Foal feeder laments ...

TrueColoursFarm · 06-14-2006, 05:17 AM

Okay - who has a super foal feeder that actually works???

Instead of the standard blue Farnham edition that the mares yank out the bars on and/or kick off the walls, and is SO deep the foals have to stick their entire faces in up to their eyeballs to get anything at the bottom of the feeders ...

And the foals rarely get to the bottom which means the flies swarm around the stuff that remains at the bottom ...

And its at the perfect height for mares to poop in, so you end up having to unscrew them off the walls to dump them out to hose them down before you can use them again ...

I am seriously thinking of designing a new and improved foal feeder that can removed easily off the wall for cleaning and once the foal has finished eating from it and is literally 1/4 - 1/3 the depth of the Farnham ones so their whole face doesnt have to be stuck in there for them to eat.
What do you all think? Am I the only one who thinks great improvements can be made in this area and if I built a "better mousetrap" I'd have a great and willing market for them???

Any and all comments would be MOST appreciated!

ryu2832 · 06-14-2006, 05:44 AM

Mares are almost as bad as squirrels aren't they? I have the blue one as well and have made a few modifications.

I cut a piece of plastic to fit the inside and duct taped it in to cut the depth in half. Berry wouldn't eat out of it because she had to stick her head in up to her eyeballs. If you make it too shallow though the mares will try to lick the feed out, which makes a heck of a mess.

I also took the bolts out and wired the bars to each other and wired the top down. Ruby would just shove the bars to the side, and now that they are wired to each other she hasn't been able to move them.

I've never had Ruby poop in it. I know that you're supposed to put it away from the mare, but I had to hang it next to Ruby's regular feeder because of how the stall is set up.

It has been working well for the past month.

Next year I am installing a modified (by me) slant corner feeder and having my brother weld a couple different tops for me. But if you make a better feeder first, I'm in. Just let me know how much you want for it!

My requirement would be:
Metal grid top (no chewing)
Shallower
Slanted bottom so the feed funnels to the feeding hole
Easily cleaned (maybe some kind of mounting bracket that that doesn't require bolts)
Corner mounted.

Go for it!

BestofPrincess · 06-14-2006, 07:14 AM

I always feed my colt out of a feed bucket hanging by the water buckets, had to tie him too, so he wouldnt eat mom's food.... did I mentioned this started at a month old....
we have had the problem of to make the feeders bars wide enough for the foal to get the eyes to the bars so he/she could reach the grain was also just large enough for the mom's muzzle

imacowgirl2 · 06-14-2006, 08:38 AM

TCF...you arent the only ones with those problems! We had all of those problems plus to get the bars wide enough so the foal could get his whole face up to his eyeballs in, we had to put the bars wide enough that the mares figured out how to twist their mouth and get their noses through and use their tongue to pick up the food

We finally gave up, took the bars off, and then barred off part of the run-in shed so the babies could go under and eat but mares couldnt. That worked for about two weeks until our (way too smart for her own good) 14.1 hh mare figured out that she could very carefully get under the bar -- and we had a tall foal out of another mare, so couldn't lower the bar any or HE couldn't get under!

Finally we completely gave up, put the feeder in a stall, and led the babies in 2-3 times a day to eat as much as they liked -- not ideal, but it was the only thing that kept ALL the mares out and let ALL the babies in

So, YES, there does need to be improvements to foal feeders!

BornToRide · 06-14-2006, 08:40 AM

here is a link to the oen i have used before and i love it .. it worked great

http://www.applesaddlery.com/c233065...p16520182.html

Sandra-A1 · 06-14-2006, 08:49 AM

Mine works/worked......we simply removed the bars, place it on the fence in the corner of the paddock/pasture and fenced off that corner where only the foal could duck under and get to it....

imacowgirl2 · 06-14-2006, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BornToRide

here is a link to the oen i have used before and i love it .. it worked great

http://www.applesaddlery.com/c233065...p16520182.html

That's the one we had...I was thinking we had the Farnum one too -- but regardless, it didn't work LOL

BornToRide · 06-14-2006, 08:58 AM

hmm smart mare you have! lol

06-14-2006, 05:17 AM	#1
TrueColoursFarm Senior Member+ Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Wilsonville, Ontario, CANADA Posts: 1,610 Images: 3	Foal feeder laments ... Okay - who has a super foal feeder that actually works??? Instead of the standard blue Farnham edition that the mares yank out the bars on and/or kick off the walls, and is SO deep the foals have to stick their entire faces in up to their eyeballs to get anything at the bottom of the feeders ... And the foals rarely get to the bottom which means the flies swarm around the stuff that remains at the bottom ... And its at the perfect height for mares to poop in, so you end up having to unscrew them off the walls to dump them out to hose them down before you can use them again ... I am seriously thinking of designing a new and improved foal feeder that can removed easily off the wall for cleaning and once the foal has finished eating from it and is literally 1/4 - 1/3 the depth of the Farnham ones so their whole face doesnt have to be stuck in there for them to eat. What do you all think? Am I the only one who thinks great improvements can be made in this area and if I built a "better mousetrap" I'd have a great and willing market for them??? Any and all comments would be MOST appreciated!

06-14-2006, 07:14 AM	#3
BestofPrincess Senior Member+ Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA MD Posts: 5,175 Images: 579 Blog Entries: 14	I always feed my colt out of a feed bucket hanging by the water buckets, had to tie him too, so he wouldnt eat mom's food.... did I mentioned this started at a month old.... we have had the problem of to make the feeders bars wide enough for the foal to get the eyes to the bars so he/she could reach the grain was also just large enough for the mom's muzzle __________________ tjitske you never deserved to lose a foal 5/31/05 dolly we pray for you and your lost foal 7/26/05 Duct tape is the new glue

06-14-2006, 08:40 AM	#5
BornToRide Senior Member+ Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 4,009 Images: 192	here is a link to the oen i have used before and i love it .. it worked great http://www.applesaddlery.com/c233065...p16520182.html __________________ There are times when you can trust a horse, times when you can't and times when you have to. got to get the bagel with the cream cheeze oh the creamy creamy cheeze eh Blistering Winds? lmao

06-14-2006, 08:49 AM	#6
Sandra-A1 Senior Member+ Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Alabama Posts: 8,321 Images: 225	Mine works/worked......we simply removed the bars, place it on the fence in the corner of the paddock/pasture and fenced off that corner where only the foal could duck under and get to it.... __________________ "It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." ~Dumbledore

06-14-2006, 08:58 AM	#8
BornToRide Senior Member+ Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 4,009 Images: 192	hmm smart mare you have! lol __________________ There are times when you can trust a horse, times when you can't and times when you have to. got to get the bagel with the cream cheeze oh the creamy creamy cheeze eh Blistering Winds? lmao

06-14-2006, 05:44 AM	#2
ryu2832 Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Iowa, USA Posts: 2,862 Images: 43	Mares are almost as bad as squirrels aren't they? I have the blue one as well and have made a few modifications. I cut a piece of plastic to fit the inside and duct taped it in to cut the depth in half. Berry wouldn't eat out of it because she had to stick her head in up to her eyeballs. If you make it too shallow though the mares will try to lick the feed out, which makes a heck of a mess. I also took the bolts out and wired the bars to each other and wired the top down. Ruby would just shove the bars to the side, and now that they are wired to each other she hasn't been able to move them. I've never had Ruby poop in it. I know that you're supposed to put it away from the mare, but I had to hang it next to Ruby's regular feeder because of how the stall is set up. It has been working well for the past month. Next year I am installing a modified (by me) slant corner feeder and having my brother weld a couple different tops for me. But if you make a better feeder first, I'm in. Just let me know how much you want for it! My requirement would be: Metal grid top (no chewing) Shallower Slanted bottom so the feed funnels to the feeding hole Easily cleaned (maybe some kind of mounting bracket that that doesn't require bolts) Corner mounted. Go for it!

06-14-2006, 08:38 AM	#4
imacowgirl2 Senior Member+ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: here, there, and everywhere! Posts: 2,798 Images: 233 Blog Entries: 17	TCF...you arent the only ones with those problems! We had all of those problems plus to get the bars wide enough so the foal could get his whole face up to his eyeballs in, we had to put the bars wide enough that the mares figured out how to twist their mouth and get their noses through and use their tongue to pick up the food We finally gave up, took the bars off, and then barred off part of the run-in shed so the babies could go under and eat but mares couldnt. That worked for about two weeks until our (way too smart for her own good) 14.1 hh mare figured out that she could very carefully get under the bar -- and we had a tall foal out of another mare, so couldn't lower the bar any or HE couldn't get under! Finally we completely gave up, put the feeder in a stall, and led the babies in 2-3 times a day to eat as much as they liked -- not ideal, but it was the only thing that kept ALL the mares out and let ALL the babies in So, YES, there does need to be improvements to foal feeders!

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