# Homemade mineral feeders



## smwon (Aug 3, 2008)

I made some mineral feeders today...










These are for the kids, but I like them so well, I may make some for the main barn area also! If you would like to see how I made them, I posted it in my blog. http://lindercroft.net/2013/03/my-newest-salt-soda-and-mineral-feeders/


----------



## countrygirl17 (Nov 4, 2012)

Those are awesome!!! Thank you for sharing!!


----------



## smwon (Aug 3, 2008)

You are welcome... I really like them. And they are so simple to make. After pricing the commercial ones, I _really_ like these! lol


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

They are nice! They will probably work better for kids than adults. The adults will probably beat them up.


----------



## smwon (Aug 3, 2008)

The larger one I used for some Nigerians and a Nubian... they held up wonderfully. Although some critter (not goats - suspect squirrels) chewed a hole in the bottom corner of one. The smaller ones are not quite as thick plastic as the bigger ones. Here is a picture when I first made the big ones.


----------



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Those are very neat! A good way to recycle! We were given a large pvc pipe - elbow and a long end on the top to pour the mineral in. It works great, I mount it high enough the does can reach it but can't back up to poo in it, and a cinder block allows the babies to reach it.


----------



## smwon (Aug 3, 2008)

That's also a good idea *HoosierShadow*. My husband made me some also. I ended up sticking them in the holes of cinder blocks. I still have them and if these ones I made today don't work out I will go back to using them. But I would definitely attache them to the wall.


----------



## ByersBoerGoats (Jan 7, 2013)

Very good idea!!!! Going to have to try that!!!! Thanks for sharing!!


----------



## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

Looks interesting but they look bendy - like a goat could just lean on it and it would just fold up and spill everything. Are they sturdy?


----------



## smwon (Aug 3, 2008)

Hum, I know the big ones are very sturdy. I used them for a couple of years for minerals and alfalfa pellets when I had the Nigerians and Nubian. The one that contains the alfalfa is one of my old ones - I just cleaned it up! It was made from a 'Sun' laundry dispenser. I did learn with them that you needed to leave the sides attached to keep them sturdy. The smaller ones, I am not as sure of. They are fairly sturdy. I was thinking of drilling a hole in the sides of them and connecting them together with nuts and bolts and then they definitely would be sturdy. The handles and the backs are very sturdy. However, I have not made the smaller ones before. I tried making some with different types of bottles and I found the laundry ones to be the sturdiest, they seem to have the strongest material. But probably any bottle that is made of sturdy material would probably work. Also I think they are sturdier the deeper the 'bowl' is.


----------

