Cheap hay feeder

With the economy in a downturn, we are faced with the decision of either buying cheaper quality hay or finding a way to waste less of it. Alpaca Shack's Sooleana goes to the wheel barrow and scoops the hay out with her nose in order to eat the chaff. There are hay feeders that are on the market which eliminate this problem, but they seem expensive.

This Spring I came across the excess flexible fencing that we use to divide our pastures. I have used it to sort fleece after shearing and find it easy to eliminate sharp ends by trimming it with wire cutters. Using three plastic ties, any size trimmed piece of flexible fencing can be attached to a fence. I attach it at each top corner and I use one tie in the middle of the bottom.

It can be fashioned to hold as much hay as you need. Another plus is that the hay easily dries out after wet weather. The stalks that remain are removed from the bottom and put out for mulching. The feeders accomodate alpacas on both sides of the feeder and can be quickly moved.

No more hay on the ground! Voila!