Been unrolling hay

[pricefarm]

i unroll hay on a concrete lane, the cows are inside on concrete. I unroll what they need to eat.

Do the cows stay in the barn all winter or so they just come in to eat ?

 

[ddd75]

i unroll hay on a concrete lane, the cows are inside on concrete. I unroll what they need to eat.

Do the cows stay in the barn all winter or so they just come in to eat ?

they've been in the barn for about a month and a 1/2 or so. I have around a 30x50 area outside all concrete they can go outside and stand if they want. I'd rather have them in the fields and unrolling hay, but its been really wet, with standing water in a lot of fields.

I have to clean everything minimum once a week. it generates a lot of manure.

Next time around I'm going to build a new barn with a pit and slat floors. Use a drag line to spread it on the fields in the spring. no manure cleanup.. cows stay cleaner. no bedding needed.. equipment doesn't get manure covered and need cleaned.. huge labor savings.. and manure retains near 100% nutrient value.

 

[pricefarm]

What do you use for bedding?

 

[ddd75]

What do you use for bedding?

neighbors can't bale hay worth a crap and give me a bunch every year. I use it for bedding, its free.

 

[tom4018]

I think unrolling hay is a good way to stretch fall pasture. I don't like bale rings, but I do think there is less waste with bale rings than with unrolling.

I quit before because of waste. The bottom was out of the ground, and they were squashing more than they ate. I was also putting out a full ration. I don't have the time to meet their entire hay need in January and February by unrolling. It's working better than I would have thought in the short run though. It may again, as spring approaches.

It has been nasty here, about as bad as it is in March. A neighbor and myself were talking about it Saturday, lots of beans still out around here.

 

[JMJ Farms]

I think unrolling hay is a good way to stretch fall pasture. I don't like bale rings, but I do think there is less waste with bale rings than with unrolling.

I quit before because of waste. The bottom was out of the ground, and they were squashing more than they ate. I was also putting out a full ration. I don't have the time to meet their entire hay need in January and February by unrolling. It's working better than I would have thought in the short run though. It may again, as spring approaches.

It has been nasty here, about as bad as it is in March. A neighbor and myself were talking about it Saturday, lots of beans still out around here.

Glad I don't row crop bc after Hurricane Michael got through with the 1st half of the cotton crop here, about 1/2 of what was left is still in the field. And will likely stay there till spring if it gets picked at all. I do have some rye planted and it's just sitting there. Not growing at all. Been wet, cold, and cloudy. But next year is a new beginning.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I quit before because of waste. The bottom was out of the ground, and they were squashing more than they ate. I was also putting out a full ration. I don't have the time to meet their entire hay need in January and February by unrolling. It's working better than I would have thought in the short run though. It may again, as spring approaches.

It has been nasty here, about as bad as it is in March. A neighbor and myself were talking about it Saturday, lots of beans still out around here.

Glad I don't row crop bc after Hurricane Michael got through with the 1st half of the cotton crop here, about 1/2 of what was left is still in the field. And will likely stay there till spring if it gets picked at all. I do have some rye planted and it's just sitting there. Not growing at all. Been wet, cold, and cloudy. But next year is a new beginning.

Stuff is definitely not growing this year. Have you noticed all the deer out and about during the day this year, they must be starving.

 

[JMJ Farms]

It has been nasty here, about as bad as it is in March. A neighbor and myself were talking about it Saturday, lots of beans still out around here.

Glad I don't row crop bc after Hurricane Michael got through with the 1st half of the cotton crop here, about 1/2 of what was left is still in the field. And will likely stay there till spring if it gets picked at all. I do have some rye planted and it's just sitting there. Not growing at all. Been wet, cold, and cloudy. But next year is a new beginning.

Stuff is definitely not growing this year. Have you noticed all the deer out and about during the day this year, they must be starving.

I've seen quite a few during the day time. But oddly I've only seen one buck on the road. That's daytime and nighttime, and I log a bunch of miles. He was a whopper. But I haven't even seen any small bucks. Seen a ton of does though. Haven't hunted but twice. And that was only about 45 minutes each time.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Glad I don't row crop bc after Hurricane Michael got through with the 1st half of the cotton crop here, about 1/2 of what was left is still in the field. And will likely stay there till spring if it gets picked at all. I do have some rye planted and it's just sitting there. Not growing at all. Been wet, cold, and cloudy. But next year is a new beginning.

Stuff is definitely not growing this year. Have you noticed all the deer out and about during the day this year, they must be starving.

I've seen quite a few during the day time. But oddly I've only seen one buck on the road. That's daytime and nighttime, and I log a bunch of miles. He was a whopper. But I haven't even seen any small bucks. Seen a ton of does though. Haven't hunted but twice. And that was only about 45 minutes each time.

I saw a Flint river monster last night just outside of Newton. He ran right in front of 3 vehicles heading south and me heading north. I'm sorta glad I didn't hit him but I'd of sure liked a better look. If you get around here ride the Helena dirt road and look at my fence or so called fence. Someone ran a bunch of T post over, a few wood post on the corner, hit a pinetree and the wire is cut and busted in a half dozen or more places. I'm not sure what the heck is going on back there.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Stuff is definitely not growing this year. Have you noticed all the deer out and about during the day this year, they must be starving.

I've seen quite a few during the day time. But oddly I've only seen one buck on the road. That's daytime and nighttime, and I log a bunch of miles. He was a whopper. But I haven't even seen any small bucks. Seen a ton of does though. Haven't hunted but twice. And that was only about 45 minutes each time.

I saw a Flint river monster last night just outside of Newton. He ran right in front of 3 vehicles heading south and me heading north. I'm sorta glad I didn't hit him but I'd of sure liked a better look. If you get around here ride the Helena dirt road and look at my fence or so called fence. Someone ran a bunch of T post over, a few wood post on the corner, hit a pinetree and the wire is cut and busted in a half dozen or more places. I'm not sure what the heck is going on back there.

Al-kee-hall probably played a role in the fence damage I would speculate. Don't you love it? Work to have something, someone else screws it up, and you have to work some more.

The brute that I saw a month and a half ago was right up from Jaybird. He was a dandy. And I got a good look.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I've seen quite a few during the day time. But oddly I've only seen one buck on the road. That's daytime and nighttime, and I log a bunch of miles. He was a whopper. But I haven't even seen any small bucks. Seen a ton of does though. Haven't hunted but twice. And that was only about 45 minutes each time.

I saw a Flint river monster last night just outside of Newton. He ran right in front of 3 vehicles heading south and me heading north. I'm sorta glad I didn't hit him but I'd of sure liked a better look. If you get around here ride the Helena dirt road and look at my fence or so called fence. Someone ran a bunch of T post over, a few wood post on the corner, hit a pinetree and the wire is cut and busted in a half dozen or more places. I'm not sure what the heck is going on back there.

Al-kee-hall probably played a role in the fence damage I would speculate. Don't you love it? Work to have something, someone else screws it up, and you have to work some more.

The brute that I saw a month and a half ago was right up from Jaybird. He was a dandy. And I got a good look.

Even though they left a bunch of plastic where they hit the pine tree hard, they did try and patch the fence back together. I saw buzzards in my hay field and a poacher had shot a buck and cut its head off. I guess it was to much work for them to drive out there and pick it up. We have some real trophies running around here that need to be shot or in jail.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

My neighbor is picking his beans as I type this!! First bean field I have seen started. He just finished his corn yesterday.

 

[Bright Raven]

i unroll hay on a concrete lane, the cows are inside on concrete. I unroll what they need to eat.

Do the cows stay in the barn all winter or so they just come in to eat ?

they've been in the barn for about a month and a 1/2 or so. I have around a 30x50 area outside all concrete they can go outside and stand if they want. I'd rather have them in the fields and unrolling hay, but its been really wet, with standing water in a lot of fields.

I have to clean everything minimum once a week. it generates a lot of manure.

Next time around I'm going to build a new barn with a pit and slat floors. Use a drag line to spread it on the fields in the spring. no manure cleanup.. cows stay cleaner. no bedding needed.. equipment doesn't get manure covered and need cleaned.. huge labor savings.. and manure retains near 100% nutrient value.

I am not that far from ddd75. It has been extremely wet here. Since August there has been puddles of standing water in all the pastures. These are record precipitation levels for this region. My area is now at over 70 inches of precipitation year to date.

I don't have a concrete feed pad but I do have a heavy gravel one. In this much precipitation and with clay soils that has no natural rock to act as an aggregate, it is impossible to get off solid ground even with 4x4.

 

[Jthurler]

In the fall I use my bale processor to feed in the pasture when The grass is getting low and it works good to stretch that out for longer but they are also not getting full feed chopped on the ground then they waste it. I like unrolling the bales because there is less competition for the feed and you never have a mess and if you change spots daily you can cover a good chunk of ground. In the spring when the cows are calving and the cows are on full feed I find it works good to unroll about half there ration and put the rest in a couple bale feeders and that seems to work alright as far as waste goes

 

[Bigfoot]

Soon as this next snow spell passes, I'm going back to unrolling. Try to stretch my hay a little further.

 

[tom4018]

Soon as this next snow spell passes, I'm going back to unrolling. Try to stretch my hay a little further.

You running short? I am and can't find any.

 

[Bigfoot]

Soon as this next snow spell passes, I'm going back to unrolling. Try to stretch my hay a little further.

You running short? I am and can't find any.

Yes, I'm going to run out.

 

[tom4018]

Soon as this next snow spell passes, I'm going back to unrolling. Try to stretch my hay a little further.

You running short? I am and can't find any.

Yes, I'm going to run out.

Looks that way for me. Been feeding more to try to stretch it.

 

[Bigfoot]

I started back unrolling hay today. I would have liked to have made it to the 15th, before starting back. Mathematicaly, I just couldn't wait that long, I'm gonna Unroll 2 a day. That'll work out to 21 pounds of hay per cow. I guess me and the cows will all be anxious for the green up. If I get some snow cover, I'll go back to the rings, and free choice. If I have everything figured right, I should run smack out, the last week of March. I'm holding about 20 calves til spring, and I have a few dead beat family members that rely on me for everything, and it's hard to say for sure, but I hope I coast in on what I got. I have just got to find some more hay ground next year, or reduce my herd. I don't like this cows not having all they won't in February and early March. We get a touch more daylight, and I'll add a little ddg and shelled corn to the mix, and I won't feel quit so bad.

 

[Silver]

I feel your pain. That's a tough spot to be in.