Definition of Sheep Hay Feeder
Hay feeders for Sheep are farm implements systematically designed to provide hay for the adequate feeding of sheep. These feeders are thoughtfully crafted to supply feed for the optimal growth and productivity of sheep.
Sheep hay feeders are designed with various materials such as metal, wood, and plastics depending on the nature of production. Hay feeders are specially manufactured to effectively manage feed in the ranch.
They are craftily designed to simultaneously allow multiple sheep to feed without fighting and dragging feed.
In the summer or winter when fresh forage is not easy to come by, sheep hay feeders are the best option to dispense feed for sheep in other to minimize wastage.
Sheep are not clean animals as they can defecate and urinate even when feeding which can lead to an unhealthy environment.
Thus, an elevated platform where feed can be kept and dispensed to animals will be the best choice for effective sheep management.
This elevated platform is referred to sheep hay feeder. Healthy feeding is crucial for the health status of sheep as soiled and contaminated feed will lead to the outbreak of parasites and disease attacks in the ranch.
The sheep hay feeder is designed in various forms and types to suit the production needs of the rancher.
Forms of Sheep Hay Feed
Technologically cratfed hay feeders come in many forms. Some of the forms of hay feeders for sheep are:
Wall-Mounted Sheep Hay Feeder
These are hay feeders that are immobile. They are fixed permanently on the wall and fence of the ranch where feed is kept for the animals to feed on.
The wall-mounted sheep feeders are attached to the wall with the help of a screw. These screw help to tightly hold the feeder to the wall where the animal can pull hay from.
It is the most commonly used form of hay feeder for sheep in the pen. This form of sheep hay feeder is cheap to maintain as it does not require heavy cleaning. The sheep hay feeder helps to minimize feed wastage and promotes healthy feeding.
Concrete-Mounted Hay Feeder
The concrete sheep hay feeder is an indoor form of hay feeder that is usually constructed in a pen for keeping hay and allows the animal to feed directly from the feeder.
The concrete forms of feeders require heavy maintenance practices because they can easily harbor pathogens and the possibility of contaminating and soiling feed is very high.
Outdoor Sheep Hay Feeder
The outdoor sheep hay feeder is systematically designed for feeding sheep outside the pen. There are different forms of Outdoor hay feeders for sheep, they are:
- Portable Sheep Hay Feeders: these are small sheep hay feeders that can be moved from one location to another and do not require heavy maintenance.
- Collapsible Sheep Hay Feeder: this is a form of an outdoor sheep hay feeder that can be detached and readjusted when needed.
This may also interest you: Cattle Hay Feeder: Definition, Benefits, Type, Merits, and Demerits
Types of Sheep Hay Feeder
Some types of hay feeders for sheep as submitted by amazon.com. are discussed under the following heading, explanations, maintenance, advantages, and disadvantages:
- Round Bale Feeder
- Rack Hay feeder
- Trailer mounted Feeder
- Cover Hay Feeder
- Trough Feeders
- Adjustable feeder
Round Bale Feeder
There are different types of bale feeders but the round and conical bale are the most commonly used type of feeder in the sheep production industry.
This feeder is designed in various capacities depending on the nature of production and the needs of the users.
The round bale feeder can be mobile or immobile depending on the forms adopted, it has an opening that allows multiple sheep to feed. The feeder is constructed with the legs lifted above the ground level to prevent soiling and contamination.
The round bale feeder is constructed with durable metal materials that aid easy cleaning. The sheep bale feeder is designed in such a way that the base is covered with metal, and the side is also covered with small iron frames with open where sheep can easily feed.
The side leg of the sheep round bale should be 15-20cm from the ground level to allow sheep to have unlimited access to hay.
Advantage of Round Bale Feeder
The advantages of the round Bale feeder include
- It creates an avenue for multiple sheep to feed simultaneously.
- It promotes efficient feed management
- It aids in clean and healthy feeding
- It creates an avenue for good hay consumption
- It reduces competition within the herd since all sheep have an equal chance of feeding at the same time.
- It is usually suitable for commercial sheep production
- It is cheap to maintain
The disadvantage of Round Bale Feeder
The disadvantages of the sheep round bale feeder are:
- The construction of a round bale feeder requires specialized skills.
- It can easily rust and corrode if poorly managed.
- It is expensive to construct since it requires special skills.
- it cannot be used during winter and rainy seasons in outdoor feeding.
Maintenance Practices for the Round Bale Feeder
The following Maintenance Practices should be observed while using the round Bale feeder;
- Ensure that the round bale feeder is overstock (i.e. stick to carrying capacity )
- wash and dry properly after use
- Painted frequently to avoid rusting and corroding.
The Rack Hay Feeder
The Hay Rack exists in different forms, such as metal rack, wood rack, and concrete rack. There are two types of rack hay feeders which are the mobile rack hay feeder and the stationary rack feeder.
The mobile rack is designed to be moved from one location to another. while the stationary type consists of concrete and wall mounted.
The concrete stationary type of rack feeder is constructed with concrete on the floor of the pen or pasture with a flat base where sheep can easily have access to hay.
The wall-mounted stationary type of hay rack is designed vertically with smooth iron bars with several points where nuts could be used to fix the hay rack to the wall.
Whatever type of hay rack is adopted, it should be properly placed to prevent soiling, contamination, and feed wastage.
Advantages of the Hay Rack
The Advantages of the hay rack are:
- it helps to preserve the quality of hay.
- it lifts hay from the ground surface which helps prevent spoilage
- It protects hay from parasite attack.
- it helps to reduce feed wastage since the feed is dispensed gradually to the sheep from the rack.
- it is suitable for both small and commercial sheep production.
- it does not require specialized skills to construct.
The disadvantage of Hay Rack
The following are the disadvantages of the Hay Rack feeder, they are
- Concrete rack feeders can prevent the free movement of sheep and people within the ranch.
- the concrete type requires heavy maintenance since it can easily soil the sheep
- The wall type of hay rack can be pulled out by the sheep if not firmly fixed.
Maintenance Practices of Hay Rack
The following Maintenance should be practiced while using the hay rack:
- Avoid overcrowding of hay racks.
- The concrete hay rack should be washed with disinfectant after use.
- Wall-fixed hay rack feeders should be fixed properly to avoid being pulled away.
- The nuts and bolts of the wall rack should be tightened regularly.
- The metal parts of the wall hay racks should be painted regularly to avoid rusting and corrosion.
Trailer Mounted Feeder
The trailer-mounted feeder is a type of sheep feeder that is mounted to a tractor or a truck to facilitate easy movement around the pasture or ranch.
The trailer-mounted feeder is constructed with a tire and wheel that enable it to be moved around the farm.
On the upper part of the trailer is a large hopper where the hay is kept for the animal feed, and a drawbar where the trailer is attacked to the traitor to be pulled around from one location to another.
The trailer-mounted feeder is designed with openings on the sides where sheep can have access to the hay to feed. This technologically constructed hay feeder is more appropriate for rotational grazing.
Advantages of the Trailer mounted Feeder
The following are the advantages of the Trailer mounted Feeder
- it is suitable for only outdoor sheep feeding
- It allows different sheep to feed at the same time.
- It helps reduce feed wastage in the pen.
- It ensures tassel-free feeding since hay can be pulled directly without contamination.
- It creates an equal opportunity for sheep to feed since every cattle has an equal chance of feeding.
- It is more appropriate for commercial sheep management.
Disadvantage of Trailer mounted Feeder
The disadvantages of the trailer-mounted feeder are:
- It requires specialized skills to construct
- rusting and corrosion is very high if poorly managed
- It is capital intensive (i.e. it requires a lot of capital to purchase).
- It requires movement aid before it can move around the ranch which is not available in most cases.
- it cannot be used for feeding sheep during winter or rainy
Maintenance Practices of Hay Trailer Feeder
The following precautions should be practiced while using the trailer-mounted feeder
- Maintain feeder’s carrying capacity
- Wash and dry the feeder after use.
- gauge tire of the hay trailer before moving.
- oiled and greased metal parts of the hay trailer-mounted feeder
- Metal parts should be painted to avoid rusting and corrosion.
Cover Hay Feeder
The cover hay feeder for sheep is also known as the sheep hay hut. It can constructed locally or industrially with materials such as wood, metal, or plastic (polyethylene) depending on the types of production and ranchers’ choice.
The sheep-covered hay feeder is made of a door and several openings where the sheep can have direct access to the hay for adequate feeding. This well-constructed sheep feeder is appropriate for both indoor and outdoor sheep feeding.
Advantage of the Cover Hay Feeder
The advantages of the Cover Hay Feeder include
- It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor sheep feeding
- It is seasonal friendly (i.e. it can be used in all seasons, winter, summer, rain, and sun)
- It is suitable for feeding different categories of hay.
- It has multiple openings that allow different numbers of sheep to feed at the same time.
- It helps to minimize feed wastage.
- It prevents the animal from tramping and soiling the feed
- It provides clean and healthy feeding.
- It is very appropriate for commercial sheep production.
Disadvantage of Cover Hay Feeder
The disadvantages of the Cover hay feeder are
- It requires specialized skills to design
- Metal types of sheep cover feeders can rust and corrode
- It is capital-intensive to purchase.
Maintenance Practices of Cover Hay Feeder
The following maintenance practices should be observed while using a sheep-covered hay feeder
- Stick to the carrying capacity of the sheep Cover the hay feeder.
- clean the inner chamber regularly
- Paint the cover hay feeder promptly for adequate maintenance.
- Fumigate the covered hay feeder regularly to prevent the spread of parasites and pathogens.
Trough Feeders
This is the oldest type of feeder used in the sheep production industries. Troughs for feeding sheep come in two different types.
They are open troughs and closed-top troughs Feeders. Whatever type of trough feeder is adopted, it is either made up of metal, plastic, or wooden material.
In the commercial sheep production industries the sheep trough feed is either mounted to the side of the pen where the hay is kept for the sheep to feed or placed in the ranch for feeding hay to sheep.
The types of trough hay feeders adopted depend on the system of management and resources available in the ranch.
Advantage of the Trough feeders
Some of the advantages of the sheep trough feeders are:
- it can be used for both indoor and outdoor sheep feeding.
- It provides room for different numbers of sheep to feed independently.
- the close type of trough is more appropriate for winter and rainy season
- It helps decrease feed wastage.
- It promotes clean and healthy feeding.
- It reduces competition among sheep
- It helps sheep to access quality nutritious feeds.
- It is suitable for both small and large sheep production system
The disadvantage of Trough feeders
The following are the disadvantages of the Trough hay feeders
- It can easily lead to feed wastage if sheep are not restricted.
- Its construction requires little specialized skills.
- It can easily rust or corrode if not properly managed
- the open types of troughs are not suitable for winter and rainy seasons.
Maintenance Practices of Trough Feeders
The following precautions should be observed while using Trough feeders
- Regularly wash and dry the feeder after use.
- Replace broken or damaged sheep trough feeder.
Adjustable Feeder
The adjustable feeder is also known as a collapsible feeder. It is developed to have an inclusive feeder for feeding all categories of sheep.
The adjustable or collapsible sheep hay feeder can be used both indoors and outdoors. It is an improved form feeder over the other types of feeder.
It is constructed with metal, a flat pan for holding hay, and an adjusting point.
The advantage of the Adjustable Feeder
The following are the advantages of the Adjustable feeder
- It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor sheep feeding
- It is seasonal friendly (i.e. it can used in all seasons, winter, summer, rain, and sun)
- It is suitable for feeding different categories of hay.
- It has openings for multiple sheep to feed at the same time.
- It helps to decrease feed wastage.
- It promotes clean and healthy feeding.
- It creates a good avenue for hay consumption
- It is very appropriate for different types of sheep management systems.
Disadvantage of Adjustable feeder
The disadvantages of the Adjustable feeder are:
- It requires specialized skills for the construction
- The non-galvanize adjustable feeder can easily rust or corrode
- The adjustable point can easily be damaged which will reduce its usability.
Maintenance Practices of Adjustable Feeder
The following practices be observed while using the Adjustable sheep feeder.
- Wash and dry the s adjustable feeder properly.
- Replace broken or damaged parts of the feeders.
- The moving parts should greased and oiled to avoid friction.
In conclusion
This article explores the concept of the Hay Feeder for sheep, the forms, types, merits, demerits, and maintenance practices for adequate sheep feeding.
The best form of sheep feeders, which can also be used for both indoor and outdoor, winter summer, rainy, and sunny were also listed and discussed.