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Timed feeder?

Posted by Crystal Swindell on January 23, 2010 at 10:22pm in Health

I have been looking for a timed feeder that will hold and distribute grain at a time that you can set.  We have an auto feeder- without a timer- but don't use it since our picky little goats will not eat anything that sits out.  I feed grain twice per day, and would like something to put out grain when I cannot get home in time. 

Does anyone know where I can find one for a reasonable price?  I was thinking that one for a dog might word, since we only have 3 goats.

 

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Replies

  • Elyse Nicholson January 25, 2010 at 5:16pm
    Very true Deborah, as now, at almost 3 years of age, Hansel has grown four inches since he first arrived. He past his mother at age two and is almost past Fairy and Goose at 2 and 1/2. Didn't believe it atr first, but wethers really do grow! Can't wait for his 3rd birthday when I am going to measure and wieght him!! LOL

    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
    Some goats continue to grow until they're about three years old, although you won't see much change after 18 -24 months. Every now and then, you'll hear someone say that a buck's championship should be contingent upon being measured at 3 years, and if he goes over, he can't be a finished champion. That generates a lot of passionate arguments on both sides, as you can imagine. Wethers tend to get bigger than bucks. My two old boys are probably 80-90 pounds each and are definitely taller than two feet (maybe 27-28 inches), which would be oversize for a buck.
  • Deborah Niemann-Boehle January 25, 2010 at 3:21pm
    Some goats continue to grow until they're about three years old, although you won't see much change after 18 -24 months. Every now and then, you'll hear someone say that a buck's championship should be contingent upon being measured at 3 years, and if he goes over, he can't be a finished champion. That generates a lot of passionate arguments on both sides, as you can imagine. Wethers tend to get bigger than bucks. My two old boys are probably 80-90 pounds each and are definitely taller than two feet (maybe 27-28 inches), which would be oversize for a buck.
  • Crystal Swindell January 25, 2010 at 11:07am
    Just another random question- at what age are wethers considered to be 'full grown'?
  • Deborah Niemann-Boehle January 24, 2010 at 11:18pm
    I hesitate to tell anyone to feed grain to wethers for very long because of the urinary stone issue. The little guy's growth could be permanently stunted, which means the additional grain won't make him grow any more. If you really feel you need to give him grain, you could add ammonium chloride to the grain for the UC issue, but you don't need to do that if you don't feed grain. AC can be purchased from Hoegger. I have two seven-year-old wethers here who are the biggest, tallest, fattest goats on the place, and they get nothing but grass hay. Parasites don't even bother them. Testosterone is really rough on bucks!

    Glad we can be of help!
  • Crystal Swindell January 24, 2010 at 9:51pm
    Wow- I guess that I have a lot to learn. So after 9 months, I should eliminate all grain from their diet? Do they just get hay then? What should I do about my little runt?
    Thank you for your input. I really rely on this site to make sure that I am doing things right since I am so new to this and noone around here has ND goats.
  • Deborah Niemann-Boehle January 24, 2010 at 4:52pm
    Feeding them once a day is not a problem, and once they are 6-9 months old, wethers don't need grain at all any longer. I generally say six months if the weather is nice; 9 months if it's the dead of winter like we have here, meaning 0 degrees.
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