A Nebraska rancher came up with a design to build a small DIY square bale feeder out of common lumber lengths.
“My grandchildren take care of bottle calves as 4-H projects, and feed small square bales when the calves start eating hay and grain. When hay was fed to them on the ground or in a regular bunk, the calves wasted a lot of hay. So I built this single bale feeder that greatly reduces waste,” says Donald Scholz, of Grand Island, Nebraska.
The feeder is built out of 2-by-4, 2-by-6, and 2-by-12 lumber, and has a 12-inch-wide trough all the way around that catches alfalfa leaves as well as stems. The trough is also used to feed grain and pellet feed.
The bale cage at the center is built with 1-inch-diameter 14-gauge tubing and 1-inch angle iron. It measures 18 inches wide by 46 inches long by 15 inches high. A 1-by-6-by-36-inch board bolted to a chain is used to hold the bale down in the cage. The chain is welded to the top bar at one end of the cage, and snap hooks connect to a ring welded to the top bar at the other end.
“I don’t have a drawing of my feeder, but I’d be glad to help anyone interested in building one,” says Scholz.
For more information, contact Donald Scholz at 308-687-6430.
Reprinted with permission from FARM SHOW Magazine.
