After raking up spilt hay yesterday from under the sheep, alpacas and goat hay feeders, we had to conclude that the cows have got REALLY bad at wasting their hay from the trolley. Thyme (not pictured) is totally the worst offender: she grabs huge mouthfuls and then as she begins to chew, half of what she has falls to the ground! We (and by we, read ‘David’) has thus adapted our wonderful trolley by attaching slanted mesh to both sides and so creating a V shaped manger in the middle. We have to report that not only was it instantly effective, but that the cows seemed to love eating from it and we left them at dusk, very happily munching away.
Hay wastage can be a big issue as it both costs money and takes time to clear up. Spilt hay inside the barn and shelters becomes extra bedding but outside all it does is get trampled on and then potentially can kill the grass if not raked up.
At the end of the day, it is impossible not to have some wastage: the very fact the animals can get to the hay to eat it, means they will drop some but the right sized mesh, lids and trays/boxes underneath all help to keep the waste to a minimum. The base of the trolley will of course catch some of the spills from the cows and the hope then is they will then simply lean in and eat it!!!
We look forward to NOT seeing a huge mess on the woodchip tomorrow morning!!!