Fed the last hay of the year

[Dave]

I fed the cows for the last time this year this morning. Tomorrow morning the calves get branded and it is off to summer camp. Steers went up the hill yesterday. Neighbor will be bringing his cows through here is a few hours. The river is running too high for calves to cross so he has to come here and use my bridge. Grass may be a bit short but there is plenty of old feed from last year still there. They will get by. If it ever warms up the grass will grow.
I am really happy I don't have to feed any more of that hay from the last source. These bales were way loose which makes it a pain to feed. Feeding 3x4x8 bales we set them on edge. Push off a couple of flakes every 20-25 feet as you drive across the field. These you cut the twine and about half the bale tips over holding the first flakes down. I got to practice my cussing trying to wrestle hay off the truck. Of course I had 65 cows volunteering to assist me.

 

[Silver]

I fed the cows for the last time this year this morning. Tomorrow morning the calves get branded and it is off to summer camp. Steers went up the hill yesterday. Neighbor will be bringing his cows through here is a few hours. The river is running too high for calves to cross so he has to come here and use my bridge. Grass may be a bit short but there is plenty of old feed from last year still there. They will get by. If it ever warms up the grass will grow.
I am really happy I don't have to feed any more of that hay from the last source. These bales were way loose which makes it a pain to feed. Feeding 3x4x8 bales we set them on edge. Push off a couple of flakes every 20-25 feet as you drive across the field. These you cut the twine and about half the bale tips over holding the first flakes down. I got to practice my cussing trying to wrestle hay off the truck. Of course I had 65 cows volunteering to assist me.

View attachment 29192

I guess it's good exercise but I think I'd give up ranching if I had to feed like that. Good on ya for getting it done.

 

[GoWyo]

I guess it's good exercise but I think I'd give up ranching if I had to feed like that. Good on ya for getting it done.

One 3x4 bale a day isn't too bad to fork off, but when they collapse like that it changes from recreational exercise to work. 4x4 bales are more inclined to collapse like that and no fun at all. Currently feeding some grass rounds off a utility trailer that are real loose. Set them on end, pull the net wrap and fork them off pretty much like forking loose hay -- the neighbor was happy to sell them because they couldn't make them roll out with their bale bed and had half the bale in one pile and the other half however far they could drag what there was of a core.

 

[daneg]

Good to send them to pasture, I will be feeding for another 35 or 40 days there had better be grass by then because the hay will be gone!

 

[CowboyRam]

I fed the cows for the last time this year this morning. Tomorrow morning the calves get branded and it is off to summer camp. Steers went up the hill yesterday. Neighbor will be bringing his cows through here is a few hours. The river is running too high for calves to cross so he has to come here and use my bridge. Grass may be a bit short but there is plenty of old feed from last year still there. They will get by. If it ever warms up the grass will grow.
I am really happy I don't have to feed any more of that hay from the last source. These bales were way loose which makes it a pain to feed. Feeding 3x4x8 bales we set them on edge. Push off a couple of flakes every 20-25 feet as you drive across the field. These you cut the twine and about half the bale tips over holding the first flakes down. I got to practice my cussing trying to wrestle hay off the truck. Of course I had 65 cows volunteering to assist me.

View attachment 29192

I hate those bales. You could cut a board about 8' or less and put some long 6" spikes in it about every 8" or so. It will keep the bale from falling over on you; the only problem is that you have to move it for each flake.

 

[Dave]

Note the hay hook hanging on the side of the bed. With normal solid bales I can use the hook grab two flakes. They will fall off the back at first and then just fall on the bed. Another grab and flip and two flakes hit the ground. I only had to feed 8 of these loose bales. Feeding the bales which B makes is almost a pleasure. Feeding these bales that he bought is a pain in the a$$. A friend of mine who is a salesman for New Holland said that XXXXXX baled that hay for this guy. He charged by the bale so loose light bales makes for more money. My friend suggested that I set the bales on the truck sideways instead of length wise. He said cut the twine and drive fast hitting every bump there is in the field. The hay will fall off both sides of the truck.

 

[Silver]

I think if I had to feed squares off a truck like that I'd mount an atv winch behind the cab, run the line to a snatch block at the back of the deck, then run the line back towards the cab and tie it to a 4x4 timber. Then use the winch to bump the bale back as required. I'm probably letting my laziness show through, but I do like to try to make life easier where it is practical

 

[Dave]

A local tractor dealer makes either truck mount or tractor pull behind bale feeders. They use hydraulics to slowly push the bale off. If I were a rich rancher or a younger one I would consider getting one. But being an old retired guy on a limited income has it out of my budget.
Some of my neighbors feed off a flatbed goose neck trailer pulled by a tractor. Stack on 8-10 bales. Put the tractor in the low hole and idle across the field. Climb up on the trailer and flake the hay off.

 

[Silver]

A local tractor dealer makes either truck mount or tractor pull behind bale feeders. They use hydraulics to slowly push the bale off. If I were a rich rancher or a younger one I would consider getting one. But being an old retired guy on a limited income has it out of my budget.
Some of my neighbors feed off a flatbed goose neck trailer pulled by a tractor. Stack on 8-10 bales. Put the tractor in the low hole and idle across the field. Climb up on the trailer and flake the hay off.

Why wouldn't they just hitch up a team lol

 

[SmokinM]

A man could take an old ground drive manure spreader and cut the beaters out the back and make a good one.

 

[CowboyRam]

We used the manure spreader to feed with for several years. We always fed 3x4 bales. We tried them standing on edge, but it seemed to work better laying them down. If you had to feed more than one bale you could only get one bale in at a time.

 

[CowboyRam]

Here is another video.