Commercial mineral and salt feeders are one expense Richard Roth eliminates on the IX Ranch, Big Sandy, Mont. Providing free-choice salt and mineral year-round means the feeders become weathered and worn quickly. To create a durable, weather-resistant feeder, Roth buys 4-foot x 8-foot sheets of matting from a salvage yard. The mats are used belting from mining operations and are cut into 24-inch x 24-inch pieces that are used as the bottom of eight feeders. Recycled pickup tires are used for the tops of the feeders. The sidewalls are cut and shaped, and the tire is turned inside out. Four to six 5/16 bolts secure the tires to the mats. Roth says the bolts “seal the bottom well enough that mineral doesn’t seep out, but still allows water/moisture to seep out. We bolt from the bottom so the bolts are not sticking in the dirt, and we grind down the bolt inside the tub so cows don’t hurt their noses.” Once the tires are turned inside out and the matting is cut, Roth says it takes one person with a drill and a couple of wrenches about 20 minutes to complete a mineral tub. “The tubs can stay out indefinitely without much damage.”
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