Livestock Equipment and Supplies Key Terms

Get to know livestock equipment and supplies key terms

By Denise Brown

If you have animals on your farm, you need to know livestock equipment and supplies key terms. There is a number of pieces of equipment germain to any farming operation that has livestock. In addition to tractors, there are pieces of feeding equipment necessary to supply food to animals, especially during winter months. Most of the livestock equipment and supplies key terms in this guide pertain to items needed to feed cattle and horses.

Bale rings

Bale rings slip around a large bale of hay to help prevent waste. Without a bale ring, cattle pull out unnecessary amounts of hay and tramp it into the ground without eating it. Bale rings come with solid panels on the bottom or with openings on the bottom. The second type is light enough to move by hand.
Try: You can see a solid-bottom bale ring from Farmco MFG.

Feed bunks

A feed bunk is a long, narrow trough that farmers use for cattle grains or other feed. Feed bunks raise the feed closer to the animal's mouth and keep the feed off the ground, thus preventing waste. Some feed bunks are movable, while others are permanently set into the ground.
Try: CPI Pipe sells Lifetime Feedbunks. You can see a picture of cattle feeding from a feed bunk as well as read the specs on the company's website.

Bale choppers

Bale choppers are devices that break apart bales of straw so the farmer can quickly spread bedding for his or her farm animals. These devices can also chop hay for animals to eat.
Try: ACI Distributors show Goosen bale choppers in use.

Forage wagon

A forage wagon delivers chopped silage to animals in the feedlot. You can find a variety of configurations of forage wagons.
Try: See a variety of forage wagons from Meyer Manufacturing. As you click on each individual wagon, you can get a better understanding of how forage wagons work.

Hay forks or bale spears

Hay forks, or bale spears, attach to a three-point hitch on a tractor. Their purpose is to move large bales of hay from the hay field to a storage place. The hay fork also delivers hay to the feedlot.
Try: For an explanation of how a hay fork attaches to a tractor, read the information from Leinbach Machinery.

Front-end loader

A front-end loader attaches to the front of a tractor. It can move dirt and manure piles created by animals in confinement. Some front-end loaders have attachments that allow the front end of the tractor to do other chores. One example of this type of attachment is a front-end bale spear.
Try: Westendorf Mfg shows a number of front-end loaders.