Portable Calf Feeder Made From Old Feed Bin

Portable Calf Feeder Made From Old Feed Bin LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment 27-5-10 "There are a lot of old feed bins around that can be had for the taking. This is a great use for them," says Bud Wright, Cullman, Alabama, who turned an old feed bin into a portable calf feeder. Wright started with a 10-ton feed bin that he got free from a neighbor. He removed the top two rings and then welded two of the bin's four legs to the axle and wheels off an old trailer. He used 2 by 4's and plywood to make a 4-ft. sq. "swinging" platform that mounts between the legs. Feed gravity flows out of a manually-operated slide gate at the bottom of the bin onto the platform, which is suspended at each corner by a chain. By raising or lowering the chains, Wright can change the rate at which feed comes out of the bin. A roof made from sheets of corrugated tin keeps the feed dry. "We've used it for three years and couldn't be happier with it," says Wright. "The bin holds about 5 tons of feed. We have the feed delivered to our farm and augered into the bin. We use a rubber cord to open the bin's top lid from the ground. "We spent only about $50 to build it. I think the same idea would work with much bigger bins. One advantage of this design is that the platform never overfills, which virtually eliminates waste. As the calves run out of feed they jostle against the platform, which brings down more feed as needed. Another advantage is that the feed is out in the open so animals don't inhale as much dust as they do in more enclosed conventional feeders." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Hugh (Bud) Wright, 3620 Co. Rd. 783, Cullman, Alabama 35055 (ph 256 796-5038).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.