Feeder for a goat - how to make it yourself: instructions, photos and drawings

The biggest expense when running a goat farm is feed. To increase the efficiency of their use and minimize costs, you need to make goat feeders in your barn with your own hands. Their shape and design should ensure safety, better feed consumption, and provide free access for all livestock. Feeders for goats are divided into types depending on the type of feed - hay, root vegetables, concentrates, so each type should be installed in kosher feeders. The goat's hay feeder should be spacious and prevent the animals from throwing away grass. Grain is poured into troughs or special automatic feeders for goats. Requirements for feeders, drawings, photos and videos are presented below.

When feeding goats, it is of great importance to use easy-to-use feeders for feeding roughage, ensuring maximum palatability and minimal losses.

In dairy goat farming, extensive technologies for feeding and keeping animals are mainly used, ensuring milk productivity at the level of 450–500 kg of milk per lactation. The use of an intensive goat breeding system, which includes advanced technological methods of keeping, feeding, milking, raising young animals and targeted selection work, will allow an average milk yield from one goat of 1000–1200 kg per lactation.

Purpose

Goats are one of the cleanest pets. This is why some picky eaters won’t eat food if it falls to the ground. In addition, to maintain good health of goats, it is necessary to feed them high-quality, clean and healthy food. This is precisely why goat feeders for hay and other types of feed were designed.

All food should be kept high above the floor level in the barn to prevent dirt from getting into it. The feeder should be spacious (so that the animal can easily stick its head between the bars) and safe. The goat will not have to bend down and look for food; equipping the barn with a feeder will provide comfort to the livestock. At the same time, the food will remain fresh and beautiful for longer, which leads to secondary savings - a reduction in feed costs.

Design options

Making a manger for goats yourself is not at all difficult if you know all the subtleties of installation and selection of materials. Traditional options look like a box with a frame. Wood is considered a successful building material.

Galvanized metal is economical and suitable for a large number of individuals in a goat house. The positive aspects of this choice are simplicity and durability. Maintenance of galvanized feeders is less expensive.

There are five feeder options:

Manger for vegetables and crushed grains.
A container that is used for feeding goats and adults for hay.
Structures that can be disassembled. Used for pens with a large number of livestock.
For young animals with an opening for 1-2 heads.
For mixed livestock (sector type).

To understand the difference between these options, you need to understand what the owner of the pen faces when building them, what they are needed for, and what the idea is of using the selected type.

Ordinary type

It is easiest to make this type of feeder for goats for hay. It is used in stalls with a small number of livestock, and is completely unsuitable if you need to feed more than 4-5 animals.

It is better to choose a feeding method with a folding top, which will help you quickly remove the feeder without using floor containers. The design has two shelves, the top one is either removable or can be lifted and attached. You can consider options for this type of bilateral and unilateral. The first one is good for outdoor supplementary food.

Hay type

This version of the nursery can be used outdoors and indoors. It is successful in that it prevents food from being scattered on the floor. This happens due to the physiological characteristics of the animal. Goats grab all the food with their teeth, then chew it, but the bitten pieces fall off.

Therefore, a residue of hay and grass that did not enter the mouth is formed on the floor. If you use this type of feeder, the owners will avoid wasting food. The effect is achieved thanks to a special construction formula.

The construction of the device involves the use of boards, beams, and slats made of wood. They will be needed to make the racks on the sides and the pallet. The front side is sewn up with a lath. Self-tapping screws are required as fastenings.

Checking strength and integrity is mandatory. It is better to do this by hand, as the screws may stick out. If this happens, then in addition to sanding, you will need to additionally trim the sharp edge to a minimum.

To increase service life, use solid wood. Painting or treating with paints and varnishes is not recommended, as the animal may be poisoned when feeding.

Need to know! When using the hay type of the specified form, the young animals are fed separately, the diet changes according to age, and the distance between the slats is large.

Sector option

As with all types, individual measurements are used for construction (animals are measured, namely: head, neck, withers). You can use double-sided or single-sided options. Each sector has its own size (for each individual individually). The type is convenient because it prevents overeating, undereating or wasting goat food.

The material used is chipboard and beams for the base. To fasten the elements of the feeder, the farmer will need:

screwdriver;
self-tapping screws;
jigsaw (preferably an electric one);
wood hacksaw.

Universal option

The device is the simplest. It is done quickly, but cannot be called economical, since goats often jump over them. The materials needed are wooden blocks (corners of the fixture) and slats (frame). Rectangular shape. The bottom is made of chipboard or plywood.

You can prevent jumping by installing it as a hanging option or next to a high fence.

Requirements for feeders

Food safety

Some feeder models are unable to hold food tightly, causing it to fall to the floor and mix with manure. In this case, the goats will not even pick up their favorite treats. Therefore, you can put a clean trough under the feeder: food will fall into it, and it also makes sense to put feed and concentrates there. This two-level feeder saves a lot of space in the barn.

It is necessary to protect the structure so that the goat does not climb into the feeder with its feet and does not throw food out of it. Therefore, it is necessary to make cracks in the body that will only allow the animals to stick their heads through. For adults, you can place the “dining room” at a height of about 1.3-1.5 meters. This option is unacceptable for kids: low “baby” feeders should be equipped with small holes.

Simplicity of design

An unspoken law of technology: the more complex the device, the faster it will break. Oddly enough, this rule also applies to arranging a goat barn. The feeder should be simple to ensure low labor intensity in manufacturing, ease of operation and cleaning, and convenience for the animals.

At the same time, a simple design is more reliable, so you don’t have to waste time or money on repairing existing equipment. The most affordable and ergonomic option is a hanging manger. In this case, goats will use their teeth to get straw or hay, with almost no contact with the bulk of the food with their muzzle.

Safety

Ensuring the safety of livestock is the most important requirement when setting up a barn. The animal should not get stuck between the bars, scratch or hit the sharp corners of the structure. In some cases, a goat can even suffocate in a tight hole, so it is very important to make the feeder the right size.

Each animal must have its own place for feeding, so that there are no conflicts, and food is taken at the same time. On large farms, it is difficult to equip large hay barns, so you need to strive for the ratio: build 78 feeding places for 100 animals.

It is also necessary to ensure safety for humans when cleaning and operating feeders. Do not allow protruding nails, pieces of reinforcement or large chips that could cause injury. The canteen should be sized to accommodate whole bales or rolls of hay to minimize effort and save time on barn maintenance. This is especially true for large farms, where in some cases it is necessary to introduce complete mechanization of service processes.

Cot

Goats combine two mutually exclusive character traits. They are very sloppy, but at the same time extremely squeamish. While eating, animals often drop hay on the floor, but will never pick it up. Without a special device, most of the feed becomes unusable, so it is necessary to make a device that will minimize food loss.

An old crib could be a great option. A few additional touches should be made and an excellent feeder for hay, roots and twigs will be ready.

The bottom of the crib should be covered with a mesh with small cells. The dropped food will remain at the bottom of the product and can be reused.

The beds are usually equipped with wheels, and this will allow you to move the feeder throughout the entire area of the goat's coop, and in the warm season, roll it out into the yard and feed the young animals.

Experienced farmers note that the goat herd develops a good appetite in the fresh air, so a mobile structure will be an ideal option for feeding animals. You can equip the mobile feeder with a canopy in case of unexpected rain.

Main types

Depending on the size and characteristics of the livestock and the type of food, feeders also differ.

It is customary to highlight:

Open type. They are most suitable for compressed hay, which animals can easily tear into pieces and eat in small portions.
Low floor design for fresh grass. The shape of the body resembles a basin with frequent crossbars designed for dosed feeding of food. Goats cannot climb into the feeder and scatter its contents, so fresh herbs are not contaminated and are used sparingly.
Hopper type for dry food and mash. The feed is poured into a large hopper, but gradually rolls into a small recess, from which it is convenient for the cattle to get food. This design contributes to economical feed consumption.

It is very important to use different types of nurseries depending on the age of the animals. For goats, the “dining room” should be placed on the floor or suspended at a low height, and for adults, it should be placed as high as possible. It is extremely important not to place toddler feeders in juvenile crates, otherwise the animals may suffocate if their head gets stuck in the crib opening that is too small.

Hanging feeders

The simplest way is to mount the manger on the wall and put hay in it. A fence is installed from scraps of lumber (the gaps between the slats are up to 20 centimeters). Exactly the same structure can be made from reinforcement and mounted on the wall.

An even simpler option is to attach a chain-link mesh with cells up to 10 centimeters to the wall of the goat house.

All of the above models are very easy to make, but a significant part of the food spills out and mixes with goat droppings and urine, which leads to wasted nutrients. And when keeping goats, the largest financial cost is the purchase of feed.

The most effective way to prevent losses is to place boxes or a trough under the feeders. Small branches, leftover hay or root crops will fall into the stands and be eaten by goats. At the same time, it will be possible to add the necessary mineral supplements to the container.

Important! The feeder should be attached to the wall at a height of one and a half meters from the floor. Animals will not be able to climb into the feeders and spoil their food.

Materials and tools

It is very important to prepare all the necessary tools in advance so as not to be distracted while working.

For production you will need:

hacksaw for metal or wood;
marker or felt-tip pen for marking;
pliers;
hammer;
drill;
roulette.

Depending on the type of manger, you can get by with just a hammer and nails. Also, the materials differ depending on the type of construction and the final purpose of use for a particular type of feed.

The most common materials are:

wooden slats;
pieces of lumber;
old barrels;
net;
cutting pipes or iron fittings.

Most often it is recommended to use the cheapest materials at hand, which are the simplest, most reliable and easy to clean. Wood and metal are best suited for this role, and they cost pennies.

It is equally important that there is enough material to make a “dining room” of the right size - where there is enough space for each animal. Otherwise, strong bullies will drive away weaker relatives, who will begin to malnourish, which will affect their productivity.

Typical designs for feeding goat herd

Depending on the type of feed, several types of structures differ

It is very important to understand this fact. Bulk feeders are not like liquid feeders for goats

Therefore, they differ in their implementation methods. Accordingly, you need to know in advance which option will be preferable for you. So, typical types of feeders:

for bulk food;
for liquid mixture;
for plant foods.

And then we will consider each design separately with its pros and cons.

Bulk feed

Popular among goat owners: feed, bran, grain mixtures. They are classified as a loose category. This choice is justified because it allows the animals to gain weight and gain fat. As for the design of the feeder, it must meet 2 criteria: safety of feed and maximum consumption by goats.

Liquid feed

Liquid fraction mixtures are popular because various components can be added to them. Including silos, stillage, grains, diluted with water to the required consistency. In this case, the feeder should consist of a pipe system and a special trough. The dry mix design will not work here.

Edible material of plant origin

A separate category consists of feeders for hay and other plant food for goats. It is necessary to ensure that the goats do not take away the fodder or scatter it over the entire area of the paddock. The best solution to these conditions is a canopy made from wooden sheathing, gradually tapering downwards. Other options are also possible.

Nursery type

Step-by-step instruction

You can make a manger for goats with your own hands from the cheapest material - wooden slats or boards. It only takes a couple of hours to make, and this design will last for years.

Manufacturing consists of the following stages:

Make the bottom frame from wider boards. The dimensions of the frame are determined by the livestock. It is necessary to attach the legs made of bars to the lower part.
The bottom is made of boards tightly adjacent to each other and nailed to the main frame. It is better to take chipboard or wooden panels rather than plywood. It is applicable as a material only if its thickness reaches seven millimeters or more.
The top frame and side slats must be connected by cutting well and blunting the edges of the nails so that the animals do not get hurt.

This feeder is most suitable for hay or slightly withered herbs.

From reinforcement

Nurseries made from reinforcement will last longer than wooden ones and are more reliable. In addition, capricious or disobedient goats will not be able to turn over and throw even an empty feeder off the wall due to its significant weight. However, to make a manger of this type, basic skills in working with a welding machine are required.

Step-by-step instruction:

The tray is made of galvanized sheet two millimeters thick - food will fall into it. The legs for the frame are made of metal rods 18-19 millimeters in diameter.
The side walls of the manger in the shape of triangles can also be made of a sheet of metal; the dimensions of the triangle are chosen depending on the number of animals and the expected volume of food.
Two upper and one lower slats, forming the basis of the lattice part of the manger, are made from metal pipes with a diameter of 12-13 millimeters. The cells themselves should consist of soft wire or reinforcement no more than eight millimeters thick.

You can weld all the elements in any order, but it is often recommended to “go” in the direction from the bottom: download the frame, then the legs, the base for the grille and the grille itself.

How to make a feeder yourself?

Simple circuits

The construction skills of all goat breeders are different, and most do not have the money to buy ready-made feeders. In this case, the goat definitely needs to put hay and other products somewhere. You can whip up a few simple models.

If you have purchased goats, then a feeder made from a plastic or metal barrel is perfect for you.

What we need:

PVC barrel with a volume of 100 liters;
hacksaw for metal;
masonry mesh, cell size 10 cm - 2x1 m;
marker and tape measure for marking.

We mark the barrel into two equal parts across the circle. Now we retreat 20 cm from the lid and bottom and make radial marks on the side surface for half of the barrel - they should be diametrically opposed at the top and bottom. All that remains is to cut it with a hacksaw to make two feeders, as in the photo below.

A simple diagram of a barrel feeder

Another model is suitable for a barn. This is a manger made of chain-link - we fix the mesh on a wooden frame. Now we attach the chain-link to the wall and get a simple manger in which you can give hay or straw. To reduce waste, place a box under the feeder. You will get this do-it-yourself goat feeder, photo:

Chain-link mesh feeder for goats

Stern passage

This scheme is common in livestock farming, when feeders are not used, and feed is placed directly on the ground. This is especially convenient with a large population and automation of the food distribution process - the feed dispenser simply drives through and evenly distributes concentrates and mash along the paddock.

This method has its own characteristics:

the floor must be perfectly clean - no foreign objects (especially crayons) or oil stains should be allowed on it;
The dispenser can be used to transport only bulk products (not suitable for hay);
you will have to move the feed after the tractor and as it is eaten;
The pen needs to be made with bars so that the goats can stick their heads through.

Special models

When you also keep young goats along with adult goats, you will have to constantly drive the kids out of the feeders - they easily crawl through gaps of 15-20 cm. This leads to contamination of the feed, trampling and scattering. The easiest way to avoid this is to keep the kids separately, but this possibility is limited by the area of the barns and the technology of keeping them.

But you can easily modify your existing feeder. All you need is to build the nursery correctly. For this we need wide boards (20 cm or 2 x 10). We replace old slats with them at intervals of 10 cm.

Now you need to make a cutout in the upper part - we widen the openings for adult goats. On each side of the gap we cut another 5 cm to a height of 30 - 40 cm from the top bar. Thus, adult goats can easily stick their heads through the upper window and lower their necks through a narrower gap of 10 cm. But young goats cannot crawl through the gap.

Ready-made drawings - how to make a feeder for goats

Drawing of an outdoor wooden feeder

Small metal feeder

Outdoor feeder for concentrates and mash

Drawing of a combined feeder

French

The French type device is compact and highly ergonomic for service workers. This is due to the historical characteristics of goat breeding in the mountainous and forest-steppe regions of France.

This “dining room” resembles a nursery, but due to the design features, much less material is consumed. French nurseries are universal: you can fill them with various types of feed and coarse hay. Food is spent very sparingly, because the animals stick their heads through special windows and cannot spill the contents of the manger.

Sometimes playful kids can jump inside the nursery. In this case, the structure must be equipped with a lid or the side walls must be increased to such a height that the kids can no longer overcome.

Manufacturing consists of the following steps:

Make a box from DPS, plywood or sheets of wood. If possible, it is better to make the bottom from a stainless steel sheet to increase the strength and reliability of the structure.
Instead of legs, you can use solid wood blocks on which the box is installed. You can make recesses in the bars to easily move the entire structure.
You need to cut holes in the front and back walls, having previously marked the windows with a marker. The edges of the holes need to be sanded to remove any sharp edges.

Recommended dimensions of a French nursery: 60 centimeters in height, the depth of the base should be the same, in the upper part the depth should increase to 80 centimeters. The length must be chosen depending on the livestock.

French model

In France, goats are one of the most common domestic animals. They are kept everywhere and it is believed that goat breeding has been practiced in the country for about three thousand years. It is not surprising that local craftsmen created their own type of feeder.

The main difference between the French product is its versatility. The design can use both bulk and roughage.

Food is given through windows inside the feeder. This reduces feed loss to zero. The fallen food ends up in the feeder, so the goats continue to eat it.

The disadvantage of the French device is the lack of a lid. Adults and kids have the opportunity to jump inside. However, this problem can be solved very simply - you just need to increase the height of the side walls. This correction of the French feeder will only be beneficial - its capacity will increase.

How to assemble a French model?

There are no particular difficulties during assembly:

Step No. 1. The material for making the box can be boards, plywood or chipboard sheets. A stainless steel sheet placed on the bottom will increase both the strength and service life of the product.
Step No. 2. Small legs are attached to the box. This will allow you to move the structure around the territory of the goat’s rue and place it in the right place.
Step No. 3. A window is cut in the front of the box through which the goats absorb the food. Window cuts must be processed to avoid injury to the animal.

If the farmer wants to place the feeder sideways against the wall, then a similar hole can be cut on the back of the product. In this case, two goats will be able to feed from the feeder at the same time.

Simple budget options

From a plastic barrel

You can make universal feeders from unnecessary plastic containers. It is very important to follow safety precautions. It is better not to take containers that contained flammable substances, chemical compounds, or paints and varnishes. The ideal option is water containers. Also, the barrel must be intact, without cracks.

If the plastic is thin, you should first check its strength. You can stack several tanks one inside the other to increase the strength characteristics.

The barrel can be placed vertically or horizontally. Depending on the location, the order of steps during manufacturing differs slightly.

Horizontal option

This orientation is suitable for feeding large numbers of animals.

Making a “dining room” is very simple:

The barrel should be placed on its side and the top 15-20% of the container should be sawed off. If desired, a lid can be made from the sawn-off part.
Cut round holes in the barrel and process the edges, dulling them thoroughly.
Make legs for wooden blocks and bricks. It is advisable to attach heavy legs so that the light plastic container does not tip over in the wind.
You need to drill small holes in the bottom of the barrel so that all the liquid flows down and does not accumulate in the tank.

The disadvantage of this option: from one barrel you will get only one manger for a maximum of three goats.

Vertical option

The design is less stable, but allows you to save plastic containers.

Making a manger is even easier than the previous option:

The barrel is divided into two L-shaped halves. The height of the lower part with a round tray should be at least twenty centimeters. All edges are sanded.
The vertical plane of the cuts is covered with a large mesh into which the hay will be placed. Goats will carefully reach twigs and blades of grass through the mesh.
This “dining room” is unstable, so even the heaviest legs will not help. Instead, you can attach the structure to a wall or other reliable support.

The obvious advantage of this type of product is the ability to make two mangers at once from one barrel.

From pipes

Large-diameter plastic pipes can be used to make convenient containers for supplying bulk feed. You can only take a new, clean PVC pipe with a diameter of at least ten centimeters. The optimal height is 1.5 meters. You will also need plugs and a tee of the same diameter.

Manufacturing steps and description:

Divide the pipe into four sections: 20, 60, 10 and 70 centimeters. The cuts are processed to remove jagged edges. The middle section, 60 centimeters long, is inserted into the lower hole, the longest into the upper compartment, and the shortest into the side. It is from the side hole that the animal will eat, so cuts in this part need to be processed best.
The lower and upper parts must be equipped with plugs, and the lower part must be very strong in order to withstand the weight of the poured feed.
Attach the structure to the wall using clamps.

This option is very simple and helps to effectively save bulk feed compared to feeding in troughs.

Sennik made of boards

This option is the most budget-friendly, and production is so simple that even a child can handle it.

You can build a hay barn for goats in this way:

In the corner of the shed you need to nail several boards one above the other.
The third board is attached from above at a distance of 80-90 centimeters, forming a frame.
From small slats of the same length you need to make a lattice that resembles a fence. It is not recommended to increase the distance between the slats by more than seven centimeters so that the contents do not fall out of the feeder.

This option is a good space saver in the goat house.

For which goats will you need to build a feeder?

In village households and farms, goats are kept because of their beneficial qualities for humans. All types of animals are divided into four categories:

milk producing;
providing both dairy products and meat;
meat;
breeds bred for wool and down.

In Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, those breeds that produce the maximum amount of milk are especially popular. Down types are no less popular, because the famous Orenburg shawl is made from goat down.

But in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, breeds that produce meat and wool are more popular.

Dairy animals

Females of this species are characterized by a voluminous udder and a short coat. Goats are considered the most productive:

dairy Russian breed;
Toggenburg;
Mingrelian;
Nubian;
Welsh;
Cameroonian breed.

Meat types

These goats have a much larger body weight than other species. For example, a male meat breed can weigh up to 1.5 centners. Almost all the milk from the queens of these breeds is used to feed the young. They have short and stiff fur. There are both hornless species and representatives with massive, strong horns.

The following types of meat are distinguished:

Boer;
Greek;
Bengal breed;
chance.

Dairy and meat breeds

Keeping such animals is equally profitable from a financial point of view for obtaining both meat and dairy products. The most popular breeds include:

Nubian;
Cameroonian;
Syrian;
kiko;
German Pied;
Anglo-Nubian;
Kalahari, etc.

Similar breeds in Russia are found on individual farms or peasant farms. These species have not received industrial distribution in the country.

Other models

Row feeders for pens and stalls

There are designs that provide access to food for three or four animals at once. For feeding large livestock, it is recommended to use folding hay barns. The option is suitable for a whole herd; after feeding hay or grass at a certain time, it is very easy to fold back the structure and remove the barn. In this case, there is no need to carry heavy boxes or troughs of food. The double-sided option can be installed in a summer paddock or even in a pasture in winter.

The product is manufactured as follows:

As in the previous versions, a simple canopy is made from a wooden base and slats.
You should add rectangular wooden trays in which you can place vegetables or fresh food. Attach the tray using reliable metal slats.
Make the upper support stick removable - attach it to a large self-tapping screw so that you can remove the rail from the wall. To do this, you can make a special metal ring.
Attach door hinges to the bottom so that the base of the feeder can be assembled and disassembled.

It is advisable to use hinges and other metal elements made of stainless steel so that rust does not corrode the iron and damage the integrity of the entire structure.

It is recommended to build a goat barn that is spacious: there should be at least one and a half square meters for each individual to sleep at night.

For goats and kids

Box for dry and granulated food

This scheme is suitable for feeding young animals and pregnant goats that need increased nutrition.

Manufacturing stages:

Make a box from plywood or OSB. One of the walls should be covered with a mesh, the opposite wall should be covered with a layer of plexiglass in order to easily check the level of the mixture in the “dining room”.
Attach the top cover with rubber hinges. The glass can be made removable (with screws) for easy cleaning.
There should be an open part at the bottom of the box for the cattle to stick their heads through.

This feeder looks very aesthetically pleasing and is durable.

Metal dispenser

A cone-type metal feeder consists of two steel sheets welded into a wedge shape.

Stages and features:

The connection angle should not exceed 15-18 degrees.
The hopper is installed on a frame made of steel angle. The legs and axle for the removable wheels should be welded to the pallet.
The lower part should be equipped with a tray where excess feed will be poured out.

The product is relatively expensive, but very durable, and is also suitable for all types of feed. The feeder can be disinfected with water and steamed during outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Feeding the young

For small kids, you will need a separate feeder or immediately provide a special tray for young animals, since the kids spend a certain period of time near their mother. In this case, the feeding does not look like hay, but vegetables.

It is advisable to create a structure that looks like a plywood box. You will need a mesh for covering. The back wall is recommended to be made of organic glass. This is necessary, first of all, for the farmer, as food remains must be tracked.

To prevent the kid from scattering food, the opening is made slightly narrowed towards the bottom. The same condition will also help when designing a feeder for kids who are already grown up and weaned from their mother. A plastic barrel is used as a manger. A cut is made in it in the form of a zigzag and the edges are cleaned so that the young animals do not get hurt.

Attach to the foundation tightly and thoroughly. Use a wire mesh to separate the sections. This option is suitable for feeding one or several kids. The bottom has a hole that serves as an opening for removing food debris. The positive aspects of such a simple container for feeding goats are:

are not damaged by goats, as plastic is unpleasant to the taste;
the material is waterproof. Therefore, it is allowed to use it outdoors without removing it during rain;
Light weight, minimal footprint.

It’s easier to choose the right option for a goat feeder if you use several options at the same time. This way you can make a winter and summer version of the nursery. If there is a large number of livestock, it is recommended to make a row (along the stall) with individual openings.

Goat drinking bowls

Drinkers can be wall-mounted or floor-mounted. In the first case, the water remains clean and fresh for a long time, and its overflow is prevented. Floor drinking bowls are easier to manufacture and more convenient to use.

You can make a simple drinking bowl with your own hands from a bucket, bottle, basin or other plastic container. The basin can simply be attached to the floor to prevent the animal from turning it over. In more complex designs, it is necessary to make a hole for the goat's head and securely attach the drinker to the wall. The main thing is to prevent water from spilling and the bedding in the shed getting wet.

You can make a complex automatic waterer for goats, but you will have to spend a lot of time and money studying drawings and purchasing special materials and components.

Requirements

The key requirement for goat feeders is safety. It is important to provide comfortable conditions for both the goats and the farmer (service personnel). The procedure for distributing food should be comfortable and not take a lot of time and effort.

Pay special attention to the protective coating of the feeder (paint, wood impregnation, etc.). It's best to do without them. If this is not possible, they must be non-toxic to living beings.

Regardless of the type of feeder, it should NOT contain:

narrow holes between the bars in which the animal’s head can get stuck;
protruding nails, fittings;
other dangerous sharp objects.

If kids are kept with adults, the feeding slots are made in the shape of a keyhole so that the young goats can stick their heads through the bottom of the feeder.

Whenever possible, you need to provide goats with feeding places. It is considered best when there is one feeding place per goat. But with a large population, this increases costs. According to research results, the allowed number of feeding places per head is 0.78 .

If feeding is carried out using hay in bales, then the size and shape of the feeders should be as convenient as possible. It is preferable to choose rectangular products.

Important point! Experienced farmers advise choosing products that can be easily cleaned of dirt. It is advisable to abandon options with several openings and a lid (with the exception of options for grass).

The slots for eating food should be of such a size that the animals can freely stick their heads there to the very end of the feeder without touching the wall. But not big enough to be able to crawl inside and squeeze the front legs into the hole or climb completely into the feeder.

How to remake unsuccessful models

If the distance between the slats in the manger is very large, and the structure itself is located low, the goat can scatter the food and spoil the hay, which will lead to irrational use of food products.

It's very easy to remake a failed nursery:

Attach strong legs 30-40 centimeters high to reduce the risk of the product turning over.
Pin more slats, increasing their frequency.

Such measures will help save up to 30-35% of previously lost feed.

In a cell type design, the goat can turn its head to one side and get its horns stuck. As a result, such a nuisance can even lead to suffocation and death. To ensure the safety of livestock, convenience for the farmer, and not take up a lot of space, it is recommended to reduce the depth of the feeder by increasing the width of the openings.

The boards must be spread to a distance equal to the length of the snout of the largest animal in your herd. This number should be equal to the distance from the tip of the nose to the edge of the horn of the most massive goat, 7-10% should be added to this number to leave a margin for greater confidence. To be on the safe side, it is recommended to study all the drawings of the feeder in advance.

Primary requirements

When producing a goat feeder, you should pay attention to the list of main nuances that determine its suitability. The design of the device should ensure that it can be easily cleaned of old feed and protected against loss of feed materials.

While feeding, goats may unknowingly throw their food around. They will no longer eat the part that falls to the floor. This means that if the design of the feeder allows feed to fall out of it, then it is ineffective, which leads to unjustified costs aimed at providing feed. To avoid the problem described above, it is worth eliminating the presence of holes, cracks, low sides and other similar features of the feeder so that the goats do not scatter the hay

The design of the device should ensure that it can be easily cleaned of old feed and protected against loss of feed materials. While feeding, goats may unknowingly throw their food around. They will no longer eat the part that falls to the floor. This means that if the design of the feeder allows feed to fall out of it, then it is ineffective, which leads to unjustified costs aimed at providing feed. To avoid the problem described above, it is worth eliminating the presence of holes, cracks, low sides and other similar features of the feeder so that the goats do not scatter the hay.

An important criterion for determining a feeder as suitable is its safety. The design parts should not have sharp, protruding parts that could injure animals.

Safety measures include the presence of a sufficient amount of free space. If there are several animals on the farm, then it is necessary to provide a separate feeder for each animal or arrange a segmented structure that will allow them to feed from one place without causing harm to each other.

The location of the feeder is a criterion included in the list of main parameters of this device. Domestic goats originate from wild mountain breeds of artiodactyls. At the genetic level, they are adapted to climbing hills, marked by steep slopes. A feeder installed in a barn or on the territory of a farm yard should not encourage goats to awaken the instinct of mountain animals. They should not have the opportunity to jump onto the device, which could lead to injury to individual individuals, damage to the catering unit and the food in it.

Additionally, the height at which the feeder is mounted may determine its suitability for feeding. If it is located too high, it may cause injuries to animals in the throat area or their refusal to use this device. If it is installed too low, this will reduce the desire of animals to eat from such a feeder, since it will create significant inconvenience for them due to the difference between their height and the height of its location.

It is important to take into account the distinctive characteristics of each animal. Access to the feeder is arranged in such a way that goats can freely enter it and not get stuck in it

This is especially true if the herd contains individuals with pronounced bony processes in the upper part of the head - horns.

Considering the innate pickiness of goats to living conditions, it would be useful to provide a special coating for the material from which the feeder is made. It is worth using clean, non-toxic coatings that do not have a strong odor. For these purposes, a transparent water-based varnish is suitable. Its use will protect the wood used to assemble the feeder from pests and rot.

The correct configuration of the feeder requires the absence of internal protruding parts. Sometimes goats chew off such protrusions, which can lead to injuries and damage to the integrity of the body of the device.

What kind of feeder and drinker should there be?

There are a lot of options for goat feeder designs, but any of them must perform several tasks. If it is a feeder for feeding several animals, it should be arranged in such a way that it does not create a crowd. Wayward goats may fight among themselves over food, and weaker or fearful animals may receive less food. Therefore, any version of feeders for goats should provide slots or holes of such a size that only one animal can stick its head through

The second important task of the feeder is to limit the scattering of hay. Therefore, the feeder should be such that the goat cannot climb into it with its legs

Therefore, the height of the goat feeder is made at least 1 m. The design must be universal. Goats, in addition to hay, must be fed with root crops and grain in winter. The feeder should be comfortable for the animals.

The optimal feeder for goats is very similar to a wooden crib, but the distance between the vertical bars should be 30 cm. Any food can be placed in such a feeder with a plywood bottom. Goats can easily stick their heads through the bars and reach the food. And the mobility of the feeder will allow you to use it both indoors and outdoors in the warm season.

A goat barn containing no more than five animals can be equipped with a simpler version of the feeder. For convenience, it is placed in the corner of the room. Two boards are nailed to the walls of the barn at a height of 10-15 cm from the floor, one above the other, so that together they form a triangle. A narrower board is also mounted 50-60 cm higher. Then thin bars are fixed vertically using self-tapping screws or nailed between the top and bottom boards 25-30 cm from each other. Under the feeder and around it, the floor in the goat shed is covered with sheet iron so that the frequent accumulation of animals in one place does not destroy the wooden or adobe covering.

There are a lot of design options for goat feeders.

A goat shed must also be equipped with drinking bowls. The most popular are automatic drinkers, which are made from ordinary plastic eggplants. A structure made of wooden blocks is attached to the wall at a height of just over half a meter (for kids - 30 cm), which will support the eggplants at an angle of 45º. Rubber nipples from baby bottles are placed on the eggplants. In such drinking bowls, water will not evaporate and become polluted. But you can simply hang a bucket of water on the wall of the barn opposite the feeder. Goat drinking bowls can be made from any container. The main thing is that they cannot climb into it or tip it onto the floor. Animals should always have clean and fresh water. Therefore, change the water in open containers 2 times a day, not forgetting to wash them at the same time. In winter, water at room temperature is poured into drinking bowls. Pregnant and milking goats require more water than other animals. In permanent goat houses, automatic drinkers are connected to a water pipe. The water in them is filled as it is consumed.

Goats are very active animals, so they need daily walking at any time of the year. For this purpose, the courtyard, like the windows, should be made on the south side of the building. The area of the yard is calculated based on 3 m² per animal. The pen is surrounded by a board fence at least 80 cm high. It is not recommended to make a mesh fence, as animals can be injured by it. If trees are planted inside the yard, then it is necessary to make a cage of metal mesh around their trunks so that goats cannot damage the bark and branches.

A walking pen equipped with low wooden platforms 50 cm wide and 80 cm long will help protect goats from colds. Goats will happily rest on such platforms even in winter, since they are drier and warmer than on the ground. Part of the pen is concreted so that the goats can wear down their hooves, which grow all year round, on the hard surface.

A barn for goats, built with your own hands in compliance with all the rules, will provide the animals with a comfortable life, which will inevitably affect their health and milk yield. The premises for keeping goats must meet all requirements.

Construction and materials

Depending on the reliability, solidity and time of operation of the building, materials for construction are selected. A capital structure requires much more material costs, effort and knowledge than a wooden structure.

Foundation

The foundation for a capital building is made using the strip method. To do this, it is necessary to dig trenches around the perimeter of the goat's rue with a depth of about 45-50 cm. Above them, formwork is installed from available material, ensuring a concrete pouring height of 25 cm above ground level. Concrete mixture is poured into the resulting foundation recesses. Drying the foundation requires time from 3 weeks to a month during a warm, rain-free period.

For a wooden structure, a foundation made of pillars or piles dug across the area of the shed is suitable. Leave a distance between them of no more than a meter. Remove the turf layer of soil over the area. Dig holes, fill in a bed of screenings and gravel 20 cm thick, and compact it. Install pillars in the recesses, filling them with concrete.

Pouring and laying the floor

For the floor in a solid goat's coop, you first need to make a well-compacted earthen or adobe base. Next, lay the floors on top from:

boards;
flat slate;
roofing felt and metal sheets.

Another option is to pour the floor with concrete over a bed of cinder or gravel. In this case, it is necessary to maintain a slope of 2 cm by 1 meter so that the urine flows into the sump. For a concrete floor, it is worth stocking up on a large amount of bedding, since use without it is unacceptable due to the fact that even in summer the floor is very cold.

The optimal method is to install gutters along the floor in the direction of a container for collecting urine and feces, and on top to organize a removable flooring in the form of a wooden grid. Such a floor will be dry and warm, and practically no bedding material will be required.

Construction of walls and windows

The walls are erected from wood, brick, foam and gas blocks, adobe. Stone materials are not recommended - the barn will be cold and damp.

For a wooden structure, timber is used, covered with a board with an internal space of 10-15 cm. To preserve heat in the goat house, these voids are filled with expanded clay, sand, firewood or any insulation. The brick goathouse is plastered for insulation.

Build walls 2-2.5 m high. Don’t go higher, because the large volume of air in the barn will be difficult to warm up in winter. Smooth walls are easy to clean and disinfect.

Place windows and doors on the south side of the building. For safety reasons, the door must be double-leaf and open outward. Opening the top flap, located at a height of 1.5 m above the floor, is a way to ventilate the room.

For a small goat house, one window opening near the door is enough. Large sheds require several windows at a height of 1.5 m. Their number is determined by the ratio of 1:12 to the total area of the building.

Ceiling and roof installation

It is recommended to hem the ceiling with a pitched roof with a board, and use mineral wool, polystyrene foam or other insulation for thermal insulation. Lay a layer of thin plywood on top of it.

The roof must be reliable. An excellent material for it is slate or tiles. A pitched roof is covered with a slight slope so that snow and rainwater do not linger on its surface.

A gable roof will be more expensive, but it becomes possible to organize an attic space where you can store hay, equipment, or use it for other needs. With this roofing option, the ceiling is insulated with a mixture of straw and clay.