Loader Box Helps Fill Feeders Fast

Loader Box Helps Fill Feeders Fast LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment Filling bulk feeders out on pasture is no longer a tough job at Auntie Annie’s Fields farm A former employee John Riley built a feed handler that fits into a loader bucket for the farm’s owners Ian Rhoades and his wife Elizabeth It helps them quickly fill ten 800-lb feed bins for their pasture-raised poultry and hog operation Made of plywood scrap 2 by 3’s and angle iron brackets it fits snuggly into the bucket of their 25 hp Deere tractor and is easy to secure with a couple of straps “We wanted it to hold about 600 lbs of feed It’s based on an attachment for dumping cement that is roughly shaped like this ” Ian Rhoades explains “It fits under a gravity wagon to fill with feed and the chute narrows to fill our bulk chicken and hog feeders ” Rhoades says it’s simple enough for anyone on the farm to use Just fill the bucket drive to the feeder tip the bucket and manually lift the gate off the front Meant as a prototype an upgrade could include a way to open the gate while on the tractor he notes Still it’s a big improvement for the couple who first hauled chicken feed in 5-gal buckets after moving from the city to the southern Minnesota farm a decade ago Later they bought the bulk bins and adapted an old mixer mill to fill them It was a clumsy and unreliable process “Now I can fill all the feeders in a couple of hours or just fill a couple when I have a little time ” Rhoades says The Rhoades have an organic pasture poultry operation raising about 800 layers and 3 600 meat birds this year They also raise a few hogs that they direct market along with their chickens Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Auntie Annie’s Fields LLC 12456 Bagley Ave Dundas Minn 55019 ph 612 251-0581; www auntieanniesfields com; auntieanniesfields@gmail com

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