Lightweight, Shop-Built Llama Feeder

2025 - Volume #49, Issue #6, Page #10

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Ask Dale Freeman to build a llama feeder, and he’ll do it right. Not only can it hold two 5 or 6-ft. round bales, but every piece of tubular steel is also capped off. No water or wasp nests will find a way inside.
“I built it for a fellow whose land I hunt on,” says Freeman. “Every vertical tube is plugged and welded solid.”
Freeman designed the feeder to be lightweight and easy to move with an ATV or UTV. He mainly used 1-in. Schedule 40 pipe, bought in 21-ft. sections. To create the hoops, he cut the pipes into 7 ft. lengths. With help from a friend, G.W. Mays, and the landlord, Ander Fleming, he bent each piece twice at 45-degree angles to form one side of a hoop.
“It would’ve been very difficult to put four 45-degree bends in a 14-ft. pipe and have them all in line,” says Freeman. “Instead, I drew a square on the floor and laid two 7-ft. pipes down inside it, so they overlapped and then welded them together.”
He stood the hoops upside down on lengths of angle iron placed on the floor to get the desired 8-in. spacing. Then, he welded them to the angle iron.
To mount the hoops, Freeman built a sleigh runner base with three uprights on each side. Each vertical is braced against the skids and cross-braced to opposing verticals with 3/4-in. pipe. He welded 3/4-in. pipe to the top of the verticals, tying them together and providing horizontal supports for the hoops.
He welded the hoops to the horizontal supports. The angle iron on top of the hoops sealed them shut while reinforcing the structure.
“I hinged the front end for loading bales,” says Freeman. “The other end lifts off. The tow chain is mounted to a cross support on the skid frame, so it doesn’t lay on the ground. I also welded chain links in various places on the uprights for tarp ties.”
Freeman recalls making the feeder about 25 years ago.
“As far as I know, it’s still in use,” he says with pride.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dale Freeman, Monroe, Va. 24574.

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Lightweight, Shop-Built Llama Feeder Ask Dale Freeman to build a llama feeder, and he’ll do it right. Not only can it hold two 5 or 6-ft. round bales, but every piece of tubular steel is also capped off. No water or wasp nests will find a way inside. “I built it for a fellow whose land I hunt on,” says Freeman. “Every vertical tube is plugged and welded solid.” Freeman designed the feeder to be lightweight and easy to move with an ATV or UTV. He mainly used 1-in. Schedule 40 pipe, bought in 21-ft. sections. To create the hoops, he cut the pipes into 7 ft. lengths. With help from a friend, G.W. Mays, and the landlord, Ander Fleming, he bent each piece twice at 45-degree angles to form one side of a hoop. “It would’ve been very difficult to put four 45-degree bends in a 14-ft. pipe and have them all in line,” says Freeman. “Instead, I drew a square on the floor and laid two 7-ft. pipes down inside it, so they overlapped and then welded them together.” He stood the hoops upside down on lengths of angle iron placed on the floor to get the desired 8-in. spacing. Then, he welded them to the angle iron. To mount the hoops, Freeman built a sleigh runner base with three uprights on each side. Each vertical is braced against the skids and cross-braced to opposing verticals with 3/4-in. pipe. He welded 3/4-in. pipe to the top of the verticals, tying them together and providing horizontal supports for the hoops. He welded the hoops to the horizontal supports. The angle iron on top of the hoops sealed them shut while reinforcing the structure. “I hinged the front end for loading bales,” says Freeman. “The other end lifts off. The tow chain is mounted to a cross support on the skid frame, so it doesn’t lay on the ground. I also welded chain links in various places on the uprights for tarp ties.” Freeman recalls making the feeder about 25 years ago. “As far as I know, it’s still in use,” he says with pride. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dale Freeman, Monroe, Va. 24574.

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