Tractor Tire Mineral Feeder

Tractor Tire Mineral Feeder LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment 21-6-13 Old tractor tires can be converted into low-cost livestock mineral feeders, says Robert Schum, Saint Meinrad, Ind., who makes the feeders by closing up one side of a tire and bolting it to a pair of wooden posts set into the ground at an angle in order to keep out the rain. "Bulls can't knock them around and they won't rust out," says Robert Schum, Saint Meinrad, Ind. Schum closes up one side of each tire feeder with circles he cuts out of aluminum sheets that he buys from a local factory. He drills holes around the edge of the circle about 1/2 in. from the edge of the sheet. The holes are spaced about 2 in. apart. He applies roofing cement around the bead of the tire, then places the aluminum circle on top of the cement and screws it down to the tire, thereby squeezing out the excess cement. To mount the feeder he recommends setting two 6-in. sq. treated wooden posts into the ground about 4 ft. apart at a 22 degree angle facing northeast. He then sets the bottom of the tire on a concrete block halfway between the posts, drills a hole through the posts and both sides of the tire, and bolts the tire on. "I've used this idea for 15 years. It really works well," says Schum. "I've had to re-place some posts but all the tires are still in good shape. I keep a feeder in every pasture on several of my farms. I place the treated posts 3 ft. or more into the ground so they're anchored solid. The tires face northeast be-cause in our area the wind seldom blows from that direction during a rain. I find that it's best to use a heavy duty tire that's 14 to 16 in. wide and has an opening no larger than 28 in. in diameter." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Schum, HC 68, Box 221, Saint Meinrad, Ind. 47577 (ph 812 357-5901).

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