Auction feeder

Saturday I attended an auction in south Kalispell.  The items were mainly farm and ranch consignments.

The prices were decent to a good buy.  If I knew my mechanics there was an older Massey Ferguson tractor model 1130 with a cab, loader and a bale spear that appeared decent. It sold for only $2900.  A swather and a baler also appear to go for a reasonable to low price.

They also had two John Deere 510 round balers.  They looked old but in decent shape. One sold for only $1250 and the other one with older looking belts sold for $500. When Wyatt delivered my hay last week I told him I may buy a round baler and have him use it to make round bales for me in the future.  I wish he was at the auction or that I had a cell phone to call him as I was interested in one of these balers.  But as I know nothing of the mechanics I wouldn't bid on them.  I don't want to spend money on something I would have to fix.

Since my metal feeder is bent I had my eye on a metal round hay feeder at the auction.

The auction had a HW Tombstone bull feeder.  A good quality heavy duty feeder.  The local Murdoch's farm and ranch store sells them for $740.  I didn't know the exact price at the time other than I remembered it being between $600 and $800.

http://www.murdochs.com/shop/hutchison-western-tombstone-bull-feeder

While things can go cheap at an auction, all it takes is one person bidding against you to bid the price up.  He bid at $250.  I bid at $350.  He bid at $400.  I declined a bid at $450.  The auctioneer offered another bid at $425 and I took it.  It seemed like forever that he tried to entice the other bidder to bid $450.  He declined and I got the feeder.

I didn't get it cheap but at a reasonable price since the feeder looked like it had been never used.  No dents or scratches or signs of use.  Someone may have bought it and then for whatever reason never used it.

I like that the feeder sits on "loops" instead of the entire feeder sitting on the ground.  My old feeder completely sat on the ground and that is what did it in as the rust started from there.   This feeder also has guard bars that angle in.  This should let the cattle reach the center of the feeder, unlike my older feeder.