# Is this feeder safe?



## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

Hi ive been looking around online and i have found 2 different hay feeders that i like. I have one concern on both though... Can the goats get there heads stuck and choke themselfs on these feeders? What is your guys expirences on these types?


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

That net looks like trouble waiting to happen.


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

Thats what i was worried about... But what about the other bag? I also found these... Both from jeffers livestock supply. The net one has only 2" holes.


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

The hay bag maybe okay. Hang it low so they don't have to reach for it. Made in China.


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

Thinking about getting one of the jeffers ones. The bags will be used for shows so they wouldnt be hanging high anyways.


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

That is like the ones I see at shows for those who take hay.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I honestly would never use a hay net... We have one but it is hanging up in the barn and will never be used.. Unless I take it to a show and use it on the other side if the fence and only when I am with them...


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

Well the jeffers hay net only has 2" holes so i dot think that they would get there heads stuck... But im thinking about doing the hay bag from jeffers


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I use hay bags. They work just fine. I have never used the hay net but I think there would be a ton of waste with it let alone the potential for problems.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

the net is a huge hazzard ...I have read where goats broke their neck trying to free themselves from them...as for the bag.. legs can be hung up in the hole but the danger is way less than the net, and IMO no more dangerous than using a hay feeder they can get their head trapped in Like we did here...not to mention the ease of taking it to shows...


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

happybleats said:


> the net is a huge hazzard ...I have read where goats broke their neck trying to free themselves from them...as for the bag.. legs can be hung up in the hole but the danger is way less than the net, and IMO no more dangerous than using a hay feeder they can get their head trapped in Like we did here...not to mention the ease of taking it to shows...


Well were going to buy 8 of the jeffers feeder bags.... We will just hang them high enough for each goats height so they wont have to climb and possibly get a leg stuck


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## Amyhis (May 4, 2013)

I use a hay bag, but mine has netting over the hole. The holes are small. Just big enough for a goat nose.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

I would hands down go with the bag over the net, any day of the week. 

The small mesh haynet is not a danger to their heads (unless they have horns) but it is a huge HUGE danger to their feet and legs. And hanging them high doesn't end that danger because if you put them high many goats will stand on their hind legs and try to use their front feet to paw them down. Ask me how i know. *sigh* i use (and LOVE) the small mesh haynets for my horse but you will not see them within 20 feet of a live goat around here. I would go with the bag with a hole in the side if i had to choose. I think one of those with net over the hole would probably be much safer than a hay net even, since there is less net to put them at risk.

My horned wether got his big dumb head stuck in a small mesh net because of his horns (he probably stood tied to the post by his horns half the night, but he was fine, just mad as a wet hornet), and his half sister got both her front legs tangled in one that was hanging at about 4 feet off the ground (well, just high enough they could reach fine and didn't NEED their feet up there). Thankfully i was right there at the moment it happened, I cringe at the thought of what would have happened if i hadn't been there.


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## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

never use a hay net no matter how small the holes are. we had one and almost lost our buck when he got stuck in it and was choking. now we use hay bags with great success. we use the one from jeffers but they are also available on ebay for less. i have also seen them made from those blue plastic barrels. which are supposed to cut down on waste. ebqay has the kits.


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## ogfabby (Jan 3, 2013)

No hay nets!! As much as goats climb and jump, hay nets are incredibly hazardous. Even though the holes are small...legs, horns, ect will get caught. I had a doe that got so tangled in one that I had to cut it off of her. She is lucky to be alive. It was tangled around her neck tight!


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## Tapsmom (Sep 20, 2011)

I use the slow feed hay net and have had not trouble with it. However, I hang it so they have to reach up to each from it and the ties are nowhere that they can reach.


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

Ok just ordered 9 of the jeffers hay bags.... Cant wait to get them!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I have learned anything can be trouble with a goat lol. A cheaper way for that one hole hay bag thing is, someone posted it not my idea, get a tub, like a storage tube from like walmart and cut a hole in it and mount it up high. It was a very cute idea


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

They were on sale for 6.50 a bag and we got free shipping. I think that its a pretty good deal!


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## DDFN (Jul 31, 2011)

This is what I do and think it would be just as easy to take to shows. You can load it up and the handles have holes that you can run a hay string from to the show stall setup in order to secure it safely. Or you can run hay strings through some holes if you make some drill holes in the piece of wood that you attach on the inside. You could do an inside and outside back to back pieces of wood and run some securing ropes/strings from drilled holes to the stall attachment sites. Just an idea.

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f202/home-made-hay-rack-about-8-a-138440/


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Yes that's what I was talking about!!! As soon as I find a home for my kids to small clothing I'm making some.....but for the price of the bad that's not bad at all. I was also thinking a friend of mine makes like big hand bags out of old feed bands she sews them up and was thinking of trying some feeders like the one your getting justtime never seems to be on my side


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

I used hay nets for 20 some odd years and never had a problem except wasted hay and chewed up nets I had to keep repairing. I know of others who say they have lost goats who hung themselves in the nets. Horned goats seem especially susceptible to hanging, those that I know who did have a goat hang had Boers or horned dairy goats.

The one from Jeffers with the smaller openings will not remain small once they start using it. They will chew the mesh, making the holes large enough to get their heads inside the net.


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

Got the blue bags today and i think that it was a steal! For the 6.50 each and free shipping these things are awesome. Very nice quality.


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## ms_sl_lee (Feb 8, 2013)

I use the hay bag and looking to make a wooden hay feeder. My girls waste so much hay with the bags. My bigger girl (ND) got her head stuck in it once. She stuck it in deep and twisted the bag so she couldn't get her head out. We heard her screaming and came to her rescue.


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## Calmom (Mar 21, 2020)

LamanchaAcres said:


> Hi ive been looking around online and i have found 2 different hay feeders that i like. I have one concern on both though... Can the goats get there heads stuck and choke themselfs on these feeders? What is your guys expirences on these types?


I tried that with my goats. Found one of them with his neck all tangled up in it thank goodness I found him 
I think they are a great concept but goats are too rambunctious


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