Mixing feed has great advantages for both farmers and their livestock. A uniformly mixed feed component provides better nutrition, improves feed efficiency, and reduces wastage.
Feed mixers come in diverse sizes and configurations in the bowl: vertical augers; single, double or triple; trailing wagon or truck mounted and more. Then there’s looking at the power requirements to ensure you have the right tractor for the job.
So how do you choose the right one? Here are some useful tips:
Oftentimes, Aussie farmers paddock feed baled fodder, yet many international mixers are designed for pit silage in level, paved barn feeding environments, which has less need for fibre processing, low profile design or heavy duty off road suspension.
Though speed and efficiency are important, your mixer should also thoroughly mix the components. From breaking up whole bales to cutting hay and straw, incorporating silage, grain, mineral and concentrates, your feed mixer should be able to create a uniform feed ration without it over-processing.
There are multiple auger configurations on combinations on the market, however, the most common are vertical and horizontal augers. Depending on the size and volume of the feed you want to mix, you have the option to choose between one to four augers in the mixing bowl.
Ausmix augers have been designed for Australian feeding programs. The Fibre-X Auger effectively processes fibre and gives your animals the nutritional edge for productivity and herd health.
Feed mixers go through tough work, so you need a machine made from even tougher materials. It’s best to look for feed mixers with these key specifications, 20mm augers, 20mm bottom plate and 10mm walls. Ideally made out of 350 grade steel, stainless steel or Hardox where possible.
Choosing the right size of your feed mixer depends on your herd size, densities and quantities. Ausmix tubs come in both standard wide body (2.5m) or our extra-wide body (2.65m) to better suit large, high-density bales. The extra wide body gives large bales more space to be pulled into the mixer, reducing any material being thrown out and allows for a lower profile design making it more suitable for smaller loaders.
It’s important to assess how you are presently feeding your livestock and how to then match your new feed mixer to suit. Are you presently feeding on the ground in the paddock, into troughs or into tall self feeders? A hydraulic side shifting cross conveyor is an excellent tool for feeding on the ground, in a paddock or into very short troughs. A small flip-up elevator is ideal for delivering feed into taller troughs and ring feeders and a tall elevator is the only way you will reach the tallest of self-feeders. Should your feeding be a very high grain percentage you will want an auger delivery system over the traditional belt/slat type system. It’s important to know the heights of all your feeding stations to best know what feed out option suits your farm.
When it comes to choosing a reliable, durable feed mixer designed for Australian livestock, choose Ausmix. Our feed mixers are custom engineered for tough Australian conditions and are loved in dairy farms and feedlots all across the country. If you’re interested to learn more about the AusMix feed mixer range, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team on (02) 8880 7873 or send us an email at brad@farmtech.com.au