creep feeders

vanderbadger

where is the best value in these, porbably up north I guess but thats a bit too far of a run for me, the seem to be best part of a grand down my way

adne

I bought 2 inch box steel and iron for side sheet and roof and made one for 150 Euro.... no hopper to feed the only difference

vanderbadger

stick up a pic will you if you get a chance

reilig

I got an old steel water tank for free. Cut out 2 sides from it and put it up on legs. Spent €50 on lengths of box iron and made the entrance to it. Welded attachments to it for picking it up with the tractor. Used the steel that I cut out of it to make the trough and hopper. It doesn't look fancy as its rusty and was never painted. But it is made from heavy steel and it does the trick for feeding the calves. Have it 6 years now and never had a problem with it.

vanderbadger

sounds good also, sure you might stick up a photo as well some time, sounds like ye boys are handy with a welder to begin with, im just about ok now with small bits and pieces now

pakalasa

Or you could just use a creep gate and an an ordinary trough.
I was about to make a creep feeder, but then I went on the Suckler Scheme training course and they advised against it. They said a creep gate works better as all the calves can eat at the same time. It also stops calves from gorging too much and intake is easier to control also.
I have to say it works fine for me. I had old gates which I modified and the troughs, so a grand saved.;)

blue5000

Yeah I'd agree a creep gate is the way to go, I made two 6' wide creep gates that could be bolted into a ring feeder. I had to brace the ring feeder but it held about 3x more silage than a standard ring feeder. As creep gates they need a bar about 1' down from top to keep smaller cows out. Don't be tempted to lift an electric fence wire to let calves under it, they will be impossible to keep in the following year.

whelan1

we had an old water tank - big rectangular one - we cut entrances in the side and just put an old galvanise drinker inside it cost feck all , we also bought a stste of the art one foe £1000:eek: for the other group a good few years ago

vanderbadger

was thinking there that a trailed one would be handy, you could make a fairly long one with a good few entrance slots with 2 wheels at the back and a tow bar at the front, so long as you had some mechanism to lower the wheels, when cows move to new paddock hitch her up and off you go..anyone ever do anything like that? have an old abbey tanker rotting away at home for years, its probably not ideal for this job with the big axle in the middle but if I could cut the body off it somehow its bound to be good for something, bale trailer maybe

blue5000

I thought about towing one behind a jeep, need a jockey wheel though, although those old dung spreaders had a jack. Wet mud in Oct might be bad for the jeep!

vanderbadger

found a pic at last

reilig

vanderbadger wrote: »

found a pic at last

That's an O Neills feeder isn't it? I have see them, you can bring them to your local store and get them filled with bulk meal. they carry about a ton. You then just have to pull a lever to let the meal flow down as you require it.

vanderbadger

http://www.portequip.co.uk
pricelest up there also. might go for one..if I win the lotto;)

pjbrady1

There is a man in Killasser near Swinford in Mayo. N he makes the finest creep feeders I'v yet to see. It has:
- Very durable tough heavy construction.
- 3 point linkage
- Wide enough to feed 4 decent size weanlings
- Very long so animals have room to manouvre if they want to turn inside
-Adjustable cross bar to prevent larger animals getting in
- Very well painted
- Very neat corrugated sheet roof
- Door at back to put in feed.
- Weighted down flap inside to prevent birds getting in (never a problem anyways but maybe it is for some people)
- Very aesthetically pleasing design
- It would probably be around 850 euro for one just on a guestimate from what we paid for our one
I will get the name of him at home, if he is still making them.

Our one is still perfect after 12 years. There isn't a single dent in any part of it. Even the sheet roofing seemed to be a little thicker than what you'd normally see on a feeder. There is zero give in it under pressure o yer hand.