Bale grazing questions

[bja105]

Hello.
I have a small herd of 3 cattle and 3 horses, together now, I might separate them for the winter.
I feed round bales. My round bales are net wrap. To avoid running the tractor in cold weather, and avoid rutting up the pasture, I want to bale graze. I currently rotate with poly wire, so no challenge there.

Do I unwrap the bales when I set them out? Will I loose more hay without the net to help shed rain?

Can I set the bales on pallets, to keep them off the moist soil? Will cattle find a way to get hurt on them?

The cattle are two one year old calves and a young cow, set to have her second calf in spring. All are unrelated and used to pasture and hay. We rarely feed grain.

Thanks
Jason

 

[J&D Cattle]

Welcome to the board.

I would not unwrap them until you are ready to feed that particular bale. A cow will find a way to hurt themselves on anything. Good luck!

 

[Rafter S]

Welcome to the board.

I would not unwrap them until you are ready to feed that particular bale. A cow will find a way to hurt themselves on anything. Good luck!

I agree about leaving the wrap on until turning the stock in with the bale. And while you're right about a cow finding a way to hurt herself, a horse will get hurt twice as bad in half the time.

 

[bja105]

The reason I wanted to unwrap the bales when I set them out, I will have them off the ground, easy to unwrap. I want to avoid running the tractor in snow, or making more mud in the pasture.

Does anyone have tips on unwrapping a bale on the ground, without machines? Especially after some snow and ice?

 

[Rafter S]

I haven't fed much hay with net wrap, but I'll try to answer the best I can.

First of all, don't actually unwrap the net. What I've done in the past is to cut across the net with a sharp knife, then peel it back from each side. Then when you pick the roll up with the tractor the forks can go above the net wrap, so it's left behind when picking up the hay. In your situation, if the hay will be set out several weeks before actually feeding, I would suggest going out just before you turn the cows on it. Again, cut all the way across and peel the wrap down from each side. When they finish with the hay, go out and pick up the netting and dispose of it.

In my opinion setting the rolls on pallets will be more trouble than it's worth, unless you're setting the rolls on very wet ground. And I wouldn't do it in any case when feeding horses. I can picture a horse sticking a hoof through the pallet and then panicking. That could cause a big train wreck.

Again, I don't have a great deal of experience with net wrap, so someone else may have better advice.

 

[J&D Cattle]

I usually fill up a fence row with hay stacked 15-20 feet apart and put electric fence around it. I cut the net wrap and then push the bale over on it's head by hand. Throw a hay ring on it and walk off. No tractor involved except for the first time you set them all out. Move the fence back a bale when you want to feed another. A fence reel makes this a breeze. I feed these bales once it gets muddy and I don't want to get my truck in there. If it is froze I stab one with my truck and roll on.

 

[Limomike]

IMO the best thing is to unwrap and put it in a hay ring.

 

[Aaron]

For bale grazing with net wrap, easiest method is to slice each side of the wrap and peel off the top 3/4 and leave the rest on the ground. You may be able to pick it up after the bale is eaten, or gather it in the spring. This is how it is dealt with on a big scale out in the Plains/Prairies.