How to Build a Feed Trough

Feeding a group of animals can be a much simpler chore if you have a trough to use as a community feed spot. A trough lifts the food up off the ground or keeps you from having to use smaller containers like buckets that may tip over. Either method wastes feed. Building a trough is just a matter of creating a large bin that stands at a height accessible to the stock you are feeding. The simplest method is to use a container that is readily available.

Things You'll Need

  • Food grade 55-gallon plastic drum
  • Circular saw
  • Carpenter's square
  • Pencil
  • 2 2-by-6-by-8 foot boards
  • 1 2-by-4-by-6 piece of lumber
  • 1 box of 3-inch wood screws
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Instructions

    • 1

      Find a food grade plastic barrel by checking with your local meat packing warehouse, grocery chain or bulk foods wholesaler. Large food distributors or manufacturers receive bulk ingredients in these types of containers and often sell them after use. Since you are supplying food in this container for your animals, you don't want one that has held anything toxic like paint or chemicals, so be sure the one you get is food grade.

    • 2

      Cut the barrel in half lengthwise. You can use the other half to make another trough, or even a watering container that sits on the ground.

    • 3

      Decide on the length of the trough's legs. The height of the trough is determined mainly by accessibility for your livestock or wild game. They should be able to dip their head into the trough on a natural angle, without lifting their head to eat or bending too low. This trough will be sized for larger livestock, so the legs will be 48 inches.

    • 4

      Cut two 2-by-6-by-8 boards in half. Use a carpenters square to angle one end of each half, so that you have two 30-degree angles that oppose each other. This means that when brought together, they meet evenly down the middle.

    • 5

      Measure the 2-by-4 and cut it in half so you have two 3-foot lengths. Set your half barrel on a level work surface. Orient the trough how you want it to tilt when feeding. You can either have the trough face straight up, or you can tilt it slightly forward for easier access. If you choose to tilt the barrel, don't bring it forward more than 6 inches or the feed may spill. Use something to prop the barrel at this spot. Set the two pieces of 2-by-4 that you cut on edge at both ends of the barrel, so they run along side the bottom. Using the wood screws, screw the barrel to the wood supports by running the screws out into the wood from inside the barrel. Use thee to four screws per side, enough to make it secure.

    • 6

      Bring 2 pieces of the 2-by-6 that you cut for the legs together so the angles meet and they form a point at the top. Screw the two pieces together at the point by putting 2 screws through each side through one board tip and into the other. Repeat for the other two boards. You now have two A-frame shaped leg sets.

    • 7

      Screw the A-frame legs to the side support boards so that the point of the A-frame sits above the side support but not above the top of the barrel. Screw through each side board into the cross support using 3 to 4 screws per board. Make sure the screw points do not protrude into the barrel to harm the animals.

    • 8

      Measure the distance from the outside edge of the legs on each side, across the length of the trough. Barrels do vary in height from an average of 33 to 36 inches so your trough may run from 37 to 40 inches or so. Cut your 1-by-2 to the length you measure. Screw one piece across the front, one across the back, by screwing down through the 1-by-2 into the outside front of each leg beneath the bottom of the trough. This will give the trough stability so it does not wobble.