I want to turn an existing feeder into a slow grazer.
For those of you who haven't seen a slow grazer -
This is what I have to work with.
My ideas so far include ordering a custom grate from the people that make the slow grazer, he said he could make one and I just sent him dimensions, still waiting on a quote
Or, I could buy pin rod from a local supply shop ($23 based on my calculations) and have my hubby weld it up for me.
Pros/cons/other ideas? Anything I'm not thinking of?
I don't think a quarter of an inch will be too much of a problem since the grid doesn't give like a net would.
Dis you see the wooden corner feeder on the website? With the "slide" inside and the grid at the bottom? My favourite for indoors
Like this one DHW?
That's awesome, but that won't work as well in that space. Here's another picture of it.
It's at a boarding facility, so I can't make any major renovations, and I'll need to leave it how I found it.
@joe yeah the hay bag would work, and I have a couple, but I'd like to do free choice hay and they just don't hold enough. Plus I hate loading hay bags. They're a pain in the butt.
I also value the no waste design of the grazer box type, whereas a vertical one (like the corner wall) looks like it would spill hay onto the ground, what do you guys think?
You guys gave me an idea though, since I can't have a frame on hinges because of that plastic feeder, I could build a 3 sided frame, leave the whole front open, like a big slot, and I can slide the grate into that slot, and then let it drop down. When I have to refill, I will just lift the grate up, slide it out the slot, and refill with hay. I don't think a horse could lift it up, get it caught in the slot, and pull it out. Thoughts?
They say horse won't lift it. I do know a couple of horses who would take on the challenge....
The vertical one....it better be either flexible grid or stays well filled, or its narrower towards the bottom....if not, you'd have a pretty frustrated horse.
My favourite is a box with lid, can be even built in if you're building a new barn or it's your own place, with the feed opening at the bottom of a side wall, grid, and sort of a slide( sheet of plywood set in diagonally) inside so the hay slides down towards the grid.
So, do you think I even need a lid, or should I try just setting the grid on top of the hay? Yeah, if I had my own place, that type sounds great. I love the idea in the gridwall, that is my best option yet. Better than buying a bunch of pin rod, cutting it, and welding it all together. Ha. Hubby will be glad about that. The slow grazer guy suggested just buying a grate and modifying it, but they don't sell the grates by themselves, you have to buy the plans for the box as well, and that's $60 plus $30 in shipping, and then I still have to modify it.
You need some kind of frame to keep the grate in. So the slide-in idea you described is what sounds best. I'd attach it with hinges, for easier cleaning.
Why not buy a single sheet of small square hog/goat/cattle panel at TSC and cut that down? That is what I was planning on doing when I wanted to build one of these bad boys. Should be easy peasy to cut it down.
7Likes
