Tub feeder

Murang

I was thinking of getting a tub feeder for feeding about 70 cattle for the winter what do people think of them or are they a waste of time

Gillespy

Unlikely to be a waste of time unless you haven't the other basics needed in place to make use of it. Tubs offer more flexibility in that they cope with bales, can feed out both sides and they are very compact and maneuverable.

Murang

Gillespy wrote: »

Unlikely to be a waste of time unless you haven't the other basics needed in place to make use of it. Tubs offer more flexibility in that they cope with bales, can feed out both sides and they are very compact and maneuverable.

I already feed silage beet and ration just wondering would cattle do any better getting everything mixed up together.I saw cattle being fed with a feeder one time and I taught they were very happy and content

richie123

I wouldn't buy one.
Beef game is a loss making racket enough without going creating more costs for yourself.
Blades have to be sharp and fairly new all the time are youll spend a solid fortune on diesal processing bales.and if they're not chopped enough you actually won't be able to feed it out.
Other than cost of blades they're very simple and reliable machine.

9935452

Murang wrote: »

I was thinking of getting a tub feeder for feeding about 70 cattle for the winter what do people think of them or are they a waste of time

Lad i work for got one a few years back just to see what they were like .

They do take a while to mix is about the only downside to it for him.

You arent continuously shear grabs from a pit, which lessens wear and tear on the loader tractor.
Less waste as the cattle are inclined to eat more of the mix.
Less pushing silage in .
Better control of the mix you are giving cattle .
When he is feeding hay or straw he sometimes puts a small bit of silage through it. Finds the hay and straw is less likely to blow around the yard.

In short he doesnt regret getting one

Gillespy

Murang wrote: »

I already feed silage beet and ration just wondering would cattle do any better getting everything mixed up together.I saw cattle being fed with a feeder one time and I taught they were very happy and content

Content animals is the great things when a feeder is used and used properly. They shouldn't all come rushing up when you go in with a load of feed. They will still fight to sort out the beet but there should be less health issues.

If you feel you have the tractor available, a good loader to fill and the shed layout to allow a feeder in and out, I would look at one. Always find a feeder speeds up the job of feeding, when you get a good routine, you can feed a lot of animals in an hour.

Cavanjack

Have considered one here for feeding close to 200 cattle. Haven’t purchased yet though.
The reasons for are, feed once a day only, no graping in silage, No bucketing meal twice a day, cattle are supposed to do better In a more consistent diet, no graping in silage, can feed straw in the diet, they are good for round bales compared to the paddle feeders and did I mention no graping in silage.
Reasons against are, the beef job could be goosed, the cost of running them (second tractor, diesel etc. Lads say they can be slow especially if you need to make up two mixes.
Saying all that I know Lads that got rid of them and went back to the shear grab then I know lads that wouldn’t be without them.

Mooooo

I would look at putting the money into feed space and group space first. If you are fine for that and want to make use of multiple forages, grass silage + maize/ wholecrop etc they are useful but if the diet will be predominantly grass silage and meal, I wouldn't see the return for it.
Let the stock pull apart the bale and see the feeding area up so the loader does the graping

49801

Unless you’ve a good reason to use one steer clear of the extra cost.
Good reasons in my book would be... winter milking, complex diets, high volume of animals to feed etc.

Otherwise keep it simple

simx

Nearly had a brand new tub bought two years ago and talked myself out of it, bought a paddle Keenan off a friend that upgraded to a tub then for €1k.... said I’d see how I like it and would get a tub if thought it was beneficial, the plan this winter is to leave it parked and go back to grabs if silage, biggest reason is it’s too time consuming, like said already keep it simple

Cavanjack

simx wrote: »

Nearly had a brand new tub bought two years ago and talked myself out of it, bought a paddle Keenan off a friend that upgraded to a tub then for €1k.... said I’d see how I like it and would get a tub if thought it was beneficial, the plan this winter is to leave it parked and go back to grabs if silage, biggest reason is it’s too time consuming, like said already keep it simple

That would be the way to do it alright. Work one for a winter before spending big money in one. I’m sure there are plenty of them lying around the country in machinery dealers. They’d surely hire them out for a winter if there was a chance of a sale.

leoch

Sounds sencible 89401 how many cattle were u feeding

Downtown123

How many( not overly wilted) silage bales would you fit in a 14 cu. metre tub feeder? With nothing else. Thanks

jaymla627

Downtown123 wrote: »

How many( not overly wilted) silage bales would you fit in a 14 cu. metre tub feeder? With nothing else. Thanks

3 max

Gillespy

14m twin tub here will take 4-5 easily. Had a 12m single before and it would struggle with 3. The twins seems to take more than the equivalent cubic meter single auger mixer. Way more suited to bales too.

Downtown123

Thanks! It'd probably be a single augur I'd be thinking of. Considering it here for spring time dairy buffering

Cattlepen

You would want to be stone mad. Complicating a simple operation.

Cattlepen

Burning up diesel for very little gain