self-feeder

American  

[self-fee-der, self-] / ˌsɛlfˈfi dər, ˈsɛlf- /

noun

1. an apparatus or machine that automatically discharges a supply of some material, especially one consisting of a hopper and a trough for feeding livestock.

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self-feeder British  

noun

1. any machine or device capable of automatically supplying materials when and where they are needed, esp one for making measured quantities of food constantly available to farm livestock

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Etymology

Origin of self-feeder

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-feeder

The self-feeder may be used all through the life of the hog, beginning when the pigs are still nursing and continuing until they reach market weight.

From Pratt's Practical Pointers on the Care of Livestock and Poultry by Pratt Food Co.

When the pigs are eight to ten days of age they are permitted to go at will to the self-feeder containing a mixture of ground grains.

From Pratt's Practical Pointers on the Care of Livestock and Poultry by Pratt Food Co.

We left ours open between the poles as a self-feeder through which Pinto could eat hay without any work or responsibility on our part.

From Land of the Burnt Thigh by Voorhies, Stephen J.