# Wall/Fence Mount Hay Feeders: Safety Issue



## DebMc (Dec 11, 2009)

Just thought I should post this to increase awareness of the potential hazard these hay racks present. I almost lost one of my Silky kids to a wall mounted wire hay feeder. She apparently jumped up and fell into the rack and was stuck there suspended for God only knows how long before I found her this morning, lifeless and hot as a firecracker. Her head was stuck and hanging out one side of the rack and her legs were dangling out of the bottom w/a padding of alfalfa beneath her belly. She must have been struggling for hours and over heated herself. Luckily, no broken limbs. It looks like she's going to be okay.

I installed 3 of these handy dandy wall/fence mount wire hay feeders in my doe yard several months ago and this is the first incident, but what an eye opener it was! It almost cost me a very precious and expensive MSFGA doeling. While these racks may be safe for adult or larger sized goats, they clearly pose a hazard to the lil' ones as demonstrated by my Thea. At 5 months old and maybe 30 pounds, she somehow jumped up and fell into the top opening of the rack where the flake of hay is inserted. The rack was mounted about 2.5 ft. off the ground on the back wall of their main shelter. I say "was", as I have since removed all 3 and will not be reinstalling them until the kids get bigger. And even then, I will have to rethink how to mount (e.g. what height off the ground is the safest) if at all.

So be informed, be aware and stay safe.


Deb Mc


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Glad to hear that she will be ok! What a scare for both her and you!!

Someone else had posted about one that they had mounted that a adult got their head stuck in by putting it in and then how the slats are closer towards the bottom the goat was trying to pull back and was stuck not realizing it had to first lift its head up. I actually thin that goat may have struggled to death I just can't find the thread. 
So they may not be safe even for adults! 

I am posting a photo of what they had the issue with and what I think you are talking about. I had used one but will be removing it also. I have the Health Ez Hay Feeders that I now sell that I love and have had no issues with them either for kids or adults.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Aww, Deb...I hope your baby girl recovers quickly with no lasting damage :hug: 

I haven't had any jumpers but have had a doe that would stand on the loafing bench and be able to squeeze between the wall and the goat panel I have mounted as a hay rack...she'd stand in it to eat and would poop in it so no one else would eat it.
I have to be a bit more constructive with hay racks due to most of my herd having horns, cattle panels work but the way I have them mounted against the wall is what makes them work as the goats cannot get their head through them, the space is large enough for a flake of hay and only large enough to allow the goats to get their nose in.


Until your kids are older, I've also used pieces of field/garden fencing with the 1x2 squares as hay holders, I staple 2x3 foot squares to the wall, about 18 inches from the floor, I allow enough slack in the "pocket" to be able to push a flake down to the bottom, the squares are big enough for them to pull hay through and it's flexible enough that if there are any jumpers, the whole thing would collapse against the wall and prevent them from getting into it.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

How horrible... poor baby..  ...that must of been terrifying.... I would give her some probiotic paste and baking soda.....to help her gut... Of course watch her for a while for pneumonia..... Glad she is OK...


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## DebMc (Dec 11, 2009)

Logan - I'll attach a photo of the hay feeders, which looks very similar to the one in the photo you posted. The one in the background next to the spool is the one that Thea got stuck in. I think she probably leaped onto the rack from the spool and fell in. Do you happen to have a photo of the Health EZ Hay feeders you could post?

Liz - Thea is a fainter! She isn't "boinky" but will jump up on top of spools and her play cube. Other than that, she's pretty grounded. Ditto the other kids. That's probably why I didn't forsee any problems w/this particular feeder. Thanks for the suggestions on making a safer feeder. I will need to do something. In the meantime, I'm feeding the girls' alf and hay out of a tub. The boys have one of those flake feeders built into a recycled drum that sits squarely on the ground. May have to buy a couple of those for the girls when I get the $ if I can't come up w/something less expensive. Thea's going to be okay, btw. She's cooled down and is slurping water, just a bit more stiff legged than usual.  I'm so thankful! 

Deb Mc


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## DebMc (Dec 11, 2009)

toth boer goats said:


> I would give her some probiotic paste and baking soda.....to help her gut... Of course watch her for a while for pneumonia..... Glad she is OK...


I gave her a squirt of probiotics this morning, and will watch for signs of stress-induced illness. Thanks!

Deb Mc


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

With that type of feeder...can you hang it on the opposite side of the fence? Is their fencing the type that has the 1x2 squares? If so, hang the feeder on the outside and place a piece of cardboard or similar flexible but solid material against the feeder bars and place the hay flake against the fencing for them to pull it through.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Here is the Health Ez Hay feeder. I also brought up my old post on them it has a few more photos.

They come with a clip and rope and can be hung at any height. 

They also work for goats with or without horns!


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## DebMc (Dec 11, 2009)

What a cute lil goat! That feeder - I almost bought something similiar but the gal at the feed store advised against it, saying she had one for her horses and one of her goats got caught it in and injured or broke a leg. So that's why I decided to buy the wire feeders I found online. 

Here's a picture of the free-standing drum feeder I have in the bucks yard. The openings on the grid containing the flake are vertical bars spaced close enough together to prevent a kid from getting its head stuck in there. See any potential problems with this style of hay feeder?


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## DebMc (Dec 11, 2009)

liz said:


> With that type of feeder...can you hang it on the opposite side of the fence? Is their fencing the type that has the 1x2 squares? If so, hang the feeder on the outside and place a piece of cardboard or similar flexible but solid material against the feeder bars and place the hay flake against the fencing for them to pull it through.


Hey, thanks! I never thought of that. 3 sides are chain link and the 4th is no-climb horse fencing covered in hardware cloth. The westside of their yard is a natural feeder, i.e. 8-10' tall lady luck growing on chain link which we covered w/no-climb fencing so they couldn't eat or chew on the trunks. We did the same w/ some dodoneas and trees in their yard. I could easily attach the problem hay feeders onto the inside of those and voile' - no more problem! Thanks so much for bringing this to my attenion, Liz.

Deb Mc


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

DebMc said:


> What a cute lil goat! That feeder - I almost bought something similiar but the gal at the feed store advised against it, saying she had one for her horses and one of her goats got caught it in and injured or broke a leg. So that's why I decided to buy the wire feeders I found online.
> 
> Here's a picture of the free-standing drum feeder I have in the bucks yard. The openings on the grid containing the flake are vertical bars spaced close enough together to prevent a kid from getting its head stuck in there. See any potential problems with this style of hay feeder?


I don't see any problem here other than I would attach a piece of plywood to the top with hinges mounted to the top back. It would prevent goats from getting in it and pooping or peeing in it and prevent any kids from getting stuck should it be low on hay.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Never had a issue with my goats and have sold a bunch to people that have had no issues either. I have spoken to the company and am they/I are hopeful that soon they will make one with smaller opening spacing to totally prevent any possible issues.


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## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

This also happened to one of our goats. I think it has permanently affected her because she walks crookedly and we were not able to bred her this year. We believe it messed up her whole rear end which is really sad because she is a beautiful animal.


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## DebMc (Dec 11, 2009)

Tori - So sorry about what happened to your doe. Do you think she could have a joint out of socket? Posting our stories will hopefully increase awareness so others can avoid a similiar mishap.

Logan - Seems if something bad can happen, it always happens to me and mine...keeps me on my toes. <g>

Deb Mc


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## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

No, it looks like her spine is curved when you stand over top of her. It was not like that before this happened. She is such a sweet (kinda dumb though) girl so I just want her to have a happy life. I can try getting pics sometime and posting a topic about it. This happened probably 8-10 months ago.


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## DebMc (Dec 11, 2009)

Curved spine could be due to a disc or other joint being out of alignment. And I could see how a goat could do that struggling to free herself from one of those wire hay feeders. It might be worth taking her to an equine chiropractor for evaluation, if you have one in your area. Maybe it's something that could be corrected w/a simple adjustment. I have an inborn connective tissue disorder that causes joint hypermobility amongst other things. I developed adult-onset scoliosis, a curvature of my spine, and was able to correct that w/chiropractic treatment in combination w/some other therapies. 

Deb Mc


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## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

oh how scary Deb! I'm glad Thea is ok. Angel looks beeeeeauuutiful by the way!


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## DebMc (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks, Jess! That beautiful Angel is sprouting horns.  :laugh: 

Deb Mc


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## cyanne (Jan 7, 2009)

We lost a gorgeous buckling to a freak hay feeder accident this year. Still tears me up...we drove all the way to Oklahoma to pick him up (we are in Central Texas) and paid $500 for him. He was just gorgeous and had amazing bloodlines, we were so excited to add him to our herd. Then a couple days after we brought him home I found him dead in the hay feeder.

He was in a kidding stall for quarantine and the stall has a hay feeder on one wall that is a 3ft by 4ft section of cattle panel that is attached at the bottom with hog rings and has bungee cords at the top. When you fill it with hay the panel leans out in a 'v' shape. I use these all over and have never had a problem before...somehow he climbed up in the top and slid down so that his head and front legs came out 3 different openings and his rear legs were up in the air. He couldn't back himself out because his feet were off the floor. I'm guessing he either struggled to death or the position caused fluid to collect in his lungs so that he asphyxiated. Poor sweet boy, I cried like a baby when I found him.

Since then, I still use the feeders but now I strap the tops down tight so there is no way for them to get inside. Even so, I know that goats are endlessly creative when it comes to finding ways to hurt or kill themselves. Seems like I spend all my time making adjustments to their environment after they find yet another new way to murder themselves.

Just a couple weeks ago they somehow managed to knock over a big heavy wood hay feeder that holds 2 bales at a time...thing weighs a ton and is very stable. I found one of the Spring kids trapped underneath, no idea how long she'd been pinned there. She couldn't even stand and her neck was all bent like it was broken. Thankfully the vet said it was just a bad sprain and we nursed her with pain meds, anti-inflammatories, and a home-made neck brace and she is back to normal now. Sheesh, these goats give me grey hair! :GAAH:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

OMG cyanne I am so sorry about your buckling  And how scary with the doeling, so glad she is okay! 

We are getting ready to build hay feeders in each of the stalls, and this is something that concerns me too. I want something that the kids can eat easily from, but something safe that they can't climb in.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

I'm glad I saw this topic. I have a similar feeder which I think was made for horses. I was concerned my girls would get their head stuck in there sometime because the vertical openings start out wide and get narrower at the bottom. I'm going to take it out tomorrow after reading this. 

The lady in Missouri where I bought 2 doelings a couple weeks back had a pretty good idea for a hay feeder that I think I'll try now. She took about a 5 foot long section of chain-link fence, wrapped the ends together and hung them from the rafter in her barn. This makes a U shape with the ends tied together at the top and she stuffed the hay inside. Clip the sides together and you have a hanging feeder with nice size openings, you just have to remove the stems every so often of course.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I always wondered if one of those hanging horse hay feeders would work, or would the goats chew it up? Horses like to chew on things, especially when they are bored, and they use these at the racetracks...never seen a horse tear one up.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Hoosier do you mean the bag type? I have seen goats get all tangled up in those. People use them at shows but for fear I never will!
I love the ones I have they are made for horses and work great for my goats and are pretty indestructible and they can't eat them.  
They are at the bottom of my home page. http://freedomstarfarm.com/Home_Page.html


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Getting tangled would be my concern with the bags, I could just see my girls destroying them with their horns, haha....I didn't put much thought into it before I posted...obviously LOL
I really like the ones you have on your site, look nice and safe and easy to install! 
My husband insists he is going to make hay feeders...Lord help us all....LOL


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## Barnesboutiques (Jan 29, 2018)

I just stumbled on this and I know it’s an old thread, but our beautiful 8 month old Nubian Just died in a Wall Mount hay feeder this evening. I had no idea there was any danger and we had always used it. We had been looking to get rid of it because they were wasting too much with it but hadn’t found the right thing yet. She must have somehow been playing around and got up into it and stuck and I think she hung herself. We are just devastated and I wish I had found this forum much sooner.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

So sorry for your loss. Nothing anyone says will help your pain, but, I sure sympathize with you. Please don't blame your self.


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## Barnesboutiques (Jan 29, 2018)

I wrote a review on the product and it got censored and they won’t post it.


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## wifeof1 (Mar 18, 2016)

I had a buck with horns go into a 50 gallon metal drum feeder head first. It was dark and we had to cut the feeder off the fence by flash light. Lay the bucket down and cut the welded cross bars to get him out. It was scary. Now the feeder sits on the ground.


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## TexasGoatMan (Jul 4, 2015)

Is there anything such as a goat (proof) safe hay feeder ?? I know everyone does their best to provide a safe environment for their goats, Myself included. However I am not sure that you can prevent against every possible way a goat can hurt itself. I had two doelings 2 years ago to lay down next to the goat barn and when they got up they stuck their legs under the barn tin next to the ground. Yes the tin use to touch the ground but time and chickens had removed some of the dirt and the gap was wide enough to allow a leg to slide under and yes the goats cut the hide clear to the bone and down the leg. Looked terrible and was a sore mess for a few weeks but daily washing with water hose and then applying a dressing both healed up nicely but still show the scars but otherwise are fine. Now cinder blocks are stacked against the tin. So try as we might accidents happen and we all have accidents walking around just waiting to happen. Use common sense when installing feeders and hay racks. Just stand there and thing of any possible way for a goat to get hung up or hurt themselves and take actions to eliminate possibilities. I might suggest hanging the racks really close to the ground so if a baby happen to fall into it then the baby can still put feet on the ground. place a cover over the top of the hay rack and secure in place or use something to prevent that described incident from happening again. I have a metal rack on legs and a cover on the top that I tie down with a nylon rope but I still got one doeling with her head stuck between the bars some how and there is not a slant from top to bottom. How she got her head stuck between the bars, I have no idea but she did. Mr. Murphy is always working overtime around goats. Duh !!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Goats can find more ways to hurt and kill themselves than almost any other animal. You can only do the best you can to make a safe environment for them. Short of padded stalls, (which they would try and eat and probably choke to death on) try to check the area as often as possible for hazards.


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

I've made my hay feeders out of the 4"x4" sheep and goat fence and they work great. The holes are too small for the goats to fit through.


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