6 Best Iron Rods For Building Hay Bale Feeders Old Farmers Swear By
Choosing the right iron rod is crucial for a sturdy hay feeder. Explore 6 farmer-tested options that ensure durability and minimize costly hay waste.
Store-bought hay feeders often feel like they’re designed to last just one season, especially with a few pushy cows or a determined goat. Building your own isn’t just about saving a few bucks; it’s about creating something that will stand up to years of abuse and actually save you hay in the long run. Choosing the right material is the first and most important step to a feeder that won’t bend, break, or rust out from under you.
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Why Build Your Own Feeder With Iron Rods?
There’s a simple truth on a small farm: wasted hay is wasted money. A well-designed feeder keeps hay off the ground, reducing spoilage and ensuring your animals eat what you give them. Building it yourself lets you customize the size and design for your specific animals, whether it’s keeping goats from climbing in or spacing bars correctly for horned cattle.
Iron and steel rods are the backbone of a durable feeder for a reason. Unlike wood, which animals can chew, crib, or splinter, steel stands up to the pressure. It’s strong enough to contain the force of a large animal pushing for that last bit of hay and versatile enough to be welded or bolted into any shape you need. This isn’t about over-engineering; it’s about building it right once so you don’t have to fix it every winter.
Grade 60 Rebar: The Gold Standard for Strength
When you need pure, brute strength, Grade 60 rebar is your answer. This is the same stuff used to reinforce concrete foundations, and its tensile strength is phenomenal. An animal is not going to bend a 5/8" or 3/4" rebar rod, period. It’s also readily available at any building supply store and is relatively inexpensive.
The main tradeoff with rebar is its rough, deformed surface. Those ridges are great for gripping concrete but can make cleaning a bit more difficult and may cause hay to hang up occasionally. Welding it also takes a bit more heat and attention to get a clean, strong joint compared to smooth steel. Still, for a simple, bombproof feeder that will stop a bull, rebar is a top contender.
Hot-Rolled A36 Steel Rod for Smooth Surfaces
If you want a feeder that’s easier to work with and clean, look no further than hot-rolled A36 mild steel rod. It’s a general-purpose steel that’s smooth to the touch, allowing hay to slide down easily and preventing muck from building up in crevices. This smooth surface is also much kinder to your hands during fabrication.
A36 is softer than rebar, which is both a pro and a con. It’s significantly easier to cut, bend, and weld, making it a fantastic choice for DIY projects where you might be shaping curves or need perfect joints. While not as rigid as Grade 60 rebar of the same diameter, it’s more than strong enough for nearly any feeder design for cattle, horses, or sheep. For most farmers, A36 offers the best balance of strength, workability, and cost.
Repurposed Sucker Rods: A Tough, Thrifty Pick
If you live in an area with oilfields, keep an eye out for used sucker rods. These high-carbon steel rods are used in oil wells and are engineered for incredible stress and fatigue resistance. When they’re retired from the oilfield, they often become available as scrap, offering unbelievable strength for pennies on the dollar.
The challenge with sucker rods is their hardness. They are tough to drill and almost impossible to bend without a torch and some serious leverage. Welding them also requires more heat and the right technique. But if you can get them and have the tools to work them, you can build a feeder that will likely outlast your barn. They are the ultimate in repurposed, heavy-duty material.
Galvanized Steel Rods for Wet Climates
For those of us farming in places where it rains, snows, or is just plain damp, rust is the enemy. Galvanized steel rods are simply standard steel rods that have been dipped in a protective zinc coating. This coating acts as a barrier, preventing rust and dramatically extending the life of your feeder.
The critical thing to know about galvanized steel is that you must grind the zinc coating off before welding. When heated, the zinc releases fumes that are toxic to breathe. It’s an extra step, but a necessary one for safety. Alternatively, a bolted design completely avoids this issue. The extra cost and prep work are well worth it if it means your feeder won’t be a pile of rust in five years.
Cold-Rolled 1018 Steel for Precision Builds
Cold-rolled steel is what you grab when the details really matter. It’s formed at room temperature, which gives it a smooth, almost polished finish and very precise, uniform dimensions. This is overkill for a basic hay ring, but it has its place.
If you’re building a more complex feeder with drop-in pins, tight-fitting sleeves, or parts that need to slide smoothly against each other, cold-rolled is the right choice. It costs more than hot-rolled steel and its extra precision is wasted on a simple welded frame. For 95% of feeder projects, hot-rolled A36 is the smarter, more economical pick.
Zinc-Plated Threaded Rod for Bolted Designs
For a feeder you can assemble with just a drill and a set of wrenches, threaded rod (or "all-thread") is the key. It allows you to clamp bars and panels together using nuts and washers, completely eliminating the need for a welder. The zinc plating offers decent rust resistance, suitable for most environments.
Using threaded rod is perfect for creating modular or adjustable feeders. You can build panels in your workshop and assemble them in the field. The main drawback is that nuts can loosen over time due to vibration and pressure from animals. Using lock washers and checking for tightness a couple of times a year is essential maintenance for a bolted feeder.
Welding vs. Bolting: Assembly Considerations
Welding creates the strongest and most permanent structure. A properly welded joint is as strong as the metal around it, resulting in a single, rigid unit with no weak points. There are no nuts to come loose or threads to get caught on an animal’s ear tag. The downside is obvious: you need a welder and the skill to use it safely and effectively.
Bolting, on the other hand, is far more accessible. It allows for disassembly if you need to move the feeder or replace a damaged section. This can be a huge advantage. However, every bolt hole is a potential point for water to enter and start rust, and every joint is a potential pivot point that can loosen over time. A well-thought-out bolted design with locking hardware is very durable, but it requires more ongoing attention than a welded one.
Ultimately, the best iron rod is the one that fits your tools, your climate, and your livestock. Don’t get caught up in finding one perfect material. Think about the trade-offs—strength versus workability, cost versus longevity—and choose the steel that lets you build a feeder that solves your problems and will be standing strong for many seasons to come.
