Controlled Feeding System


The Advanced Adjustment System gives the user superior control over the amount of feed rationed to stock.

The Advanced Adjustment System restricts intake when the adjustable plates are in their lowest setting, requiring stock to lick the feed out from between them.

Livestock require a sufficient amount of saliva for feed to stick to their tongues and make it back to their mouths.

Research has shown that when the adjustable plates are in a ration setting, stock lick for 5-10 minutes before returning to graze and access supplement from the feeder 8-12 times/day.

How 3IN1FEEDERS Will Make Your Farm More Profitable

Increase rumen efficiency: decrease feed consumption, increase weight gain and reproductive performance

A rumen that has a constant source of a degradable protein increases fermentation rates – thus processing larger amounts of dietary carbohydrates and increasing energy intake.

Feeding stock every second day is inefficient as the rumen microbes need to change from digesting lower quality pasture to digesting the supplement. Once the supplement has passed through the rumen, the microbes need to change back again.

Using 3IN1FEEDERS ensures that the rumen has a consistent supply of both the supplement and pasture to ensure optimum rumen efficiency.

Our customers often achieve better than a 3:1 supplement feed conversion ratio – supplementing 1.5kg/day to yearling cattle on pasture has increased weight gain by 0.5kg/day.

Farmers who measure pasture consumption recognise that stock also consume less pasture. The consumption of less pasture enables more stock per acre to be run.

One particular example is the farmer (contact us for the trial results) who fed two groups of weaner cattle on a forage rape. He found that once he added 1kg/day of grain to one group’s diet, they increased weight gain by 0.5kg/day while reducing forage crop intake from 9kg/day back to 6kg/day.

Save time:

Alternative methods of creep and supplement feeding often involve pail feeding or dealing with 25kg bags of feed. Feeding in such small quantities means that it can be a daily task. Feeding in bulk with the 3IN1FEEDERS means loading in bulk as little as once or twice a month.

3IN1FEEDERS allow farmers to load bulk amounts with skid steers, front-end loaders or mini bulks instead of pail feeding. Balanced rations can be mixed and fed in a controlled manner.

Reduce waste:

Our lick system ensures that any feed, which falls into the trough, is eaten right away as livestock find this easier to access than the lick area. This means that the trough is always licked clean first and all feed is utilised.

When rain falls on feed sitting in a trough, the feed is often wasted.

3IN1FEEDERS hold the feed between the Advanced Adjustment System so only a small amount of feed, if any, may get wet. The feed in this area is minimal and stock will lick it out before it restricts the flow.

On-farm Trial Results

3IN1FEEDERS regularly conduct on-farm trials to provide our customers with the necessary facts to make informed decisions.

  • Yearling Trial – Forage crop grazing

    Supplementing steers 1kg/day of barley on a forage crop increased growth rates by 0.5kg/day and lowered forage consumption from 9kg/day (for the steers without supplement) to 6kg/day. This enabled double the amount of beef to be grown on the forage crop with the steers that were supplemented. Over a 60 day period, it increased profit by €73.63/head.

  • Weaner trial – Cereal crop grazing

    A group of weaner cattle supplemented with 0.8kg/day of barley grew 0.23kg/day more compared to a group of weaners that had no supplement. This equates to a feed conversion of 3.13:1. Over the 100 day trial, profit increased by €31.80/head. In subsequent trials, a higher supplement amount will be provided with the goal to increase the amount of profit.

  • Calf Creep Feeding Trial

    Controlled calf creep feeding with a pellets and barley ration of 0.7kg has shown to increase calf growth by 0.28kg/day a feed compared to a control group that received no supplement. The creep fed calves were also in a much better condition to be mated at 15 months and weaned without losing and condition. Over the 140 day trial, profit increased by €60.04/head.

Free Report

14 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT USING GRAIN FEEDERS AND FEEDING GRAIN, PELLETS AND SUPPLEMENT