In search of an easier way of creep-feeding their 2,000-plus store lambs than humping around bags of pellets, Gloucestershire farmer Sam Hicks and foreman Ben Hayes built a custom hydraulic dispenser.

With more than 2t to distribute each week during winter, they came up with the idea of a “Super Snacker”.

This is essentially a mini chaser bin with a hopper that can hold about 750kg of pellets and an auger for winding it out into feeders.

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The starting point for the project was a former chicken feed hopper, to which they mounted a set of ATV flotation wheels and extended the drawbar to make it suitable for towing behind their Polaris Ranger.

To ensure the new hydraulic auger would fully empty the hopper, they raised the height and fashioned a new reception pit for it to draw from.

Power for the auger was initially provided by a battery-powered tipping pack from an Ifor Williams trailer, but it was slow, soon got hot and quickly drained the battery.

They then came up with the idea of using a Honda engine-driven hydraulic unit they already had for running a roller screed when concreting.

All in, the project cost about £2,500, not including the engine-driven hydraulic unit, which would have been about £3,000.