I recently purchased 3 XL Porta Grazers for my horses that need their hay soaked …Website recommends the 6 hole tray for soaking hay or those that need their hay rationed and is for any hay type …so far I love it for the ease of use when soaking …however all 3 of mine seem to get the tray /lid with the holes that goes on top off pretty easily …then they have full access to all their hay and it makes a huge mess if they pull it out …while the lid is on I’m also finding that they’re pulling a good amount of the hay through the holes and have a pile of it out on top of the tray which defeats the purpose?? Is this supposed to happen ? Am I doing something wrong ??
My horse gets his lid off maybe every other month or so. When you line up the tabs and insert the lid, how far are you turning it after inserting? I find I need more than a 1/4 turn but less than 1/2 or he can get the lid off, but the barn workers sometimes don’t spin it that far. Watching him eat out of it, he can turn the lid with his mouth as he eats - he’ll actually spin it a bit to peel some hay up so he can grab it.
For pulling hay out - are you stacking the flakes flat or on end? The barn workers like to stack them on end and it’s much easier for him to get the hay out. If we lay them flat and layer them, he can’t get as much hay out at one time.
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I second the suggestion to check how far you’re rotating the pan after putting it back in place.
A couple of other things might contribute to them being able to pop the pan out:
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Is the feeder overfilled? If the pegs on edge of the pan are just barely below the lip of the barrel, it’s probably too full, especially if your horses really get to yanking on the hay.
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Is the soaked hay packed down too tightly? Fluffing the hay a bit to loosen it up may help them get bites out without yanking a whole heavy, soaked flake up against the bottom of the pan and dislodging it.
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I’m laying the flakes flat , and I do spin it and lift it up to make sure it won’t pull out …maybe I’m over filling it ??
I rarely have the pans come out of my Porta-Grazers, but when I do I have generally over filled them. Try putting a bit less hay in.
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One of my horses always pulls some up and leaves it on top of the pan - oddly she won’t eat that bit and I end up throwing it away even when she’s emptied the feeder. The pans do travel in a circle while they eat, that’s how it works, so if it’s overfilled I can see how it might pop out if the horse lines it up right.
Same horse who leaves hay on top seems to be able to pull the pan out when she wants to; she’s one of those who opens stalls and latches too. Fortunately she seems to enjoy the feeder more with the pan in place so she doesn’t do it often.
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