Scientific Hay Feeder & (Optional) Hay Maximizer shown.
The first GoBob Scientific Hay Monster at the R.A. Brown Ranch in Throckmorton Texas during their annual bull sale.
GoBob Pipe & Steel introduced, arguably the first commercial hay feeder that reduced waste in 2003. There is no question, however, that GoBob’s Hay Conserver and Hay Monster feeders were the very first square and rectangular shaped feeders on the United States market.
Each subsequent year brought minor improvements until 2008 when a major design change took place. The hay saving design was retained but construction using larger and heavier materials to make the feeders indestructible under normal use was employed. The other major change was making the bottom ring shaped into a skid to facilitate easier relocation of the feeders as needed.
In 2013, GoBob began looking for a way to further improve the elimination of waste outside of the feeder plus solve the age old problem of keeping smaller calves out of a feeder that is designed to allow mature cattle to feed from it as well. To prevent smaller livestock from entering the feeder, GoBob recommends keeping the feeder full of hay at all times.
(Optional) Mineral Trough
First a study was conducted to research the physical dimensions of the most popular American cattle breeds. Nine breeds were identified then the range of the following dimensions was compiled: Live weight, height at withers, height at the rump, length of body, width at shoulders with of haunch plus the width and length of the head. From this scientific evidence, a new hay feeder was designed.
For example, In order to space the neck rails of a bale feeder, the largest cattle head must fit through the rails, but the smallest shoulder width should not fit through the rails. In this example, the largest head is 9.05 inches, and the smallest shoulder width is 13.38 inches. Thus, the neck rail spacing of a bale feeder 9.05 inches and smaller than 13.38 inches between adjacent rails. This represents a reduction in the spacing between neck rails as compared to conventional hay feeders.
Similarly, the tallest cow at the withers is 57.08 inches. A cows’ foreleg length is about 45% of it’s wither’s height. Therefore, placing a rail barrier at the top of the tallest cow’s front legs may prevent even the tallest cow from stepping over the piping and having a leg become stuck inside the feeder. Cows with shorter legs may have even more difficulty stepping in with a foreleg, since the railing is too high for them to step over, and even calves are unlikely to duck underneath a railing. Conventional hay feeders place a rail about fifteen inches from the ground, which is low
enough for many cattle to step over while attempting to reach hay. The rail barrier to about twenty-six inches, which is too high for even the tallest (longest forelegs) cattle to step over.
Prototypes were tested for ten months at the 216 Ranch near Fairland OK. The 216 is a registered Hereford operation specializing in bull sales, owned by Randy and Mary Williams. Mr. Williams is extremely satisfied with the feeders having fed all sizes of cattle from weaned calves to mature bulls with them.
A United Sates Provisional Patent was filed on the Scientific Hay Feeder, Maximizer Hay Rack and Salt Box was filed 2016 – 04 -12 titled “Bale Feeder Apparatus, System and Method”.
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PRODUCTS: From time to time, small changes in design or materials used in these products may occur and we cannot always make the changes to photographs or content very quickly. Slight variations may occur to the products depicted on this page.