. I then went to a 5 gallon bucket(that is what I had available) and cut a hole about 4" from the bottom and hang that in their pen under shelter.

[o&itw]

A couple of suggestions. If you use a "plug" in the bottom of the "y" instead of the section of pipe and cap, it will leave a lot less room to fill up with unused minerals. They do make them, go to a plumbing supply instead of a big box store. You could also use a cylinder of wood to bring up the bottom to the correct level, which would weigh less than the mineral itself, so no weight problem. It doesn't have to fit perfectly, a little mineral getting down the sides won't hurt.

If a cut-down 5 gallon bucket will work for a mineral feeder. you can place the pipe a partial way down into the bucket, and it will work the same. (think chicken feeder)

If you can find a three gallon bucket, it might work even better. I have one , but I don't remember what came in it.

Not being critical of you idea, they look great, but making some suggestions that might counteract some of the downside above posters have mentioned.

[coso]

I have used mine like that for years now. Just put some small rocks in the bottom of them to fill up that dead space. Don't fill them with mineral to the top. Depending on how many goats you have limit how much you put in so it doesn't cake up. Yes they will draw moisture, it's mineral with salt in it. It doesn't matter where you put it it's going to draw moisture. The plug is a good idea also.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I built one, too. Made a wooden plug for the bottom to fill up that lower wasted space. After humidity got to the minerals, the goats quit eating it, the part above the Y turned to rock, and it's now a wall decoration.

It will work great if you just put a half a cup in the Y every couple of days!

[anita_fc]

I love our mineral feeders like that, but I live in a fairly dry climate (high desert, southern Idaho). A friend made them for me, and he installed a wooden plug in the bottom. Mine also have caps at the top, so I've had no trouble with moisture getting in. Our highest humidity this summer was about 74%, but they go through higher humidity in the winter and spring just fine without packing.

[coso]

I put caps on mine also.

[Doug Hodges]

I just put the Right Now Onyx and the backing soda in hanging feeders and put them in the stalls of the barn.

[Awnry Abe]

Looks good to me, PP. I hope you can make some tweaks, if needed, to make them work. If not, just do what I do and go out with a feed scoop and refill bins as needed (pretty much daily).

[PrettyPaisley]

So far they are working okay. The goats and cows are going through them so fast there is little time for caking. And so far no big spills ... so I'll keep using them until they don't work anymore.

When I try to put them in open containers I find I constantly have to scoop berries out. I was hoping this would be located in a spot where they didn't feel the need to back into it and poop, you know?

[lovinglife]

I filled the bottome mine with wadded up paper. Works great, I have a cap on mine, fill it up, have 0 waste. We live in the high desert so not much humidity here. Might be one reason why it works so good here.

[Allen W]

Good looking deer feeders

[o&itw]

They seem pricey, but I visited several commercial breeders this last week and they all swear by these:

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.h...2-00b0d0204ae5

I was further advised that goats love to stand on mineral feeders, and the ones that are made similar to this by other vendors will break or collapse after a while. They implied that the goats would slide off of these but really didn't go into the reason they lasted so well. Two of them showed me similarly made mineral feeders of a different brand where the rubber tops were broken. (don't know the brand, the body of the feeder was orange)

[Doug Hodges]

Originally Posted by Allen W

Good looking deer feeders

That's exactly what they are. I was going to mention that. But you beat me to it. I've used several in the woods. They work great. Between the deer and the squirrels, they get emptied and nothing ever goes bad in them.