Sheep Feeding Rack which can be Easily Moved

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 89, Issue 5, 15 November 1954, Page 458

Sheep Feeding Rack which can be Easily Moved

By

S. M. J. STOCKDILL,

Fields Instructor,

Department of Agriculture, Dunedin

WITH the object of overcoming some of the difficulties associated with the feeding of hay to sheep in fixed racks Mr. A. C. Drake, of Maungatua, has designed portable racks of the type illustrated on this page. THE racks are 12ft. long, of simple A construction, and built of New Zealand Oregon at a cost of approximately 355. each. The material required for each rack is 45ft. of . 4in. x lin. and 9ft. of lOin. x lin. timber, 24ft. of 3ft. centre strand 4in. mesh sheep .netting, 6ft. of window cord, and nails and staples. The lOin. opening at the top of the rack is sufficient for easy filling with hay, and the almost vertical sides minimise the possibility of seed falling into the wool of the sheep. Each rack will hold 2 bales of hay in slices or 1| bales teased out. The portable hay shed used with the racks should be on runners and large enough to accommodate 3 days’ supply of hay. -It could with advantage be built 12ft. 6in. long so that it could be utilised to store the racks when they are not in use. . Layout of Racks Nine racks set out with the portable hay shed as shown in the plan provide a feeding area of 216 ft. and have proved satisfactory for the feeding of 500 to 600 ewes. About 1 hour is required at the beginning of feeding to set out the racks with the shed full of hay. For the following 2 days the racks are filled from the shed, and on every third day the layout is shifted on to new ground and the shed refilled. Fixing Racks in Position Each rack is held in position by two Y section standards, one at each end, driven in between the legs at the base

and tied at the top with short lengths of window cord. Shifting is quickly and easily done by untying the cord and pulling back the standards, dragging the rack forward as illustrated, and replacing the standards. The nine racks and shed can be shifted and the shed filled with hay in J hour. Rota-

tion of the racks around the paddock in this way avoids severe poaching of

the pasture, enabling the operator to work on clean ground, and the sheep to be fed on clean ground. The quagmire normally caused by the concentration of stock near fixed racks is avoided, and instead of the usual concentration of animal droppings where very little growth is possible there is a more even distribution over the entire paddock as the racks are shifted from place to place.