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Feeding with no hay waste

1K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  Hondo 
#1 ·
Always looking for a better way to take care of our equines, thought I would pass this along. Using a large water tank & 3 hay nets has greatly minimized hay waste & cleanup, plus our horses & mule spend more time feeding & get along real good at the feeder & I only need to fill the hay nets once each day. The hay on the ground in the picture was there before I started using hay nets.
 

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#5 ·
I should take pictures of my present set up. We scored a couple of vineyard harvest bins retired from the grape industry, 4x4x2' very heavy duty plastic bins (designed to be moved with a forklift, they retire them after about 12 seasons of use), and cut sheep panel fencing to fit inside. It is a rigid galvanized 4 gauge welded wire panel with 4" square openings. Then my husband made a frame of 2x6's that fits over the top and keeps the horses from flipping the sheep panel out. You can load about half a bale of hay in there. It went from wasted hay everywhere to zero wasted hay. I put one on each end of the half-acre turn out so they have to walk back and forth.
 
#7 ·
In the past I have used an old water tank that leaked when I had a mare that was slightly heavy. I would put the hay in the tank, no hay nets, and then pour a couple of pails of water over it and it worked fine for this mare and her companion.
they never pushed the hay out even without being in nets.

If I fed in this tank I always wet the hay before so that it cut down on the dust.

Worked great and cut down on the waste and both horses ate together with no problems.
 
#8 ·
Great minds etc............

I use a large plastic water tank and do the same. I have a snap at each end of the nets and eyes at each end of the tank that I use to secure the net. At first I only had snaps at one end but they'd throw the net over the side.

They gradually got more used to fishing in between the netting and didn't pull on it so much. Then finally with loose grass hay I was able to just throw the net in there unattached and they would work the grass out without moving the net.

Alfalfa tends to hang together and still needs to be fastened.

Been doing this for about a year. Yes, really saves on waste!
 
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