Slow Feeder hay nets/bags

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I'm looking for 1 large slow feeder that my 3 Minis can share, they do share regular slow feeder hay nets & the old style small Freedom Feeder just fine. It will be used outside in paddock, so one that is easy to move around to be inside the shed if weather is bad would be great. My freedom feeder stays hanging on the fence outside, so I don't use it if the weather is really bad, it has 1" holes so slows them down perfectly. I have 2 slow-feeder hay nets, which have 1.5" holes and they do "empty" these faster, so looking for an option to replace every day use. Something that is easy to fill and easy options to move around.

Any experiences with the following products would be appreciated:

1. Busy Horse -looking at the Busy Grande Extra Slow Feeder

2. Standard Hay Pillow (or possibly hanging Hay Pillow)

3. Extended Day Freedom Feeder

 

[disneyhorse]

My shetland pony has the standard Hay Pillow. I really like it but wouldn't share it between horses. I'd get one for each horse.

 

[hylights]

Although not one you mentioned, I have 2 of the Cinch Chix easy up hay feeeders, love how easy they are, and durable! They were expensive, but have outlasted everything else and are still going strong over a year later.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

Thanks for the help/suggestions. My minis are not hard on the nets at all, my Freedom Feeder is 5-6 years old and only has 2 holes from stuffing it full & being out in the weather. I do put out 2 nets now, probably better to have multiple feeding stations anyway so they move around more.

 

[Shari]

I have been using these bags a couple years now. Like the ones with the smaller holes. They do work well.

 

[Kendra]

We use Eco-Nets. http://www.econets.ca/

They have a 3/4" and even a 1/2" option, and nets in all sizes from 2 flake to round bales.

 

[user 45739]

I've been reading this topic carefully, as I am looking for a similar solution. Right now my minis are on a paddock during the day and I'm feeding hay (temporarily, on the ground, till I can find and order the right solution to that, which I hope to do soon -- it's one of those situations where there are so many options, it's hard to decide what will work out best). In their stalls, there are standard hay racks. Needless to say, most of that hay winds up on the floor of the stall, too.

I'm shy of hay nets made of any kind rope due to an experience (second hand) with a filly who was in a barn I used to hang out at when I was a kid. They used the standard, old-style hay nets without any trouble at all till this little girl managed somehow to pull hers down over night and get both forelegs tangled in it. She was down when they got there in the morning and fortunately had had the brains to not struggle too much, so they were able to cut the net away and she was fine. It could have turned out much differently, of course. The barn owner tossed all the hay nets and put up racks after that.

I'm leaning toward either the "Hay Pillows", therefore, or the bags/pillows like Shari posted above. What I would like is something I can put a flake or two in, a pillow/bag for each mini, and put out in the paddock during the day but would be small enough to stuff into their hay racks in the stalls at night, and still keep a good portion of their night time hay off the floor.

Shari, how large are those bags? Would they be small enough to stuff into a hay rack at night?

In your experience, does anyone have suggestions along those lines? Would the Hay Pillows work? The hay racks are not corner ones, just the standard "against the flat wall" style.

Thanks in advance!

--Gayze

 

[Shari]

I have this one.... and a couple of the smaller hole ones.

http://www.busyhorse.com/busygrandeslow.html

 

[user 45739]

I have this one.... and a couple of the smaller hole ones.

http://www.busyhorse.com/busygrandeslow.html

I think I'm leaning toward those, Shari. Thank you for the link!

--Gayze

 

[Jenny]

I have two Mini Hay Pillows for my guy. I loved them at first, but then decided to go a different route. My guy would paw A LOT at his Hay Pillow and would eventually make massive holes in it. So, I got a Nag Bag, which is basically a high-quality, small hole hanging net. He hasn't managed to make a single hole in it, yet! I have the 1.5" trailer bag, and it fits around 4 pounds when it's stuffed full, which is what he gets at night. Hope this helps!

 

[Shari]

I think I'm leaning toward those, Shari. Thank you for the link!

--Gayze

You are welcome.....

 

[user 45739]

Thank you, Jenny, that's good information. Kestrel also likes to paw, so maybe the Hay Pillows wouldn't work for her, either. I'll look into the Nag Bags, too, though I'm still shy of using anything made of "rope" due to that one long-ago second-hand experience.

Much appreciated!

 

[AngC]

I got a Nibble-Net for our mare and foal. I looked at trying to make one, but for the price it was just too much trouble and a crap-shoot on saving any money.

Baby and Coco share it. Baby tends to bounce it up/down off the side of the stall which freaks out her dam, Coco. It's held up really well. We do have stall matts on the sides of our stalls, so the slow-feeder doesn't chafe on the stall walls too much. I haven't seen any wear on it yet.

 

[chandab]

I have a couple Hay Pillows and do like them, but they have a learning curve for the minis while they learn to extract hay from them (they will paw at them in frustration, if they don't have time to learn). When you start with them, you need to leave part of their meal out of the pillow, so they can eat a bit before tackling the hay pillow to remove the rest of their hay. I prefer the 3/4" fine twine mesh; I have 1/2" and 3/4" thick twine, and my horses can get their hay out of any of the sizes, but the 3/4" fine twine (it has a number, but I never remember which is which) seems to be the right combination for mine. Last week, when I was gone over night, I even put one mare's Safe Starch Forage in the 1/2" pillow, and she was able to remove it, I don't know if she just grabbed it and shook out the hay, but she got it all out and ate most if not all of it..