Safety and Basics of Livestock Feed Equipments

Working with animals itself is dangerous; handlers are subject to bruises, scratches, and bites. Thus, an unsafe environment adds to the hazardousness of the nature of work. 

Although most farmers may think that small livestock equipments are safer, most of hazards in working on a farm happen because of disorderly arranged livestock equipments. An example of such safety risk is having the rakes and pitchforks leaning against a wall or dumped on a corner instead of arranged in a rack. These loose tools can be trip hazards or fall over near a nervous animal. The noise it creates can cause panic to animals which can result to danger.

Feed Equipments

The first step to safety is minimize potential risks in an already accident prone area. To start with, farmers should handle livestock feed equipments adequately and efficiently. These equipments include feed supplies cattle and hog feeding tools, and horse feed supplies for in the barn and out in the pasture. Whatever the size of the farm, equipments must hold enough feed for the livestock and are sturdy enough to go over different kinds of terrain.

A guide to choosing the adequate livestock feed equipment begins at consulting farming experts to establish a livestock feed equipment criteria. Farmers should also decide if it would be best to buy or lease equipment depending on the use and future plans. But while it would be much expensive, it would always be best to buy feed supplies and equipment from high-quality suppliers.

Purchasing Equipments

First, farmers may consult a manufacturer for feed equipment. Every farm is uniquely made that each requires varied ways to feed livestock. Livestock feed equipments vary in uses and functions. Examples of these are vibratory feeder bowl to gravity and horizontal in-line track, placement devices, machine bases and tables or conveyors and storage hoppers.

Second, getting quotes from distributor may help farmers decide whether they would buy from a local distributor or purchase from elsewhere. Local distributors are often preferred for delivery and troubleshoot purposes, but other distributors may offer other high-quality and advanced equipments.

Third, feed supply and equipment should be adequate enough to livestock. Thus, it would be best to base these on the size of the entire farm. This is because large and small farms’ equipment needs vary. Also, farmers should purchase from a supplier who specializes on different kinds of farms to be able to properly advise on proper equipments.

Pricing Costs of Equipments

Determining the budget for livestock feeding equipment should be done first. This guides farmers to narrow down in to specific vital machines from several machinery choices.

For example, farmers may buy new livestock feed equipments from a farm and feed supply company for reliability and dependability purposes. For future machinery collapses, most companies offer warranty and provide product replacements. They may also opt to buy used equipments to save money. It is advisable though that farmer should be equipped with knowledge on how to operate the machine. Leasing equipments is another option especially for farmers new to the livestock business. This option offers short-term commitment.
