Manger

This is a manger used for serving fodder for cattle, horses or pigs. When troughs were filled with fodder in a barn or a pigsty, the oxen or hogs would dive in with their mouths and eat the fodder. Troughs were made of wood or stone, and wooden troughs were widely used. It was made by hollowing out a long log to contain the fodder, and carving both ends to make a sill and furrow for the trough to be hung and secured. The trough was installed by setting up two pillars and joining a cross wooden bar to connect the two so that the trough could be hung between the pillars and supported by the cross bar. The height of the trough should allow an ox to stand and eat the fodder comfortably. Since a stone trough is heavy, a platform was often made on the ground to a certain height before placing the stone trough on it. A trough for pigs was much smaller than that of cattle.