Feeding hay in a barn?

[WinterSpringsFarm]

Do it, you will be perfectly fine. All the people here are acting like dairy cattle didn't spend their winters inside of barns on packs before they started using free stalls. Just be prepared to handle the manure.

 

[1wlimo]

I hate handling square bales,, but my neighbor fed hay in his barn he built a rack down one wall, and the hay was stacked behind that half wall..just threw the hay over into the rack..there was a trough under it to catch the loose and waste

I had a grandfather who fed like this. Better to move the rack back as the hay is used. Also to not have a concrete floor unless there is good drainage. Let the straw pack build all winter.

However lots of work. Here if the shed was insulated and properly ventilated, and you hand fed the bales, and you could drop the feed consumption and waste and calf in January it would break even with feeding hay outside every day.

But we bale graze and that is way cheaper and easier and still does not need a tractor every day. There is also no waste. The residue they leave will feed the soil. Much needed on this years sandy and rocky hill.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

1wlimo -do you move feeders around the bales & move fences or just move fences? I think that is a neat way to feed, especially if you have the right kind of land. It is a great way for a smaller operation that doesn't have a big tractor to handle the bales.
I think in this area, you would have to set all your temporary posts ahead of time & just move the polywire as needed. No way to put a post in now. Well, you could still pound a t-post right now, but not for much longer.

 

[1wlimo]

1wlimo -do you move feeders around the bales & move fences or just move fences? I think that is a neat way to feed, especially if you have the right kind of land. It is a great way for a smaller operation that doesn't have a big tractor to handle the bales.
I think in this area, you would have to set all your temporary posts ahead of time & just move the polywire as needed. No way to put a post in now. Well, you could still pound a t-post right now, but not for much longer.

All ground freezes up here. So as long as you can place the bales in the fall you can bale graze.

I move the wire every two to three days, poly wire on rebar posts. Easy to pound posts into ice, and a quick twist with a pipe wrench gets them free to pull out.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I hate handling square bales,, but my neighbor fed hay in his barn he built a rack down one wall, and the hay was stacked behind that half wall..just threw the hay over into the rack..there was a trough under it to catch the loose and waste

I had a grandfather who fed like this. Better to move the rack back as the hay is used. Also to not have a concrete floor unless there is good drainage. Let the straw pack build all winter.

However lots of work. Here if the shed was insulated and properly ventilated, and you hand fed the bales, and you could drop the feed consumption and waste and calf in January it would break even with feeding hay outside every day.

But we bale graze and that is way cheaper and easier and still does not need a tractor every day. There is also no waste. The residue they leave will feed the soil. Much needed on this years sandy and rocky hill.

this barn was open on each end of the rack.. Just push the crap and waste out the lower end...