Patent ID: 7717064

Claim:
A ground feeder ring for utilization with a round bale of forage crop for feeding the forage crop to animals in the field, comprising: at least three ring segments, each segment having a body portion having a vertical height dimension and being formed from plastic in a hollow, double wall configuration in which said body portion is formed with horizontally opposed inner and outer walls extending said height dimension of said body portion with a curvature such that said ring segments when assembled form a circular enclosure capable of surrounding said round bale of forage crop; and each said segment being formed in a double wall configuration with inner and outer horizontally spaced walls connecting with top and bottom walls to enclose a hollow space therebetween and having an overlap region along opposing lateral ends thereof, corresponding overlap regions having a thickness approximately half of a corresponding thickness of said body portion so that the joinder of mating overlapping regions of adjacent ring segments results in a substantially uniform thickness of said assembled ground feeder ring, each said ring segment being devoid of openings through which said animals can access forage crop, said vertical height dimension locating an upper edge of said ring segment such that only a lower portion of said round bale of forage crop is covered by said ground feeder ring so that said animals can only access said round bale of forage crop by reaching over said body portion, said overlap region extending fully along said vertical height and incorporating at least one fastener opening therethrough for the passage of a corresponding fastener, each said fastener opening being formed with plastic material surrounding each said fastener opening to recess said fastener within said body portion.