Egon said:
On your present plastic troughs would a horizontal 2x4 on the bottom at each end help from tipping if that becomes a problem.
Yes it would, Egon, and you wouldn't need one at both ends to tip proof it but I won't be doing that. Part of the design philosophy was to eliminate wood-earth contact. I don't expect to have to "maintain" these troughs. They don't get turned over very often and righting them is trivial.
You'd lose some efficiency but gain tip over resistance by attaching some together in an "L" shape or zig zag. I could use simple DIY metal hinges to couple them together with enough freedom to be ablel to get then out of a too perfect straight line. This would increase tip resistance but surely increase build cost, time and effort. (Did I mention I'm getting lazy?) A horizontal 2x4 (not on the ground) connecting two feeders together, still parallel but not co-linear widens the effective base and provides tip resistance while maintaining full efficiency of access. This would be better than any "L" or zig zag.
Egon, As to the size of the cattle operation... we are land limited. Our land is not all that productive and will not support dense stocking ratios. There is considerable competition for leasing grazing land so that tends to marginalize you if you lease for too much $. The good news is that it isn't all that much harder to care for 100-200 head than it is for 10 if you set up your operation efficiently.
For example: If you distribute feed from a hopper on a truck and don't exceed the hopper capacity in one feeding then there is hardly any difference in management input (labor) to feed a multitude. Vet services amortize better across larger herds. Feed prices are better if you can take a semi at a time (22-24 tons of corn gluten/soy hulls as pelletized feed.) I have a friend/neighbor who can take a full load and he runs about 50 head of momma cows. He feeds with buckets into metal troughs I helped build.
He has plans for a feed dispenser he can put on his 4 wheeler.
The good news is that I have friends who know more about cattle than I will ever know and one of them is running part of his in common with mine and we share the labor such as taking turns feeding and such.
EID is a mixed blessing and some additional cost but it will be a very good thing when fully implemented. I have seen readers working and they seem to do OK.
Pat
Pat
