Monday, 02 April 2018 09:55

Purple feeder stands out, gets results

Written by  Mark Daniel
Zeddy Dry mobile feeder. Zeddy Dry mobile feeder.

Livestock farmers’ quests for maximum animal production make it no surprise that an innovative feeder has won first prize in the recent South Island Agricultural Field Days Innovation Awards.

The Zeddy Dry 1250 mobile feeder, sporting a less-than-rural purple colour scheme, gets optimum feed stocks to calves, cows, goats and deer, to help increase daily liveweight gains and maintain animals’ health.

It transports feed to paddocks in its 1.25cu.m hopper mounted on a robust galvanised steel chassis. It handles and dispenses pelletised feeds, loose grains or any free-flowing supplementary feed equally well.

 It dispenses feed into one of four feed stalls located around the unit and is said to be suitable for mobs of 200 - 300; it can deliver as little as 15g per visit, right up to 3kg for larger animals. And it can be set to deliver smaller amounts several times daily, so encouraging better development of younger stock.

It has an integral RFID tag reader that identifies animals by their eartags then prompts dispensing of a predetermined amount of feed from the hopper. 

Key benefits are feed storage in a weather-tight hopper, and the pre-set feed quantities that prevent over-feeding and waste. 

The unit is powered by an integral 12V battery whose charge should last four days, and it can be connected to 230V mains power if used indoors.

Controlling software can send text alerts to smartphones, tablets or PCs if the unit malfunctions; the software also produces monthly user reports.

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