Heavy Duty Feed Troughs

bordercollie

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I thought I would post a picture or 2 of these heavy duty feed troughs that we made. Several years ago, we bought an 18 wheeler load of used oil/gas line pipe. That was back when it was reasonably priced. Anyway, we have made around 30 of these to feed in. If memory serves correctly , they weigh about 900 lbs each. The cows can't move them so feeding with the tractor/feed wagon is much much easier. We made concrete feed pads with an opening in the middle to accommodate the feet of the troughs and put them end to end. The concrete keeps the tractor/ wagon from bogging down and keeps the cow udders clean as well. That is important because the calves won't get exposed to what would be in the mud around the troughs the old way. It saves labor because the troughs can stay in place and the land is protected because we don't have the old feeding spots left soft and spongy.You might can see 2 of the troughs in the background that are ready to put out. I am welding oil field sucker rod on this one . It's rounded surface protects the cows from rough pipe edges as they eat. We also curve the top ends to make them safer. Bordercollie
 

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bordercollie

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Bulls at a trough

Here's a picture of a few of the registered bulls eating at a trough. Pretty much indestructible. Bordercollie
 

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bczoom

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Those are heavy-duty!!!

You mentioned concrete in the first post but I'm not seeing it in the 2nd. Is it covered with dirt?
 

bordercollie

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Thanks Zoom, The concrete is there but it is covered with "well processed feed". I scrape it off with the small skid steer every few weeks and blend it into the garden and around landscape areas. First though, I let it rest in a big pile and turn it every now and then. It can be made out in the background of the picture with the whole pipe near the light pole. I will try to get a picture of the concrete when I scrape them off. Thanks, Bordercollie
 

bordercollie

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Picture update

I got a picture of the concrete feed pads in use. It has been raining and is really muddy before we can get the tractor to the concrete. They are a real lifesaver and keep us and the cows from bogging down like in the old days before the heavy feed troughs/pads. I have to unlock the brakes in order to turn without sliding as I turn to leave the area, when getting off and into the mud. The first picture shows calves eating that have come under the fence to chow down. The now sold bulls were at this same trough in the earlier post.. The edges of the concrete that keep the troughs centered can be seen in the that picture. The second picture shows the concrete feed area solid, and the mud in front shows how it use to be. Bordercollie
 

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Doc

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what a good application for those old pipes. Looks like it works like a charm. Good to see you took care of the sharp edges too, I'm sure bessie appreciates that. :D

Thanks for posting this BC!!!!!!
 

ki0ho

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feed bunks

Good looking bunks there BC.....used to have beteen 60 and 80 red semintal bulls we would move off the ranch and put them on wheat pasture for the winter in kansas ....can tell ya those little boys sure could tare stuf up just playing.....We would turn old tractor tires inside out and use those to feed dry foder and grain out on the wheat fields...some times you would go out in the morning to feed and some of the tires would be a few hundred yards from where they were the night before.....I guess they would get board and start playing with them. later Jerry
 

bordercollie

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Thanks Old hand, Ki0ho and Doc, They sure make life easier.-Use to, the cows would knock the light weight troughs out of alignment and you'd have to yank them out of the mud and line them back up before we fed and hope that the tractor didn't bog down. And that was after we got the feed wagon, before that, the mud would often pull your boots off while you were trying to put out the big sacks of cotton seed and 5 gallon buckets of corn. All the while trying to dodge cows because we didn't have closable lanes then._A tiring all day process . We also made feed lanes to put the troughs in because you can really get hurt when cows are hustling for the food. This is sooo much better. The single wire electric fence is easy to put up and keeps the cows out (calves come under though) until we let them in. Thanks friends. Bordercollie
 

ki0ho

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NONE.....the only live stock we have here is the dog...and I put feed out each evening during the winter for anywhere between 5 and about 15 white tait deer....we can sit here in the livingroom and watch them com in and eat and drink and move on...the only one we are sure is a return is a ilttle 8 point....we watched him and another buck fight it out one morning and he lost the left antler so when one comes each evening with only a right antler we are fairly sure its him......every time I get to thinking about some cattle Im reminded of two broken legs...a cracked pelvis ....both arms broken..different times....and a total of 4 ribs broke.....I am what is known as a hard headed learner.....but at my age Ive had enough of the scool of hard nocks.......:tiphat:
 

bordercollie

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We have about 100 registered Angus mama cows, 60 commercial mama cows, 40 reg Angus heifers and 40 1 1/2 yr old reg Angus bulls . Then we have the calves that go with the mama's.We just finished selling the last of our 2 yr old bulls before Christmas. We won't sell them until they are 2 yrs old and they have to meet certain standards of ours. We have a registered Angus program where we A.I. all the registered cows and heifers.In one of the pictures, you might can see the orange patches. They have a transmitter that tells when the time is right to A.I. the animal. We put a couple of our best registered bulls on the commercial herd. yea, it can sure be dangerous work but I try to step quick when I get in the wrong place with them . I broke an artery under the skin in my hand with equipment and got hit in the mouth with a poking stick- bloody but not too bad after a few days. It's all in the job I guess.I learn something every day. We have no help on this farm- just me , my Sis, BIL when he's not at work and the kids when they are home from college. Thank the Lord for mechanization. It's a good life! Bordercollie
 

Doc

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Wow, that sounds like quite an operation. Congrats. Life is good when you are doing what you want to do. :thumb:
 

muleman RIP

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Lots of folks don't realize the safety factor of a good bunk feed setup like that. It is better for the cows as well. And the concrete is a whole lot healthier for them than standing up to their bellies in crap. Nice well thought out setup.
 

bordercollie

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The troughs were another step toward making life a little less hard as we all get older. A few years ago , I messed up my back so that it was even hard to breath for many days. Couldn't sit down or lay down etc. I knew then and there things had to change . So now we look for easier ways to do things and make life easier.Bit by bit, we try to improve stuff here. Thanks friends for the replys, Bordercollie
 
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