Feed Troughs: The Right Trough For Every Feeding Place In The Stable

Feed Troughs: fixed, hanging or long

The trough is the spot where feeding happens every single day, and it gets treated accordingly. What matters is less the species than the design and the material: fixed to the wall, hooked into the box door or built as a long trough where a whole group finds room at once. From the light plastic trough to the stainless steel trough, you will find every version here.

Choose the design by feeding place

A wall trough is the permanent solution in the box: screwed on once, it stands firm and is out of the way. Corner models use the angle that nobody needs anyway. Hanging is the better choice if you clean often, move things around or feed away from home, because the trough simply comes off. And when calves, sheep or goats eat as a group, a long trough with a feed barrier keeps the animals from shoving each other or climbing in. With pigs what counts most is that the trough stands securely and cannot be tipped over.

Material decides how long it lasts

Plastic is light, cheap and perfectly sufficient in most cases. Galvanised steel takes more when cattle or horses work on it. Aluminium and stainless steel are the most durable and hygienic choice and the easiest to keep clean, but they cost more. A drain plug saves you tipping the trough when you wash it, and a protective edge keeps horses away from sharp edges and the trough from being chewed. If you wash often, smooth inner surfaces without edges serve you best, because nothing sticks there.

Frequently asked questions

What size does my trough need to be?
For the concentrate ration 8 to 15 litres is enough. For roughage or group feeding 30 to 45 litres makes sense. Rather a little bigger than too small, otherwise feed ends up next to the trough.

How high do I mount a wall trough?
Roughly at the chest height of the animal. Too low means dirt in the feed, too high means an unnatural eating posture.

Plastic or metal?
Plastic for light use and frequent moving, metal wherever animals feed hard and permanently every day of the year.