Where we live, round bales of hay are easy to come by, and are more economical than buying square bales for the season.  The problem with feeding round bales to goats is waste.  It takes weeks for a small herd to eat all the hay in a round bale.

Why Not Simply Buy a Feeder instead of Making a DIY Round Bale Hay Feeder?

1. WASTE:  Store-bought steel or polyethylene round bale feeders are open on top.  In the weeks it takes goats to eat all the hay, the hay would get rained on and mold.
2. WASTE:  More importantly, the store-bought feeders are designed for cattle – goats would simply get inside, walk on and poop all over the hay, thereby ruining it further.
3. COST:  They are expensive!  The simplest style is currently going for $400 (at Tractor Supply November 2022).

DIY Round Bale Hay Feeder

Our simple solution is a DIY round bale hay feeder designed for goats.  This has a metal roof and cross pieces placed closer together to prevent goats from climbing inside.

The one pictured is 5’ tall, 63” wide and 82” long.  The wood is all treated to better withstand sitting out in the weather.

Step-by-step instructions for DIY Round Bale Hay Feeder

• We built two rectangles out of 2x4s: 63x82”.  These serve as the top (where tin attaches) and bottom.  As you can see from the photos below, the 2x4s are oriented so the narrow 1.5" wide side is facing up and down.  The 3.5" side is facing out - facing you.
• On the top rectangle, attach two additional cross braces (see illustration above).  The tin is screwed down into these cross braces.

• To the inside of the rectangles attach 64-inch tall 2x4s running the height at each of the four exterior corners.  These are simply screwed in but reinforced with plywood corner braces.
  • These are attached to the joints of the top rectangle and the 64" 2x4 as well as the bottom rectangle and the 64" 2x4s with stabilizing triangular sections approximately 1’ long of 5/8” exterior plywood.
  • We are apparently inconsistent.  On one DIY round bale hay feeder the triangles measure 10.5x12", and on the other hay hut they are 12x17".
  • You will need a total of 16 triangular corner braces.  Keep this in mind as you trace and plan how to cut the sheet of exterior plywood!
  • These corner braces help the hay hut hold-up to being raised and lowered over the hay, and to general goat rough housing.

• Last, attach horizontal pieces.  The horizontal pieces can be placed at heights suitable to your herd.  Our nannies include one small Nigerian Dwarf who can crawl in a small space.  Our billy goats are much larger and have large racks of horns.  For the boys we have wider spaced horizontal rungs.  These are made from ripped 1x8s cut into threes, which have surprisingly held up for 3 years now.
• Be sure to measure the length of the cross pieces, as they extend beyond the frame - see photos.

Supply list for DIY Round Bale Hay Feeder

• 2 sheets 3x8’ tin roofing (or 3 sheets of 2x8) - about $60
• 12 treated 8' 2x4s for top and bottom rectangles & 4 corner heights (12 x $4 = $48)
• 3-4 treated 1x4x8s (or 8' 2x4s) for cross pieces, ripped in half (4 x $4 = 16)
• ½ sheet exterior 5/8” plywood ($25)
• Screws: roofing ($14)and exterior (box of 3" is $30)
• TOTAL cost of supplies:  $193 if you have to purchase all the supplies new at today's prices (Nov 2022).  This is at least half of what you would pay for a less functional feeder without a roof.  And you have the satisfaction of doing it yourself!

This is not only cheaper than a round-bale feeder, but it works better.  It will last several years, and we figure it pays for itself in less hay wasted.

The only down-side is weight.  It is heavy to lift over a round-bale, even with two people.  But we can do it!