Each year when we clean out the barn, we move the hay feeders outside to get them out of the way but also to clean them up. But this year my old sheep feeder feel apart. When we had a lot more sheep (our max was 50) we had built a larger feeder and were using both. But now we are down to 13 sheep so do not need both. And since this one is broken, it is likely not going to be a feeder any longer.
The left portion of this feeder was my original feeder. (We added on to it later). I had purchased a Grate Bale Box Feeder kit in January of 2001 and built this feeder for the sheep myself. (This is before I knew Tom). The metal grate sat on top of the hay, minimizing waste and wool contamination. The upright metal bars you see were to stabilize the grate.
I also built a hinged roof on top to use it outside and keep the rain off of the hay.
The side wood is very well preserved with lanolin.
I am imagining that all of the sheep I have ever owned have added some of their lanolin to this feeder. It is nice to imagine that my original sheep’s lanolin might still be here. This brought up all of the exciting feelings I had when I first got Shetland sheep.
So here is a photo of me on my old property with the sheep feeder in action with some of my original sheep: Lucy, Sadie, Ebony and Babette. They are all favorites of mine but for different reasons. BYW the hay barn in the photos was moved to our current place and is still our hay barn.
Then onto the thief. This person stole 3 dozen eggs from our farm stand last night.
In the unlikely event that you recognize this person, please let us know.
Stealing eggs is disgusting!! Maybe an alarm would help chase them off. Or a bright light that would go on immediately?
It was interesting to read about your hayfeeder!
It must have been quite a deal to move that hay barn! Its neat that you did it though.
I assume they are desperate but it is a lot of work providing those eggs for sale. The alarm and light are good ideas. We will look into that. In the meantime we will be locking the fridge at night. Kind of a pain. It was a big deal moving the barn. We hired a guy to move it. It was made with lumber milled from a tree that fell on my old property so is neat for that reason as well.
I love that lanolin finish on wood. 🙂 I didn’t realize you brought the hay barn with you. that is pretty neat. Sorry to hear that you’re still experiencing egg theft. It would be kind of a pain, but would it be worth brining them in overnight? I worry if you put a lock on it it this person might just break it and end up damaging your fridge
I assume lanolin helps preserve wood. It seems to. It was a chore moving the barn but worth it. With the increasing flooding I doubt we will use it for hay anymore so we need to find a new use for it. We could bring the eggs in at night. We have locked the egg fridge before without any damage. So we will probably do that. Fortunately our eggs sell out pretty fast so it shouldn’t be too much work.