Finished and installed!
Well, the first project of the new year is installed. I built a hay feeder for Brandy and Jessie. Yippee!
I had been using hay bags and they were a pain to take down, fill, and hang every day. They were also falling apart. Their only asset was I had hay in two places. Brandy never shares nicely, but she can’t be in two places at once – ha!
I have a multi-level shed for the animals, with the upper and lower parts divided by a short wall and wire fencing. The upper area is part chicken coop, part goat area – basically, accessible to everyone but Doink. The step is too tall and he’s too fat to fit through the opening. (Sometimes you just need to get away from the pig 🙂 ) Still, he can look in, and frequently does to see what he’s missing. The “goat lofts” in the lower part of the shed back up to this wall and give Jessie and Brandy a nice place to nap, chew cud, and chill out. I’ve moved them around more than once and this setup seems to work best.
No pigs allowed!
What? Why won’t you let me in? Is there a dress code or something?
It wasn’t warm, in the high 30s, and when I started it wasn’t even sunny. But I COULD NOT STAY IN THE HOUSE ONE MORE MINUTE. I was going stir crazy. I was losing my mind. I wanted to be outside. So I went to Home Depot, bought a couple of 2x4s (I had all the other stuff on hand) and went to work.
I won’t go into the building process. Let’s just say there was lots of swearing involved. The only reason anything I make doesn’t immediately collapse is because I use an obscene number of screws. It’s not pretty. My fingers were freezing, the garage is a nightmare of a mess and I always miss Very Excellent Kids Libby and Sawyer when I do a project. They would always help with little or no complaining. (They may, may, have even enjoyed themselves a bit!) It took me a little over two hours. I installed the feeder up against the wall and voilà – now it’s accessible from both sides!
Brandy and Jessie both tested it out immediately.
Everyone’s happy!
The backside.
A little later, Ethel went in for a closer inspection.
Hey! Here’s the hay!
One project down, about a million to go! Come on spring!
(Shared at Inspired Weekends, Clever Chicks Hop, Homestead Barn Hop, Backyard Farming Connection, Tuesdays With A Twist, Maple Hill Hop, Down Home Hop, HomeAcre Hop, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, 104 Homestead Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Simple Saturdays and Heritage Homesteaders Hop!)
I think Ethel must be the “Curious George” of chickens.
That she is 🙂
Well check YOU out, this is awesome! I know what you mean, Chance can’t be in two places either at feeding time, thank goodness for lil Punkin. Really enjoyed seeing into your shed. Next step over here is a goat and sheep so I’m in the research stage of housing. Our weather is super warm, not sure what the deal is. Strangest winter ever…. Hoping Spring comes soon to you, looking forward to seeing your other projects. I remember a truck and a roof driving across town?
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Oh, I’ve still got plans for that roof 🙂 More soon!
You are very good!!! You ought to see what I would come up with!! Well, done!!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
*♥´¨) ¸.-´¸.-♥´¨) Happy Valentine’s Day¸.-♥¨) (¸.-` ♥♥´¨
Linda recently posted…The Adventures of Fuzzy and Boomer on Friday — In-Between
I’m honored to get that comment from a REAL farmer 🙂 Thanks!
As always thanks for the smile and chuckle. Just love hearing your adventures and love pictures of Doink even more!! It just amazes (amuses) me how he is always so jolly and up to whatever challenge is put in front of him. Keep smiling y’all…it has to get warm soon!!
For a curmudgeonly pig, he is quite agreeable! He’s a complicated animal, I guess 🙂
Ha! Swearing aside, I think it looks fabulous! You are quite the crafty one! Thanks for joining The Hop today!
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I love the line about the dress code, are you trying to say that photo doesn’t show a very tidy pig! Doink just cracks me up.
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What a fabulous design. Thanks for sharing today on The 104 Homestead Blog Hop!
You did a beautiful job; much nicer than mine. I have an upside down tote for a shelf to put the hay on. The hay is held against the cattle panel that they eat through by a large plastic part off a dishwasher. The dishwasher part is braced in place by a now defunct milk stand ramp. Yours is a work of art and I am so jealous;)
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Great idea and it turned out nicely. I always love the captions on your photos. Thanks for sharing with us at The HomeAcre Hop!
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~Ann
Summers Acres recently posted…Regrowing Celery in Water from Celery Stumps – Day 1