Question:
We are just getting started in llamas and are not sure what the best hay mangers are for feeding hay to llamas.

Answer:
There are, of course, many different types of hay feeders that will work. I have seen hay bags, horse mangers,
plastic tubs, hay just thrown in the corner of a stall, hay thrown on the ground, hay for bedding, round bale
feeders, wood boxes, and about every type of commercially available cattle and horse feeder on the market used
to feed hay to llamas. There are, however, several things to keep in mind when selecting or building a feeder. It is advisable to use a feeder that reduces hay waste. The open upright bar feeders that are commercially available tend to have a lot of hay end up on the ground that is wasted. You will also want a feeder that does not rub the
wool off of the llamas necks and one that small cria can reach.

Lets discuss a few of the different types of hay feeders with their advantages and disadvantages.

Mesh Hay Bags
One occasionally sees someone using the netting hay bags designed for horses to feed hay to llamas. DO NOT USE THESE. I know of at least two llamas that have died by hanging themselves in these bags. Their heads are small enough to fit through one of the netting holes but then they can't get their head out and end up twisting and twisting trying to get out of the hay bag and wrap it around their neck until it becomes to tight for them to breathe.

Horse Mangers
The horse mangers that mount on the wall will work well but create a lot of wasted hay that fall to the ground. These are commercially available and work for some people.

Plastic Tubs
As I said, I see some llama owners using round, plastic tubs in stalls. Again, they work but I have never been a fan of having loose items in a stall. They can work for a single llama if they are anchored to the floor or the wall.

Wood Hay Boxes
This is one of the better ways of feeding hay to llamas. The sample in the picture in photo one below is made from a single 4 x 8 sheet of 5/8 inch plywood. The feeder is 4 foot long by 25 inches wide and 23 inches deep. Notice that the front is then cut down an additional 4 inches to prevent a neck rub area from developing on the llama. The additional item to note in this box is the addition of a 4 ft. piece of vinyl drip gutter mounted along the back to feed pellets or minerals.

The other advantage of this wood box feeder is that it is inexpensive. It can be built in a couple of hours at the expense of a single sheet of plywood and a few screws. The addition of 2 x 2 upright supports screwed into all four corners increases the stability and makes the hay box stronger. Runners made from a 2 x 2 or 2 x 4 can also be added to the bottom to prevent the bottom from rotting. The box feeder in photo one is 15 years old and still very functional.

Home Made Wood Hay Feeder

These can be used to feed square or round bales. When feeding square bales several days supply can be fed at
one time. We use a number of these round bale feeders in various configurations. In the outside sheds we fasten a
single panel in a corner and feed round bales or square bales. For the main female herd we use several round bale
feeders under an overhang as seen in photo two. We feed both round bales and square bales in them. One of the
more innovative methods of using these that I have seen is to daisy chain them together in an "S"shape and use
them as a feeder and alley way between two feeding areas.

These round feeders are inexpensive (about $100 each) and can be used in a lot of different situations and
different configurations – making them our hay feeder of choice for llamas.