# cheap/free hay bag to reduce waste.



## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

I saw my breeder using old feed bags with a slit down the lower half. She tracked them to the stall side so the goat could comfortably reach into the bag thru the slit to get hay. You just dropped a flake into the the to of the bag as needed. Simple and nothing to get tangled in.

Our girls were still wasting a lot of hay do I modified it some, by cutting five oblong holes in a new bag, about 1" x 4" from the bottom couple inched to about 1/3 the way up. This has been working GREAT with only a small fraction of waste. When the holes get stretched too big just maker a new one!

I can't post the photo now but I'll try again later!


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## caprine crazy (Jun 12, 2012)

That's so cool! Why haven't I thought of that yet?


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

My goats would try to eat the bag.... LOL


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## goatgirl132 (Oct 18, 2012)

Hmmm intresting! 
Bet its muh faster that sewing an acctual hay bag from a feed sack lol might try it next year


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Looks good! Creative idea! :thumb:


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## xymenah (Jul 1, 2011)

That would last half a day if that with my goats. I'm glad it works for you though. Sometimes I wonder if my goats are especially hard on things because anything short of steel, 1/2 plywood or horse safe plastic is a gonner in my pen.


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## Marcus (Nov 19, 2010)

Cool idea, I'd be afraid they would munch it out of curiousity and get sick. I put up the commercial mangers that the farm stores sell and been really strict this winter, it's worked out well. Now if winter would only end. If I hadn't tightened things up this winter I'd be down to feeding them the bags by now (with no hay in them! LOL).


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## Stacie1205 (Mar 26, 2011)

Yep, used them all winter. They wore out and had to make new ones every so often but it's not like I have a shortage of them. No one here got sick and I have around 2 dozen goats


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

Just checking back in to say that the same bag is still holding up great, and while I'm sure they're not eating as much hay because they're able to supplement their diet with much more fresh greens while they're outside during the day, the evening hay consumption (where this hay bag resides) has been cut in HALF. We see them eating out of it and they seem perfectly happy, and there is very little green hay in their bedding


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

That's great! What size goats do you have?


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## kafairch (Oct 8, 2012)

I was just thinking about how to stop the wasteful hay deal, what a good idea that is however as mentioned before my goat also have a habit of eating the craziest things. I tried mangers but that has not helped either.


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## goatgirl132 (Oct 18, 2012)

kafairch said:


> I was just thinking about how to stop the wasteful hay deal, what a good idea that is however as mentioned before my goat also have a habit of eating the craziest things. I tried mangers but that has not helped either.


Youd be supprised they dont eat it. 
And if they do get some horse no chew spraycand it will fix it

show goat/lamb equipment
www.Facebook.com/wickedshowchains


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

I have dwarfs, one is tiny, the other is normal dwarf size. I hang it so the hay is about head height on the bigger one and the little doe steps on the platform that's about a foot off the ground, beside it.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

That is a great idea...thanks for sharing!


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

Two Nigerian Dwarf does - one is regular sized and one is a mini-dwarf LOL! Little Half-Pint is dainty.


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

Someone here had a goat get its head hung up in bag setup like this. Use caution.


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

I'm replacing it this week - I have a new empty bag to use (scratch feed) so I can cut fresh holes. The old ones do start to stretch out some -but while it might be possible to get their heads through a hole, I don't think I'd be able to get it hung up inside - the holes, unlike a net feeder, don't shrink when you pull on them. The idea though is to cut them so they're just large enough for your biggest goat to get her nose inside.


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## Stacie1205 (Mar 26, 2011)

I just lost my boer buckling(about 6 months old) in this setup this week. I hung the bags high but he always wanted to reach up as far as he could. Found him yesterday. He got his head in high and couldn't get it back out. Hung himself. So I don't think I will be using these any longer. Terribly upset about loosing him before I even got to use him.


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

Stacie1205 said:


> I just lost my boer buckling(about 6 months old) in this setup this week. I hung the bags high but he always wanted to reach up as far as he could. Found him yesterday. He got his head in high and couldn't get it back out. Hung himself. So I don't think I will be using these any longer. Terribly upset about loosing him before I even got to use him.


Sorry to hear about your buckling. You are the second person I have heard of using this set up that hung their goat recently.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

So sorry Stacie.

I had a doeling poke her little head in the opening of a commercial hay bag (no netting just an opening) She twisted her head around & tried to come through the top.
Fortuneatly I was right there.
Since someones goat allegedly hung herself at a show, hardly anyone uses them anymore unless there is supervision at all times.
It was later discovered that the doe just happened to die with her head in there.


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

Stacy I'm so sorry!

I don't understand how he was able to get his head into a hole? I cut these openings so that they are smaller than the eye/jaw diameter of the head...


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

I made a new one tonight and cut holes no bigger than a tennis ball. I'll keep an eye on it but so far they've lasted over a month before the holes stretch out. One of the nice things about this solution is that you can make as many openings as you like, and you can make them as small add you like.

Here is Wilma checking out the new, even smaller holes, and then looking back at me with a sassy "REALLY?"


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## Stacie1205 (Mar 26, 2011)

I'm sure I just had the holes a little to big. Since he was a young boer with short horns, I think he just pushed enough trying to get something he really wanted and got a horn in and couldn't get back out. With it hung high, I think he just couldn't keep/or regain his footing.


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## jddolan (Mar 31, 2013)

This winter when my kids and does we're in kidding pens,I took an old five gallon pail and around the sides near the bottom took a 4 inch hole saw and cut 3 holes and pushed hay in from the top,I found this to save hay exspeciAly buying second cutting.alot of people have old pails from like joint compound,give it a try


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

The girls have been quite put-out:hair: that I updated their hay bag with this one with tennis ball sized holes. The started stretching them out but it looks like they've stopped now that the opening is more softball sized. What I'm seeing is they'll stuff their nose in until the bag gets to their eyes then they stop. I'll keep an eye on it and pull it if they are able to get their heads in...


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