High Efficiency Hay Feeder

[oxhill]

Can anyone recommend a high efficiency hey feeder that will hold more than a single bale at a time? I don't have that many cattle but I plan on growing. Also I have a full time job off the farm and this time of year I rarely see the farm in the daylight. Being able to fill it one or twice a week would be much more convenient. Thank you in advance.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

Kind of in the same boat as you. We just use several ring feeders with a skirt. They get filled up on Saturday when dad is off and Thursday when I am.

 

[Isomade]

gobobpipe.com

Look at the hay monster double.

 

[greybeard]

Can anyone recommend a high efficiency hey feeder that will hold more than a single bale at a time? I don't have that many cattle but I plan on growing. Also I have a full time job off the farm and this time of year I rarely see the farm in the daylight. Being able to fill it one or twice a week would be much more convenient. Thank you in advance.

Are you feeding round bales or sq? Little squares or the 1000lb squares?
How many cattle?

 

[shadyhollownj]

J and L haysavers. They make a double that fits two 5' round bales. Go with floorless model.

 

[Dave]

Or do as lots of people do. lots of lights. Lights on the tractor. Lights on the barn. Headlamp or flashlight.

 

[Chris H]

Can anyone recommend a high efficiency hey feeder that will hold more than a single bale at a time? I don't have that many cattle but I plan on growing. Also I have a full time job off the farm and this time of year I rarely see the farm in the daylight. Being able to fill it one or twice a week would be much more convenient. Thank you in advance.

What about subdividing a feeding area with temp electric fence, load up all areas on weekend, open gaps each day?

 

[greybeard]

Or do as lots of people do. lots of lights. Lights on the tractor. Lights on the barn. Headlamp or flashlight.

That's me.

 

[machslammer]

i Have Sixteen Cows And Then Calves, But i Put Out Four 4x5 bales On Thurs In Rings And It Gets Them Through For Now. i Can Stack Two On top Of Each Other In The Rings If i Have to And That Will Get Me More Than a Week. Thought Abouta Hay Wagon Thing But They Are expensive versus the rings.

 

[Kscattle]

The hay wagons I've seen seem to hold a lot of hay in the floor and don't shed water at all, ruining the hay on the floor. Perfect place for bacteria/rust. I'd rather use multiple rings than a trailer with a floor.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

gobobpipe.com

Look at the hay monster double.

They have some neat stuff, but boy there proud of it.

 

[Stocker Steve]

- Big 6x6 bales help. :nod:
- More bale rings help ;-) I tend to buy a few more each year at auctions. Got about 20 now.
- I have tried stacking two into a ring - - with the strings left on the top one. They seem to tip too often.
- I have tried to provide some short of "hay ring limit ration". Some good stuff plus some other hay that will last longer. :cboy:
- I feed a few on my wood hay hauling racks (that have gaps between the floor boards). These were free used small square racks that were bad on the sides and the ends so I trimmed them to about 7' wide. Works well with good hay that cows will slick up, or when you need a dry spot for the calves to crawl under.

So if I filled up the rings and left a couple good bales on each of the racks - - I would have about 30 bales out.

 

[oxhill]

gobobpipe.com

Look at the hay monster double.

Thank you. Has anyone used their feeders? If so, what do you think of them?

I buy my hay so I will feed whatever I can get the best deal on. So far that has always been 4X5 rounds. I currently have two groups. A bull and a couple of steers in one and seven cows in the other. This feeder would be for the cows that may number twenty or so in the future.

I didn't know J and L made a double. I drive a lot for work and I am starting to see a few of these around. I am not ruling them out but I am concerned how well they will work with my cattle since they are horned.

Or do as lots of people do. lots of lights. Lights on the tractor. Lights on the barn. Headlamp or flashlight.

I guess the time spent is also part of the issue since my job is unpredictable but if I can't find a bigger feeder I may have to do this. I thought some of trying bale grazing with multiple rings but my ground is just too wet during a mild winter. I would bury the tractor trying to get to most areas. Typical rings seem to waste a lot of hay. I want to switch to a more efficient feeder and I can't afford a bunch of them.

Thank you for everyone's suggestions.

 

[shaz]

Or do as lots of people do. lots of lights. Lights on the tractor. Lights on the barn. Headlamp or flashlight.

Headlamp for me. :nod:

 

[xbred]

this may sound stupid, but my cows waste less if i don't use a ring. i put it out wrapped side down with both ends exposed. they eat it fairly clean...

 

[pdfangus]

polywire and tread in post and move the cattle daily and you can darn near graze year round.

set up new lots on the weekend and it takes less time to move the cattle daily than it does to fire up a tractor and put out hay and is cheaper and less stress on the land and cows.

too late to start this year....but with some thought you can figuer out how to do it next year.....

another alternative if you just have to feed hay....
get a bale unroller....much more efficient....give them exactly what they need....the waste is spread over the entire area and you don't end up with a cleanup project in the spring....

scatters manure evenly all over the field...

any seed in the hay goes right back onto the ground....

when the horses run out of grass I take their hay out to a pasture and scatter it . then I am not cleaning stalls all the time.....

 

[oxhill]

I actually did stockpile a bit of pasture this year. One group is grazing it now and are much happier than the group eating hay. We get too much snow and I don't have enough land for it to be a complete answer but it does help!

My schedule is not reliable enough to depend on me unrolling hay. That is the main reason I want to be able to set out multiple bales.

 

[halfbean]

I use Gobobpipe feeders and they work great. You can put 3 bales in the double one if you stack one on top. They are indestructible. We lift and move ours with the hay spear on the loader. They are expensive compared to others but you get what you pay for and save a lot of hay from being wasted.

 

[rjbovine]

It may sound crazy . When I had two ring out with 13 head of cows I had A LOT MORE WASTE OF HAY .
I use just one ring and feed every other day . I'm also seeing less waste with 4 x 5 bales vs. 5 x 6 bales . Can't answer why just my observation . I would like to try the gobob feeder . The 700.00 price might be cheep if it saves enough hay . Under stand feeding in the dark !!! :frowns: rj

 

[TANK30705]

What about those tarter fenceline feeders? I am thinking of installing them, I think they would be the thing! Is anyone useing them?