Goat feeders: options, methods of application and how to do it yourself

Goats are quite cute animals, but their character has distinctive features – fastidiousness and the desire to steal food. They try to try everything they see on the pasture, they bypass only a couple of plants, they like to visit other people’s gardens. With the onset of cold weather, goats are left in barns. Often they throw out hay from ordinary feeders and do not eat what is on the floor. They can climb into the feeder with their feet and trample all the contents. A goat is a squeamish animal and will no longer eat contaminated food. Therefore, it is important to make goat feeders with your own hands, so as to outwit the obstinate animal.

Feeders come in different designs: for hard and soft feed, or combined. When creating them with your own hands, you will need a minimum of effort and a small amount of time. First, we determine the place in the room where to place it. Here the freedom of movement of animals must be taken into accountso that they do not crowd in front of the entrance. Therefore, we install the structure in the far corner of the barn.

Preparatory stage of work

Having chosen the place of the future feeder, you need to start preparing the necessary working tools and materials for the construction. Important consider the size of the building, calculated from the number of animals. So, you need:

• plane;
• nails or screws;
• saw;
• a hammer.

Construction is made of wooden boards and thin bars. There are several design options for feeders.

The main stage of creating a do-it-yourself feeder

We nail two boards of the same width from below 10–15 cm from the floor in the corner of the room, we fasten one thin board from above from them at a distance, taking into account that the goat does not catch on the horns. Then we fasten thin sticks vertically to self-tapping screws or nails between the upper and lower boards 25–30 cm apart. Outwardly, it resembles a picket fence.

After that, they check the design in action: they launch the goats and observe their behavior. Goats often get used to it very quickly and immediately begin to pull hay from a new feeder. it very simple feeder with their own hands, available to absolutely every lover.

Other options for feeders

Another type of feeder is convenient for location in the center of the corral. For its construction, you will need the same tools, boards, material for the frame, plus thick bars for the base of the structure. As a frame, use a large mesh for fences or thin bars. We fasten the thick bars together with boards so that we get a rectangular structure. Between the boards we fix the boards or the grid.

The food in this version is laid out on top and filled as it is eaten by goats. The size is determined by the space of the corral and the number of goats in the room. Moreover, with this option need to have a wooden floor under the feet, in the case when the goats are in an open paddock. This is necessary so that the food does not become damp in wet weather.

Young goats are given special feeders that match their growth. The height should not exceed 10 cm, and the width should not exceed 20 cm. Feeders for kids are placed separately from adults, because they drive away young animals, thereby the kids do not get enough.

For the summer season do it yourself you can make a portable nursery, which may be near the goats during walking. The advantage of such a nursery is the presence of a floor and a canopy, which will keep the food dry during rainy weather, and it can also be moved. The frame of this feeder resembles a crib.

There are a number of features to consider when creating goat feeders. First of all, the choice depends on the type of feed:

• for hard, roughage should be wide and massive;
• for combined – lighter;
• for grass hay – long, so that all the goats fit at once.

The height is determined so that the goats cannot jump over or climb into the structure. Usually the optimal height is from one meter or slightly higher.

Variant of the French farmers’ feeder

The main difference between keeping goats and Russian farms is that in France goats are raised mainly on open pastures. This is due to warmer weather conditions. But the French are also concerned with making goat feeders when they need to be placed in pens.

The French version is a wooden box with rectangular windows on both sides. By the way, such a construction, just will not allow the animal to throw away food on the floor. Only frisky kids can jump upstairs, but in order to avoid this desire, they put a grate on top or attach an ordinary wooden door. From below, a thin iron sheet is used. It can also be carried to open paddocks or aviaries.

The main thing is to decide on the choice of the feeder that is suitable for the needs of pets and feel free to start creating it. The goats will be happy.