Best method - forage cubes

[li'l bit]

What is the easiest method of dipping up forage cubes? I know there was a thread about this some time ago, but I can't seem to come up with the magic combination of search words to bring it up. :)
I have a curved scoop that does a fairly good job of getting them out of the bin but I tend to wonder if there isn't a much better way of doing this?? They can be quite stubborn at times.

[greysandbays]

Well, I know it's not this: http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/assets/product_images/83845.jpg

I only have to dip three scoops a day with it, and my cuss-word vocabulary gets quite a workout!

[Foxtrot's]

I was thinking exactly the same thing tonight ... :)

[jn4jenny]

For this particular job, I still haven't found an improvement on the human hand with a work glove on. :( I suppose if you could devise a gravity-based system, like a candy machine, that might work too.

[ChocoMare]

Giant salad tongs, maybe? :confused:

[Paddys Mom]

I was just cursing about this last night.
Anyone?? :confused:

[Vindicated]

Dry cubes?
I found a 4 cup tupperware type thinging with a strong lip.

Soaked cubes-
Best way is individual buckets.

[Fairview Horse Center]

but I tend to wonder if there isn't a much better way of doing this?? They can be quite stubborn at times.

I found a better way. I make the owners do their own, into ziploc baggies. :lol:

I hate to dish them. My large metal coffee can does better than the plastic scoops, but it is still a pain. My coffee can scoop IS much better for scooping grain though. :yes: :yes: My husband puts handles on them for me.

[li'l bit]

Thanks for your replies everyone.:lol: I was hoping to find that I was just being unimaginative about it, but at least we can commiserate together. What a pain they can be sometimes! I need to look into a gravity fed dog feed container, I know I have seen them somewhere. I wonder if that would work easier, or if it would just be a pain in a different way.
I'll experiment around and if I find a good answer, will let you know.

[EquineJunky]

I have a metal scoop with a scale on it. I can usually get 4-6 pounds in it at once. Insert inside the bag along one side and then tilt bag in that direction to help load it and remove.

I have this.. http://www.sheepman.com/ecommerce/ecomm_product_details.asp?prodId=1374 Don't remember paying THAT much for it though. Can't remember now where else I found it.

[greysandbays]

Thanks for your replies everyone.:lol: I was hoping to find that I was just being unimaginative about it, but at least we can commiserate together. What a pain they can be sometimes! I need to look into a gravity fed dog feed container, I know I have seen them somewhere. I wonder if that would work easier, or if it would just be a pain in a different way.
I'll experiment around and if I find a good answer, will let you know.


I've seen a dog food container thing that bolted to a wall. There was a little lever on the side that could be pulled down to let the food drop out, then pushed back up when you had enough.

But it was too small to be practical for cubes, unless you wanted to be filling it a lot. And then you are either trying to dump out of a bag and not over fill or you are right back to having to scoop it into the wall thingie. Either way, the bag is sitting around opened between fillings.

But if I can find one of these dog food things priced reasonable, I might start keeping my cubes in 5-gallon buckets with lids (instead of 32-gallon plastic garbage cans), and emptying them one by one as needed.

[Fairview Horse Center]

I might start keeping my cubes in 5-gallon buckets with lids (instead of 32-gallon plastic garbage cans), and emptying them one by one as needed.

Yes, that is what one of my boarders does. Makes them much easier to deal with.

[li'l bit]

I might start keeping my cubes in 5-gallon buckets with lids (instead of 32-gallon plastic garbage cans), and emptying them one by one as needed.

Actually, that is a pretty good idea, in and of itself. Much easier to pour them out to weigh than to try dipping them up, etc. Hmmmmm'm.

[Foxtrot's]

The only way I can get the things out is to lay the bag on its side on a stack of hay. Then I put the flat sided bucked against the hay and pull the cubes out sideways. When the bag is half empty, I can pick it up and shake them out into the buckets. Still a p.i.a. Hard on the hands.

[sk_pacer]

I use a large coffee can, slightly flattened on one side - works a treat. I did try assorted implements ranging from a largish dust pan to large pet food scoops but the coffee can works best after I extract the first bit with a gloved hand.

I need one of those scoops with a scale mentioned by someone earlier in the thread.....