Over the years I have tried a multitude of different methods to feed my animals.  Not all of these feeders were my "original" ideas, but rather copied or modified from other feeders that I've seen over the years. 

I'm a stickler for clean hay & I HATE To see hay on the ground getting wasted.  So, I have worked hard to reduce our hay loss and wastage.  If hay hits the ground, then animals step on it & later ingest it.  In my opinion it greatly increases the animals' risk of parasite and disease transmission.

One of my original ideas is still at work on the farm today & that is using the plastic lattice (purchased at a home improvement store), cut to fit my feeders.  The lattice is placed on top of the hay to force the animals to pull the hay out through the openings a little at a time.  This significantly reduced hay wastage because animals couldn't grab a mouthful and step away from the feeder and drop it.  The problem is that a few of my girls got smart and figured out how to put there head in a corner & flip the lattice so they either flipped it up completely or simply let the lattice fall on top of their head & they kept eating.  On to a new plan.

Do you live near commercial orchards?  I found that the large 4'x4' plastic apple crates work great for feeding llamas out in the field.  Again a piece of lattice on top will reduce hay wastage.

I have wanted, for a long time, a bale feeder that could hold an entire hay bale to cut down on the feeding chores.  I saw one years ago on the Schular Farm and liked the concept.  Here is my modified version.  It is constructed out of 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood, 4 small squares of hog panel, corner supports, 2 hinges, 1 latch and 4 2x4's for corner support.  One side panel is on hinges, so it can be opened, a bale on hay placed inside, then latch the door closed.  We place a cinder block on top of the hay to ensure that the hay compresses down as the animals eat from the bottom.  I have a love hate relationship with this feeder.  I love the fact that it is highly efficient and time saving.  With the extended side panels prevents the llamas from seeing each other while their head is down getting the hay.  This has significantly reduced any disagreements while at the hay feeder.  My ranch happens to be on a very windy hill & occasionally the feeder blows over.  I think that the openings are a little too big & allow the animals to grab more hay at once than they can consume.  So, there is still some hay loss to the ground.  (This particular issue isn't a problem in our bachelor field, because the horse comes by to clean up the leftovers.)   

This is my hay box of choice until I come up with something I like better.  It is constructed out of 2.5 sheets of 3/4" plywood (1 full sheet on the back, 1/2 sheet on the bottom, 1/2 sheet on the front & 2x2 section on each end), 2 2x4's to provide support to the back of the box where the hog panel is nailed in & where the eye bolts are screwed in at the top), one hog panel cut to fit inside the box, U-nails (to nail the hog panel along the bottom), 3 eye bolt screws and 3 spring loaded carabiners, and 4 corner supports.

I have learned the hard way that you can build a similar box out of thinner plywood & no corner supports, but the box won't last near as long.

I really like this design, but have learned not to put hay too close to the edge or the animals will pull it out the side!

This feeder also works great in a creep feeder for little ones.  Simply place a full bale of hay in the bottom of the box to "raise" the bottom and let them eat away.

Rain gutters work great for feeding out grain.  The animals have to work a little to get it out and it reduces the incidence of the animals gulping large amounts of food at once and potentially choking.  Over the years we have tried the feeders mounted on the wall & this works but the animals have a tendency to bang the gutters and bust the fixtures.  So, now we simply place the gutters on the ground and pour out the grain.

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Last modified: 07/22/08