We normally use rubber feed bins to feed the goats their grain and minerals.  The rubber bins normally just sit right on the ground. The goats sometimes step in the bins and flip them over, spilling out any grain or minerals onto the ground. This wastes food as the goats typically refuse to eat most food that has touched the ground (except of course for live grass or other plants that they graze on…).

Rosebud using a rubber feeding bin on the ground.

I wanted to build a better feeding bin for the goats, but without having to spend a lot of money.

Click through for a more detailed guide to build an elevated goat feeding bin.

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Several readers have asked how much it costs to care for the animals.

All 5 goats hang out in the pasture (with the cows in the background)

I did not keep very close track of the specific recurring expenses for just the animals since we moved in so I do not currently have a very good estimate.  However, starting from January 1, 2016 I am going to keep close track of all of the normal recurring expenses for the animals and post the total costs periodically for those interested.

For those who are interested in such details, these costs won’t include any allocation of the cost of the land, property taxes, electricity to run the well pumps, costs of the farm sitter during trips or our time, but rather just straight out of pocket expenses of a recurring nature that are easily identifiable as connected to the animals. This also won’t include one-time infrastructure spending like the materials needed to build a feeding station or pen.

Click through for the current total and an update on the fiber processing.

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