For our pastures, we use Tartar Hay Baskets with a “lid” that is slow feed netting on a steel ring (secured to the basket with bucket straps at each leg). We easily load four square bales into the feeder at a time (three bales stacked on top of each other, and flakes from the fourth stuffed around the sides), though I have occasionally stuffed in 5 or 6. No waste, and multiple horses can eat from the feeder at the same time. Nice to only have to deal with hay a couple times a week instead on twice daily. In our stalls we use Freedom Feeder extended day nets.
Thanks…As I’m sure you noticed, all of the feeders we use outside have the netting attached to a frame or lid that opens for easy refilling. Like you, we refill our outside feeders every 2-3 days.
For the items I re-purpose as hay feeders, I use Pex or PVC for the net frames simply because both are low cost, easy to work with as well as easy to source. In the event of a failure, both are easy to fix. After 2 months of use, we had a PVC elbow break on one of the crate feeder frames. The total repair cost was 26 cents and 3 minutes to remove and replace with a new elbow.
Both types of our stall feeders are smaller versions of the net frames used outside. Besides size, the only difference is they’re mounted to the stall wall vs a box or trough.
Bluey, they are homemade lids. We had a local welding shop make the ring. I added hockey netting (attached with lacing cord), and bucket straps that slip through holes in the basket and snap to ropes tied at the top of each of the four legs. Here is a photo from several years ago, and they are still going strong:
Brian: how do you get the pvc shaped to match the inside lip of the water trough? Would it be feasible to make a 5’ ring out of pvc? That would be lighter than the steel piping I’m using…
I saw something that you put into a haybag that helps you fill it easily and not get the hay stuck in the netting. Can someone give me the link to that. I can’t remember where I saw it. It was some kind of flat thing that held the netting out so the hay could slide in easily. thank you in advance.
