Anyone use a wheelie bin to feed hay from?

[cblover]

I'm thinking of feeding hay to my two using a wheelie bin with a hole cut out at the bottom. I know people do it....If anyone has some pics. I'd love to see them.

I've got one bin and getting another, I think it's a great idea for keeping hay dry too. Cheers.

 

[Akkalia1]

I don't but i do use a compost bin which is basically the same but not on wheels. Works brilliantly.

 

[teabiscuit]

Aren't wheelie bins the councils property?
Can you buy them? Handy if you can. I've never looked , but they have so many potential uses

 

[luckyoldme]

I used an old water butt, i just cut holes in the side and put really heavy duty tape round the edges of the cut. I put a couple of big rocks in the base to stop it blowing away and used it for a winter. I don t need it now as the horse is out with another four and they are fed from a large bale feeder...sorry cant post pictures because i haven t been able to for ages!

 

[cblover]

Thanks folks. I'm thinking it's a good idea. My main reason is to have a lid on my hay to keep it dry and this would be ideal.

 

[Brightbay]

I have two. I only use them on days when the weather is really bad (wet or snow) for exactly the reason you suggest - to keep the hay dry. Our herd is a bit precious and won't eat wet hay!

They do promote a funny eating posture, a sort of sideways twist and yank. After a physio visit yesterday where my horse has shown a very tight area just behind his ears, I might be reconsidering my use of them.

The physio recommended the slow feeders - but they don't get around the wet hay issue. Back to the drawing board here!

 

[WelshD]

This one has two holes in so both can feed at the same time and being on opposite sides there aren't any arguments

It works well.

You can buy wheelie bins on the net and I think Homebase sells them

 

[Tnavas]

Mine would have the lid up and head in within minutes! Padlock on the lid for us and chained to the fence too..

I think its a great idea and one I'd certainly consider if we had weather bad enough to be constantly feeding hay in wet weather.

 

[lelly]

I do! I have the lid fastened down with lockable caribiners. Its easy to make the hole with a drill and a jigsaw. I can get a whole bale in at once. It is a good way of feeding hay, as you said, it keeps dry. I have mine fastened to a post. You can also move it around if the ground gets muddy. I will get a picture.

 

[teabiscuit]

Thanks for the info WelshD. I can think of so many uses for them

 

[PolarSkye]

Former fellow livery tried this . . . because she didn't secure the lid, her mare worked out how to open the top and eat from there . . . which resulted in wet hay when it rained. However, I have seen people use a device like this successfully . . . I wouldn't use one because my "can hurt himself in a padded cell" gelding would likely get a foot caught, or do something equally muppety.

P

 

[cblover]

Thanks folks, much appreciated. I probably won't be using it till next winter but I'm hoping it will be useful for my two.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Aren't wheelie bins the councils property?
Can you buy them? Handy if you can. I've never looked , but they have so many potential uses

You can buy them if you tell council first one has been stolen, locally I can buy one that HAS been stolen, they are £10 compared to council £27,
I tried one with a small hole in bottom for soaking hay, but it did not really work any better than using large trugs.
They are quite good for storage, taking up less floorspace and being mobile

 

[pansymouse]

As someone who works in the waste industry I can tell you that not all wheeled bins are created equal and some of the modern cheap ones (which all councils can afford these days) are too flimsy to be safely used around horses. If I was going down this route I would contact a local waste company and ask if I could buy/have a retired bin (offer to pay scrap value) then go to their bin graveyard and choose the sturdiest one in the size you want. If they ask what size you need it will mostly likely be 180 or 240 litres.

 

[ljohnsonsj]

My old yard did this with their own horses. Cut a hole in the bottom and sort of ratchet strapped it in so it didn't move from the corner of the stable until they wanted to take it out and fill it. I didn't really see the point, it barely saved them any time to be honest. I didn't like the idea, I could imagine a nasty accident with a wheelie bin with a hole in and my horses! They are also very noisy in stables when horses pull the hay out!

 

[lelly]

This is mine. I bought a good quality bin about £45 and my wrecker of a horse hasn't damaged it yet. She's been using it all winter. Sorry about huge picture.

 

[Tnavas]

I can't see why anyone would think this dangerous to have around horses. A bucket with a handle is more dangerous!

The bin can be secured closed, it can be secured to a fence and is no more breakable than many buckets.

Personally I think it's a very clever idea to maintain the quality of the hay being fed. It allows the horse add lib hay without the problems associated with feeding large quantities in bad weather.

 

[Rudders74]

Ive got one just like Lellys above and it works brilliantly. Little bit of rope at the top to keep the lid shut tight, I have no problems with it at all. A cheap but effective solution!

 

[Ali2]

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...52446906933933.1073741831.676953932&source=43

Round hole either side, lid normally secured with bungee, ratchet lines to secure to fence. In principle a good idea but my lot emptied it far too quickly and it's a pain to fill up. We've ended up with a monster hay feeder with a double giant net inside which we fill up once a week and it lasts all week.

If you scroll through that album you'll see my winter feeder iterations!