Creep feeders, where is best value??

vanderbadger

lads must pick up a few creep feeders later in the summer, just wondering if anyone knows any co op or anywhere that good value can be got, have seen a few on done deal and even home made ones seem a horrible price, atkins in cork have a good looking portequip one but its over a grand:eek:
i see a good few cashel ones around home and im sure they are pricey enough so just wondered if anyone seen value in them

BeeDI

vanderbadger wrote: »

lads must pick up a few creep feeders later in the summer, just wondering if anyone knows any co op or anywhere that good value can be got, have seen a few on done deal and even home made ones seem a horrible price, atkins in cork have a good looking portequip one but its over a grand:eek:
i see a good few cashel ones around home and im sure they are pricey enough so just wondered if anyone seen value in them

Price of these creep feeders is total nuts, when stacked to against returns on sucklers.
At this stage I have built one from concrete blocks with simple galvanise roof in each grazing area. Small gravel pad underneath to keep down the muck in bad weather. Must do 2 more this year.
No lugging around with tractor. Cost per unit, tiny fraction of Cashels or the like. Bit of labour, but shure we have to be doing something:pac:

vanderbadger

ya i know what your saying alright, was thinking of even hiring a post driver and making similar in the corner of a field witha made up creep gate or something between a few strong posts, but i find alot of these DIY jobs are grand till you go doing them and half way thru you usually ask yourself why you bothered in the first place :rolleyes:

wiggy123

i do use post's and wire for a creep area in the corner of the field..calves get used to it..maybe onlty problem some calves get used to going under the wire...

vanderbadger

ya thats the trouble with that solution wiggy, and I have fence around the whole farm so couldnt chance it, they would break my heart going here tere and everywhere

BeeDI

wiggy123 wrote: »

i do use post's and wire for a creep area in the corner of the field..calves get used to it..maybe onlty problem some calves get used to going under the wire...

Ya have to keep the wire down low for those Angus :D

But, I cannot talk. I have a biggish charolais cow, who has the most incredible ability to get her head under the wire when I am strip grazing, and arch her back in an amazing feat of dexterity, and get to the other side :rolleyes::rolleyes:. Does it year in year out ..... but she usually has a mighty calf, so I just leave her, until I move the wire again! But then she just does the trick yet again!!

wiggy123

haha, use a main fencer, no going under then, for me anyway!

vanderbadger

BeeDI wrote: »

Ya have to keep the wire down low for those Angus :D

But, I cannot talk. I have a biggish charolais cow, who has the most incredible ability to get her head under the wire when I am strip grazing, and arch her back in an amazing feat of dexterity, and get to the other side :rolleyes::rolleyes:. Does it year in year out ..... but she usually has a mighty calf, so I just leave her, until I move the wire again! But then she just does the trick yet again!!

funny how some of them get clever, I have a big tall simmental cow that did the same, I have a creep area off the slatted shed where the calves can go under a gate but obviously the cows cant, its pretty low now but once I saw this cow go down on her knees and go under it to get away from another cow that was pucking her around..

wiggy123

cattle can be cute hoors

pakalasa

I remember about 2 years ago or so, I was about to but one aswell. I went on the suckler scheme training programme and the guy recomended using a greep gate and ordinary trough instead.
I got an old house gate, cut a few bars and presto, saved myself a grand.

Give them a small bit, for a longer time and they will waste very little with rain etc.
I use the gate to let the calves graze ahead better grass also.

Looking back I'm glad I didn't buy it to be honest.
With all the rain we got too, I wouldn't have been able to move it around with the tractor.

poor farmer

try corby engineering newtowngore co. letrim
the make a very good feeder, good company to deal with

iano93

wiggy123 wrote: »

i do use post's and wire for a creep area in the corner of the field..calves get used to it..maybe onlty problem some calves get used to going under the wire...

We have one creep feeder and one homemade one like urself aswell!;) We just have a bit of live wire just high enough 4 the calves 2 go i n and de cows cant!!!:) Wit a trough inside it it works v well in de corner of a field!! De creep feeder is very handy once u train de calves (You can hav fierce trouble tryin to get some of them used to it) to go into it! It keeps the (expensive) meal dry and keeps de birds out which de other doesent do but wen de calves get greedy its gone before de birds get a chance or de rain gets in!!:rolleyes: With a trough u can feed more calves aswell insted of creep feeder!!......Hard to no if they justify spendin a lot of money on them wen de other is as good!! But de creep feeder is better for younger calves!!...Thats just my two cents...

blue5000

Hi Van,
I think creep feeders are too expensive for what they are, you might be able to get a second hand one from somone who has got out of suckling.

This summer I'm going to try creep gate in the corner of a paddock so calves can go into next paddock and get meal that way. I had yearlings last year that were creep fed the winter before, the little AA b***rds went under single mains electric fence wire everywhere they could see daylight through a hedge.

Slightly off topic, but how old would calves want to be before starting meal, is 3 months about right or too soon, all my calves are angus?

wiggy123

a wise man once told me, to feed creep from birth--a handful each per day--and keep that amount until weaning..
as he maintained, its keep the calf going nicely..compared to a huge pile a few weeks before weaning...
AA calves wouldn't want a great pile..just a small bit, as they'd get fat/stumped maybe to quickly..so a grower feed be best.. my opinion anyway
was planning to feed my calves this year earlier than normall..there 3 weeks+at mo..start mayb next week
see how they go with it

hammer73

anyone know the price of these. could get the gate mounted one and make up your own pens.

http://www.jfc.ie/CalfCreepFeeder.html

wiggy123

they have to over a €1000 easily from what i think..maybe even €1500...
others might know for definate..

hammer73

sounds alot, was at an agri store open day up north yeaterday and there were painted creep feeders for 575 pounds and galvanised ones for 200 pounds more so 1000 euro for a JFC with no gates would seem very expensive to me.

wiggy123

maybe i'm wrong hammer!

vanderbadger

also i know the plastic would be handy but it looks on the lightish side doesnt it..field of old cows and bull all anxious for a bit of meal might test it..
I like the look of this one, design is slightly different, anyone use anything like this
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/livestock/1175784

hammer73

ill be in there again in the next day or so and ill ask the price of it, didnt think to get a price yesterday.

bogman_bass

If you have paddocks the creep gate seems to be the way to go.
I agree with the little and offten approch with meal. its no harm to keep giving them a handful. if you can get them to follow a bucket rather than chasing them with a stick it makes life a lot easier