I set this alfalfa feeder up on March 3. Went to the lease this past Saturday and to my disappointment nothing is eating the alfalfa!
What do y’all think the problem might be?
I've seen them eat alfalfa at our place in the winter and late summer when they are stressed and when there isn't much to eat out there other than cottonseed and protein that we feed them. I've never been able to get them to eat it during the Spring time when lots of forage is up and growing.
Smart had a alfalfa feeder for sale that was a 50 gallon drum with a cage on the bottom for sale. Maybe you can do a search and see the picture.
I've heard good things about that style.
I have seen similar results with that style of feeder. Not sure why but it doesn't seem like they prefer to eat it that way. On the ground or out of a 50 gal type feeder with a bottom cage seems to work much better.
Smart had a alfalfa feeder for sale that was a 50 gallon drum with a cage on the bottom for sale. Maybe you can do a search and see the picture.
I've heard good things about that style.
Smart did but it is sold ...but he's buying another larger style very similar to what the OP has (see below) because he needs more capacity. Our deer have no problem eating from it and mowing it down.
If I was the OP, I would stick with what he has and do the corn thing...stuff some in the cracks and crevices of the bale or lay corn on top of any on the ground. In the past, alfalfa I have put out in the spring usually stays around awhile. Then come May, it gets mowed down even the yellowed stuff. I'm assuming it is the spring greenup and the brush growth and they just have better things to eat. I used to break up the bale and throw it in my larger feeder thinking it would help, but they mow it down in the feeder in the summer and winter in bale form. I was in a hurry one day and just threw it in. A 3 strand bale was gone in 7 days..
Thinking about adding one as well. Doing the math on a bale here though ($22 for a 50ish pound bale) I may just supplement it in fall and winter vs year round
But that’s a awesome setup!..... and I liked your barrel feeder ( what I planned to build
I took plastic 55 gallon drum containers and cut them in half - built a simple wood frame with a tin roof and placed each of the halves of the drum in the base - put alfalfa in each barrel with corn on top - they ate it up
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