Low-Cost Portable Feeder Built From Fuel Oil Tanks

Low-Cost Portable Feeder Built From Fuel Oil Tanks LIVESTOCK Beef 18-3-8 An Ontario farmer says he's come up with an inexpensive way to make his own portable livestock feeder using old fuel oil tanks. Jim MacDonald, who farms near Yarker, cut three 200-gal. fuel oil tanks in half and welded the three halves together end to end to make a 15-ft. long, 4-ft. wide portable feeder for his 70-cow beef herd. He welded 2-in. wide angle iron around the top edge of the tanks, then welded on 1-in. sq. steel tubing to make V-shaped uprights. The tanks ride on a frame built from 2-in. sq. steel and the axle is built from rectangular steel tubing and fitted with two used car wheels. "It cost less than $500 to build," says MacDonald. "A 24-ft. commerical feeder would have cost me about $2,500. This unit feeds up to 18 head at a time and holds three 4-ft. round bales, but most of the time I fill it with corn silage or grain which I feed to my heifers. I had been using V-shaped troughs to feed silage, but the heifers were able to step into the trough, often dropping feed onto the ground and wasting it. The V-shaped uprights on this feeder work good be-cause they keep cows from pushing each other out of the way." After cutting the tanks in half, MacDonald lit a fire in the tanks to burn out any leftover oil residue. The tongue is braced to the feeder by an angled length of 2-in. sq. steel tubing equipped with a coupling for a jack. Drop-down stands are welded onto the front corners of the feeder. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Jim MacDonald, Whiteoaks Farm, RR 2, Yarker, Ontario, Canada KOK 3N0 (ph

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