Large hay round bales

[Marty]

OK Sue ma' darlin.......only would I dig through some 8,000+ photos in photobucket for a fellow Connecticut Yankee from one old broad to another

cause you want more ideas

So here was my first attempt at the round bale: Didn't work for me but might for you.

I took the strings off, cause there is no way I'd leave even one string on the darn thing. And I got this brilliant idea to hold it together by making three rounds with bungies......just divide the round bale into where you think you would need them and go round and round with three sets of them. Easy to tighten up, right? OK not a bad idea at first because it will hold that round bale together for you for about 3 days before it all falls apart on you in a blob. This not only failed miserably for me but there was a lot of waste and it only encouraged body slaming into it and digging into it providing one heck of a nice comfy bankee for them to lay in, not to mention poo and pee in.

Oh and if you happen to have a German Shepherd that enjoys vaulting just forget it.

Oh, and here's the top hat.......actually it may have been quite the conversation piece to a couple of drunken hillbillys passing by with their wagons and mule teams. Just think, maybe it scared them sober!

But that kiddie pool on top really makes a lot of difference when you see how much moisture it collects during the night even on a "dry" night.

 

[esty]

When the bales are outside like that is do you worry about mold?

 

[Marty]

Esty, If you are talking to me the answer is no, no problem with mold. I keep them up on a pallet and dry so that the air can still cirulate above and below. Plus the way I cover them by throwing a tarp over the top of the kiddy pool only ensures they stay dry during the worst of storms. Of course it goes without saying that I go through great lengths to be sure the hay is actually suitable for the horses and not just any kind of rolled bales fit for only cows. Without being properly covered and exposed to the elements, sure it would mold faster than they could eat it.

 

[qtrrae]

I LOVE my big bale feeder - I got it from Fleet Farm - it comes in 3 sections which are easy to take apart and then put around the bale.

I feel that it has saved a lot of hay by not having the horses waste as much hay as they did when the bale was free standing.

Riverdance, I am also an older woman with no help and this works for me.

 

[esty]

I was wondering about the row of bales that looked like it had snow on top.

Esty

 

[Ashley]

I am farther north than you are, and this is my second year with round bales, havent had the freezing issue yet.

 

[whitney]

I don't feed round bales but my fiance does. This is what we came up with, he has a 12x24 3 sided shed. We roll the round bale up onto a pallet set in the middle of the shed. Wrap a 2' x 16' panel like a cattle panel but the openings are only 2" x 4". Then wrap another 4'x16' cattle panel around that. He has no waste whatsoever. Wish my barn was set up the same way.

 

[Ellen]

We are here in Ohio. Weather changes constantly. We have tried to use round bales and even had my hubby make me bale feeders. we had pellets underneath, but it didn't work for us. We whasted alot, and if it even looks funky I won't feed it. I am a freak. But what I do, do is monitor feed the round bales. Much more work yes, but I feel better.

If I had a three sided shed I would.

And a note on minis being less active. When all we had were minis, my little monkies would jump in the feeders. LOL! Now the minis are mostly gone, but I couldn't imagine what the ponies would do!

Also, my horses are so picky we we feed rich leafy green orchard grass and alfalfa to those who need it. If it is a bale not as fine as what they think it should be, they pee on it. Can anyone say spoiled?

 

[Riverdance]

I am farther north than you are, and this is my second year with round bales, havent had the freezing issue yet.

I do not have the bales freeze either, it is the cattle panel that would freeze to the ground so that I would be unable to tighten it as they eat the hay.

OK Sue ma' darlin.......only would I dig through some 8,000+ photos in photobucket for a fellow Connecticut Yankee from one old broad to another cause you want more ideas

So here was my first attempt at the round bale: Didn't work for me but might for you.

I took the strings off, cause there is no way I'd leave even one string on the darn thing. And I got this brilliant idea to hold it together by making three rounds with bungies......just divide the round bale into where you think you would need them and go round and round with three sets of them. Easy to tighten up, right? OK not a bad idea at first because it will hold that round bale together for you for about 3 days before it all falls apart on you in a blob. This not only failed miserably for me but there was a lot of waste and it only encouraged body slaming into it and digging into it providing one heck of a nice comfy bankee for them to lay in, not to mention poo and pee in.

Thanks for going to all the trouble Marty.

Your bales look like mine after my girls have been at it for a while, I did think about the bungie cords so now I will not try them.

I will check out Fleetfarm, but the problem is, I need 4 and money is really tight right now.

 

[Riverdance]

l'm really old...and tire easy being this old and don't have a tractor or any farm stuff or help

l was told by another breeder what she did that worked for her so l've done the same for the past 15 years with the mares after the farmers around here stopped making square bales and only did the rounds..
My bales are delivered put on a pellet spaced every 15'

l do use a cattle feeder that comes apart l can move myself real easy without help and even at -40C doesn't freeze or stick to the ground if l need to move it

they eat there way through the row one bale at a time l have the others blocked of with portable panels so they don't get into them..move the panels to the next one stick the feeder around and l'm good for almost a week

l did have to run another fence about 10' or so next to the ones that were already up to make the allys

one thing l've noticed is instead of the bales standing up if there laying on there sides there is a whole lot less waste because it doesn't fall apart when they eat there way through a bale..and the bales shed rain and snow that way..

Nice idea, but I have 4 paddock areas I am using the round bales in. There are 9 broodmares in each of two of the paddock areas, 4 younger yearling and two year old colts (4 in there) then a fourth paddock area of yearling and 2 year old fillies ( 7 in there).

The stallions and weanlings I will still use the smaller square bales.

My farmer put them up for me (though he made the mistake of making some round bales of alfalfa/grass. I am not sure I want to use those as the mares would pig out!! ) He keeps the bales in one of his sheds, then delivers them to me and puts them in the paddock areas for me as I need them. Without this guy, I would never be able to do it all. Great farmer!! But we have just not come up with something to keep them from wasting some hay.

Last year I kept them on the round side rather than lay them down flat so that snow and rain will wash off them and not be absorbed into the hay. I left the string on the bales to hold them together and as they came loose, removed them. That helped a bit.

 

[Ashley]

I do not have the bales freeze either, it is the cattle panel that would freeze to the ground so that I would be unable to tighten it as they eat the hay.

I was refering to the panel, not the round bale. In fact just changed the bale out yesterday, it wasnt the least bit stuck.