Brand New Feeder

We had been putting it off for a couple of years now and have been bolting, wiring and tying baling twine around all the broken joints of the old feeders for too long in an effort to make do with what we have for round outdoor feeders.

Mike finally broke down, I believe it was because the local feed store happened to have the steel framed feeders on sale, and purchased one new feeder. Since the three pieces were already bolted together at the feed store, he had the fork lift at the store pick it up and place it atop the bed of the pickup for the ride home. It did not fit well but Mike ratcheted it down tightly and headed for home. How he made the wide load through the tunnel without getting the side clipped by the highway traffic is beyond me and frankly I’m glad I wasn’t riding along on this trip because I would have been a nervous wreck.

Seeing the pickup pull into the driveway with the round, green steel cage hanging over both sides and beyond the back tailgate had me scrambling for the camera. But Mike was quick to get the feeder removed from the truck with the forks on the front loader tractor before I had the chance to make it from the far barn and across the river to snap a pic.

The front loader worked well to transfer the feeder from the pickup, haul it across the road, over the bridge, and around the backside of the barn to the area where the other three feeders are resting. It was quick work to get t-posts drove into the ground from inside the feeders to secure the feeder securely. I say quick because Mike did it and not me. If we didn’t sink the posts deep below the layers of river rock under the feeder, even though it weighs nearly a 1000 lbs., the structure would succumb to the big cows and herd sire when they rub their necks on the bars until it moved or broke.

With the feeder secured, we put down a layer of wood chips to keep the hay that we are feeding off the very muddy mud (and other muck) layer that is on top of the rock layers.

Topanga’s baby that was born in August now has a little more space available to eat without getting jostled around by the big cows.   She likes the new round feeder since the rest of the herd had not yet figured out that it is not just a new scratching post, and Zepher’s bull born near the end of October still wants his hay pitched out onto the grassy area where he has no competition for his meal.

As for the broken down and pieced together feeders, they will stay where they are for the time being all bolted, wrapped and twisted together until one of them breaks so badly it cannot be cobbled back together. Then we will retain the pieces as parts for the other two as they  disintegrate from use and not so subtle abuse.

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