Producers get creative setting up containment lots

But there is no one size fits all when it comes to setting up a containment lot, with many using their own ingenuity or ideas shared by other producers, to design or adapt their feeding equipment.

Mark Mortimer runs a Merino enterprise at Tullamore, in the state's Central West.

Last week he put his weaners in containment lots for the first time, taking inspiration from producers on Twitter to set up both feed belts and troughs.

"I decided to put the feed out on poly sheeting," Mr Mortimer said.

"I just wanted something that was going to make a trough shape and was reasonably wide so I can drive my feed cart over it and get it in easily.

"I made a little steel frame so I only had to anchor it in the middle, not secure it all the way around.

"If you secure the middle and you've got a frame there, it makes the ends pop up and you've got your 'U' shape."

He said he had then bought himself a vacuum pack blower to clean the grain from the belt.

"We just put it on, sit on a motorbike and drive along the trough," he said.

"I saw someone on Twitter using an air-seeder fan but I didn't have one of those so I thought this would work."

He said the poly sheeting was reasonably cheap.

"It costs around $70-$80 per six and a half metre section of trough, for the steel and the sheeting," Mr Mortimer said.

The creative approach was motivated by Mr Mortimer's desire to get the feed off the ground and reduce the risk of infections.

"I lost a few ewes during lambing with pneumonia and obviously feeding them everyday in their urine and faeces is a good way to spread infections," he said.

"These are weaners, they're young and more susceptible so I wanted to do a better job."

The weaners also needed clean water, so he built a specially designed trough out of PVC pipes.

"We know weaners are notoriously fussy with their water in a trough, the moment it gets dry manure on top of the water they just won't drink it," Mr Mortimer said.

"We heard of and spoke to people who had made the troughs out of PVC and they said they're elevated and there's plenty of flow underneath.

"The wind doesn't circle, over the top and dump as much dust in so we thought we would give it a go and see if they stay cleaner longer, keep the sheep happy and get them to drink more.

"At the moment that seems to be the case.

"My brother, worker and I got together and had a trough building party and made quite a few. The pieces are fairly cheap and it seems to make a good trough."

Mr Mortimer said building his own troughs and belts was the first step in the containment feeding project but he had plans to invest in an automated feeding system.

"I've made the assumption I'll be feeding through summer so I need to get all the sheep I own into small paddocks next to the yards, this is the first step," Mr Mortimer said.

"We're looking at an automated filling system and you just attach it to your own silo or field bin.

"It can come with a 4G camera so you can log on with a mobile phone, pan around and check your sheep and it has an app, so you can turn it on and off from your phone."

Riverina Local Land Services mixed farming officer Geoff Minchin said there was two frames of thought when it came to setting up containment lots.

"Some people are spending the money on something permanent, others are just building something that works initially and then upgrading over time," Mr Minchin said.

"My advice is make it work for you, it doesn't have to be the flashest, as long as you can get the feed out efficiently, while keeping your feed and water clean." Some people had success using shade cloth while others used aluminium purlins.

"Any way of getting feed off the ground is useful for reducing wastage and disease risk," he said.

"I'm overwhelmed by the number of people taking on containment feeding, it's great to see, you just have to make it work for you."