[Jacob-list] Waste not, want not!!!!

[ranchrat at telusplanet.net]

Heel low:

> Wrom: PQQWOYIYZUNNYCGPKYLEJG
> Subject: [Jacob-list] Waste not, want not!!!!
> 
> As everyone is discussing feeding practices, 

<snip>

> Sue Martin
> Stonecroft Manor
> Lititz, PA
> 
> P.S.   Yes, we have tried various kinds of feeders and have decided that
> large tubs on the ground work the best for clean fleeces (and we are
> small, don't have large numbers of sheep).   Yes, we have tried various
> kinds of hay, but they still wasted it.  Yes, we tried feeding less, but
> they still wasted it........and then in addition to wasting it they also
> yelled their displeasure at being hungry.

I do not know if this will help, but we feed in rubber 100 pound tubs (Fortex – 
nfi) but have a little additional item we use too.  I had my husband stop at 
the local tire shop and bring home big
I mean sometimes you stagger rolling 
them
BIG tractor trailer tires that accommodate the rubber tubs inside them.  
You have to watch what size you get as some of the rig tires seem to hold the 
tubs up a bit--this is OK but you have to level out the tire instead of 
“dumping” it on the way by
I collect up the stems left by the Jacobs (the 
reason I am collecting tubs each evening instead of leaving them there) and 
give these to the llamas who are segregated from the sheep right now.  Straight 
alfalfa is for the prego Jacobs—this food gets my llamas tres chub chubs and I 
haven’t figured out how to feed the sheep all day yet keep the llamas out of it 
if they shared the same pen.  I fill my pans each evening with fresh rations 
when the sheep are in their barn munching an evening treat.  This way, I let 
them out each morning and their breakfast/lunch/dinner is already served.

And yes, the Jacobs do drop the “stems” on the ground
but the leafy portions 
seem to fall back in the pan or end up on the side of the tire and are still 
retrievable and eatable according to the J’s here.  Back when I was feeding a 
larger ration of hay in early pregnancy, I do not recall huge amounts of wasted 
good hay.  Maybe my girls are conservative feeders, but I wonder if you get a 
few free large tires and give them a whirl if maybe they will save you “some” 
of the rations from getting trampled.

The tire bases won’t stop your Jacobs from standing in them though
Mia loves to 
go goat and climbs right up into the feeder, but her butt always seems to be 
positioned where any sheep beans or other noxious unfoods do not fall in the 
food...so far!  The tire also seems to stabilize the pans, not sure if the 
Jacobs would be kicking them around without the tire holder
but I figure they 
are smart and adventurous enough I could come out there and find them curling 
with the empty pans!

Even the doggone dogs love to nest in the pans
especially if the sheep are 
standing there waiting to eat those “sour grapes.”  I used the tire & tub as a 
toy box for my dog’s outdoor kennel run and found it was indestructible and a 
safe item I knew they could just “bounce” off of instead of slamming into if 
they got rambunctious.

Tara 
-- 
    ____(\                Tara Lee Higgins                  /)____ 
   (_____~>        Rat Ranch - An ACD is for LIFE          <~_____) 
  ( ``  ``          ranchrat at telusplanet.net                ``  `` ) 
   \                       Alberta Canada                         / 
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