Monday, November 11, 2013

Barn Harmony at Last

We needed to install more feeders in the barn wall, so that we can conveniently, quickly, and safely pitch hay to all its inhabitants twice a day. The metal feeder that Chris designed years ago has been wonderful, ensuring that the animals aren't wasteful and they are eating in a natural heads-down position. We had only three of these in our barn at the new place, and they were centered in the stalls. So we needed to remove one, patch the hole, and put two feeders into that stall. The above picture shows the patch in the center (see how clean the fresh couregated metal looks) and the new feeder holes on either side.

Teensie was quite the helper. I think she was amazed to realize what was behind the holes -- the inside of the barn looked pretty fun to explore.

Harmonious eating arrangement! We weren't sure when we first got Quigly how things would really pan out in terms of friendships and feed management. It turns out that Jake is a barn bully who won't let Quigly eat, so we need to separate him. He's fine with Arby however. So, on the left are two stalls with three feeders, and in those spaces we feed Quigly, Shorty, and MamaLlama and the goats. On the right are Arby and Jake. They are currently eating from one feeder (there's also a spare feeder of a different style hanging on the wall out of view, but it's harder to use because it requires either pitching the hay around the corner of the barn and over a hot wire fence, or tromping through the barnyard twice a day - neither of which is a nice/safe alternative). Feeding from within the barn ROCKS. (And here's a bonus -- children can even manage it!! :) )

Because Jake and Arby are good buddies, they will stay together in their own bachelor pad, with a run that extends out a ways. It took a little while to determine the best configuration, but it looks like we've got it down now.

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