Valais hay/grain feeders

Happy New Year from all of us at Wisconsin Valais Blacknose Sheep! We are kicking off 2025 with a discussion regarding hay/grain feeders and how we had to adapt our old feeders to be "Valais friendly"!

​Our flock consists of Dorpers, Katahdins, Hampshires, commercial ewes, our goats, a few Scottish Blackface and our Valais ewe, Lavender. When we initially built our feeders in 2020, we did not have horned sheep. We used Premier 1’s “Build Your Own Feeders” instruction book to build our feeders. Specifically, we used the plans for Premier’s Single-Sided Fender for large sheep and rams to optimize material usage. I will provide a link to the instruction booklet below.

We opted to use cattle panel, which worked well for the most part, however, smaller sheep could get their heads through. When we purchased our Scottish Blackface ewes, we decided we had to make a change to how our feeders were set up so that our horned sheep were less likely to get caught up in the panel.

We pulled off the sheep and cattle panel from all of our feeders and replaced that with pieces of one-by-one boards spaced four inches apart. Because of the smaller size of the one-by-one boards, we used a countersink bit to pre-drill holes to prevent splitting. In addition, our boards were cut on an angle to be secured flush to the feeder. We used a circular saw, however, a miter saw could also be used. After pre-drilling the holes, we secured the pieces to the feeder using 1 5/8 inch screws.

We are very pleased with the results of our feeder remodel! Our sheep do not have issues pulling hay through, and also cannot fit their heads through. Take a peek below to see before and after pictures, as well as the cutest project foreman on the farm!

Premier 1 Build Your Own Feeder Booklet: https://www.premier1supplies.com/img/product/pdf/byo-feeders.pdf

Our must haves for feeder building/remodel
Solid, budget friendly circular saw: https://amzn.to/3PqMTHo
Countersink drill bit set: https://amzn.to/429aPX7
Screws: https://amzn.to/3WeLvLD
Our must-have, favorite drill set: https://amzn.to/3WcFUpi
Toolbox set for our favorite barn foreman: ​https://amzn.to/3C1Lq7f

Disclaimer: I am NOT a licensed veterinarian. The information on this site is for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional veterinarian advice. Please contact your veterinarian. Any purchases through the Amazon links generate commission for this website.