Farming Automatic meal feeding system for slatted shed

lstmd

I feed meal to cattle at one side of my slatts and round bale silage at the other side. As I work elsewhere and farm part time I usually feed the cattle at night during the winter. I'm looking for ways to reduce the labour and make life easier. I was wondering if anyone installed an auger to feed meal to their cattle in a slatted shed ?

49801

How much meal u talking per day, to how many cattle?
Could you use a loader bucket for example?
Or a dumper... Seem cheap on dd.

A meal dispenser mounted on a tractor would be more reliable and flexible than a auger system
http://www.shelbourne.com/3/products/2/livestock/89_cubicle-bedder
Seen them on dd before.

iverjohnston

auger systems usually rely on a hopper filling up and blocking the first hold, and so on until a limit switch shuts off the system when last hopper filled. hard to see how it would work for your shed . there were manufacturers selling walk behind petrol engine driven feed barrow/dispenser type machines if you were feeling flush.

pakalasa

Is it something like this, you had in mind?

Muckit

He'd still have to drive it. I think he's looking for a beef equivalent of a parlour feeder that could be timed to put meal out in a trough at the back of the pen

delaval

lstmd wrote: »

I feed meal to cattle at one side of my slatts and round bale silage at the other side. As I work elsewhere and farm part time I usually feed the cattle at night during the winter. I'm looking for ways to reduce the labour and make life easier. I was wondering if anyone installed an auger to feed meal to their cattle in a slatted shed ?

How many cattle per pen and how many pens?

fiat10090dt

an out of parlour feeder will work wit beef cattle too

lstmd

I am feeding twelve pens of slatts. I will have about 100 cattle in the shed. I normally put in enough silage at one side for a number of days. I feed the meal at the side of the pen. I usually feed 2kg's per head depending on the quality of the silage.

lstmd

how much would a parlour feeder cost? If it wasn't too expensive some thing which would fill boxes as the meal moves along the auger and cut out when all full. Then pull a lever and the meal drops down.

49801

Can I ask OP how you are actually transporting the feed ATM?
Just trying to think is there any subtitle change you could do in your routine that would make a difference before spending money on machinery?


Meal bin to 20kg buckets in a wheel barrow/trolley X2
Or
Meal bin to deep plastic wheel barrow and scoop out as you go X2

49801

Allen trading in the uk do nice dispensers too http://www.allen-trading.co.uk/gallery.htm


Other off the the wall idea that would be inspired from a gravity in parlour feeder that I saw on ear to the ground good few years ago. maybe some one else may know more about them. It was a hopper on rails that the milker pushed down the track. Could set up bin to auger into the hopper. Set up rail track to travel the length of the shed...

maxxuumman

Theres a guy near hear using pig feeders in a shed with a few hundred cattle. I don't know the details, haven't seen it, but it's in an out farm he has, silage goes in every few days and the pig feeders are on timers.

lstmd

I fill the meal into a one tonne meal bin and carry the meal from there using a barrow to the cattle. A pig feeder sounds like what I was thinking of. Does anyone know how expensive they are or if second hand one would be an option.

st1979

lstmd wrote: »

I fill the meal into a one tonne meal bin and carry the meal from there using a barrow to the cattle. A pig feeder sounds like what I was thinking of. Does anyone know how expensive they are or if second hand one would be an option.

Think they used to be between 50-100 euro each and then your auger on top. Auger is fairly cheap. Mine is 2 augers for a 20unit so each auger is about 80' and got a motor each and cut out switch each cost about 2k total and installed myself. Mine is the smallest diameter think its 60mm. Never had a problem with straights or nuts or blend.

49801

lstmd wrote: »

I fill the meal into a one tonne meal bin and carry the meal from there using a barrow to the cattle. A pig feeder sounds like what I was thinking of. Does anyone know how expensive they are or if second hand one would be an option.

Pig feeders would be fabulous alright... If money was no object?
Bit of work to install too
I know your prob sh!t sick of feeding meal but what is your budget?

Personnely feel digging meal out of a wheel barrow is unnessicary hardship and you end up bending you back quite a bit and a right time killer. It sounds like that is what your doing?

If you are on a flat concrete yard I think you should think about filling containers directly from your meal silo. Leave gravity do the hard work. If you can keep the every thing at waist/chest height you will find it simpler. If for example you used a hand trolley (or quad trailer) and were able to get the containers on top of the trolley right under the spout of the silo you would hardly have to lift containers until you are spilling them out in front of the cattle. Real trick is to keep the weight per container down to 20kg as otherwise your wrestling with weight in a uncomfortable position.
If you could do it in one sortie you won't have to refill too which is a time killer unless you need to pass by your silo on your route anyway?

Here is a link to the style of trolley I am thinking about with drop sides
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/4-Wheel-Garden-Cart-Truck-Trolley-Wheelbarrow-Tipper-Tipping-Trailer-38-x-20-/121034754109

severeoversteer

st1979 wrote: »

Think they used to be between 50-100 euro each and then your auger on top. Auger is fairly cheap. Mine is 2 augers for a 20unit so each auger is about 80' and got a motor each and cut out switch each cost about 2k total and installed myself. Mine is the smallest diameter think its 60mm. Never had a problem with straights or nuts or blend.

is it mounted on back wall of slatted pen ?

where or who did you get it from?

how many cattle will eat out of them

larthehar

Funny you should post this! I was thinking the exact same myself...must look into the pig feeders... I had more of a bespoke solution in mind.. thinking about a blower and a flexible pipe that move along motor driven from end to end... flow rate from the blower should be constant therfore it is only a case of varying the speed of the motor to control kg delivered per head! Source is a meal bin...

severeoversteer

i want to do something for this year because im sick of feeding in the shed,

i put in enough bales for 3-4 days so every time i feed there is silage in front of barrier,

last year i had jfc pipes cut in half put ontop of silage and fed meal in them and then gather up troughs and throw in nearest place that isint in the way

reason for that is that if i put meal thrown on top of silage they would puck the silage out into the passage to get meal and then roar for silage when theyve it xucked out of their reach

planning to ask people at the ploughin what could i do, not afraid to spend a few pound if it means i can stay away from shed only for twice a week to feed silage

lstmd

If using a pig feeder how many feeders per pen would you need? The meal would be dropping into a feed wall at the back of the slatts. Sounds like a good idea. I might price such a system.

moy83

Would the pig feeders not be dropping it in individual heaps ? If you are feeding a good few together wouldnt you want it spread out in a line to give them all a bit of feeding space .
A silo and one of them buckets that spit it out the side on a tractor loader is all I can think of to reduce handling but you will still have to be there every day for that which should be the case anyhow I think

Good loser

Unless you're feeding ad lib think there is no solution but something like post 15 above.

Suggest 20 litre buckets (holding 30 lbs each). Get a steel mesh trolley made to hold 3x3 or 4x2 buckets and push this to centre of slats. Fill the buckets for the next day.

lstmd

Thanks for the suggestions. If money was't an issue pig feeders would be nice. I think I need to modify what I have for a few more winters.

49801

lstmd wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions. If money was't an issue pig feeders would be nice. I think I need to modify what I have for a few more winters.

We can all dream alright :pac:...
Have you timed how long it takes you normally?
I think you should be able to do a full routine in 10-12mins!

Other thing to think about is your meal silo optimally placed?

49801

Op...saw this and thought of you.


Have you any electrician friends that could put something like it together with a fabricator?


Prob a bit late this year now but I find pit silage far less taxing to feed than bales

Lastin

Maybe you are looking at the problem from the wrong direction?. Is it possible to eliminate meal feeding altogether? If you are feeding meals to weanlings is it possible to front load the meal and stop feeding meals at Christmas, but to be honest I don't know how you can keep cattle without seeing them at least once a day. When you are giving some meal it is easier to notice sick ones.

49801

http://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/no-more-forking-silage/6030341

Interesting feeding system