feeding hay rolls

[CyberSnooze]

Another newbie question.

Is there an advantage to unrolling hay rolls for your cows to eat? I notice all of my experienced neighbors doing this. When fed this way, they don't seem to last as long, and it seems like the cows trample and poop all over them. Am I missing something here?

 

[CowpokeJ]

I have 30-40 cows on each pasture, I roll out one bail. This allows all my non-dominant cattle to eat just as much as the others. They eat up almost all of it. I really haven't seen em poop on it.

 

[Victoria]

Depends how many cows you are trying to feed and how they get along. If you only have a few cows you might be better off with the round bale holders, just make sure their aren't a couple of bullies keeping the others away.
As cowpoke said one advantage is even those lower in the herd get enough to eat. The other advantage is not buying a whole bunch of bale holders. The key is the number of cows. Large group is better off being unrolled, small group is better in holders, if everyone plays nicely and you are willing to have as many as needed.

 

[gabby]

from http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore ... g04570.htm

Another popular system is to unroll the bale and feed it on the ground as loose hay (Figure 4). In addition, several equipment manufacturers sell "bale processors" that chop hay and deposit it in a windrow for feeding. Both of these systems are labor intensive and can result in high trampling and soiling losses if too much hay is fed at one time. If a three-day (or longer) supply of hay is unrolled or "processed" and left for cattle to consume on their own, feeding losses of 40 percent or more can be expected. However, if fed on a daily basis, feeding losses run about 12 percent. One advantage of unrolling or processing bales is that it gives you the opportunity to move the hay feeding areas around the pasture and distribute manure and nutrients evenly over a large area.

A better system for feeding large round bales is to set the bale in the pasture or feeding area but limit access to the hay with a rack or hay ring (Figure 2). This system requires an initial investment in hay racks or rings (hay rings usually cost about $125 each), but feeding losses are low, even if a seven-day supply of hay is left at one time (Table 1). Feeding hay in racks or rings is crucial for producers who do not or cannot feed hay to their cattle on a daily basis. (I move the rings every time to spread the litter across the pasture-gabby)

 

[arkcowman]

I always use a hay ring(s) for my 15 black angus. I've never tried unrolling. I move my rings as to keep any one area from being stomped into a muddy mess. Seems I always get way out in the field and forget to bring a pair of gloves that come in handy when rolling the ring to the new area. I don't seem to be able roll the ring without picking up some "stuff" that gets all over my hands.

 

[grubbie]

Unrolling is best in my opinion for a group of cattle. I unroll the desired amount then use a pitchfork to spread it out into a long, thin windrow no more than two feet wide. (The thinner the better). This way the cows don't walk/poop on the hay so much. Cows waste and walk on a lot more if the windrow is too wide. This way they clean it up pretty good.

 

[gabby]

Unrolling is best in my opinion for a group of cattle. I unroll the desired amount then use a pitchfork to spread it out into a long, thin windrow no more than two feet wide. (The thinner the better). This way the cows don't walk/poop on the hay so much. Cows waste and walk on a lot more if the windrow is too wide. This way they clean it up pretty good.

Sounds like a lot of work. How many cows you got?

 

[randiliana]

We unroll for most of the herd. Depending on the weight of the bale we figure on 30-50 head per bale. We only give them enough for one day, otherwise they waste way too much. Bale feeders are useful, but when dealing with groups of more than 50 or so head you start needing too many feeders, and that gets expensive. Plus in my opinion they waste a lot of feed when fed in bale feeders.

 

[dun]

I've heard of unrolling it then putting a hot wire down the middle so the cows have to reach under the wire to eat. Supposedly stops the dingin room, bedroom, bathroom scenerio when putting out multiple days worth of hay.

dun

 

[alabama]

I cut a bunch of clover back in the spring that had mature seed in it. I have been feeding it by letting it unroll down a hill. I have fed each roll in a diferent place trying to get some clover started. This is white clover and I bet a roll has at least 50 pounds of seed in it. The cows have been cleaning it very well and leaving the ground covered with clover flowers.
I also feed in hay rings. Both work well but you need enough cows to clean up an unrolled roll in a day or two at the most.
I sure hope the clover takes as that seed is expensive.

 

[gabby]

Each of my rings will feed about 40 bales in a winter. That's about $1600 worth of hay. If they reduce waste by 10% that means payback in less than a season. Rings last 3 or 4 years if you move them around and don't let them get mired in the muck. That's not a bad investment. I've tried unrolling and I didn't like it.

 

[TheBullLady]

I'm a big fan of unrolling. Especially with hay so scarce and so high priced. They waste too much in "conventional" type hay rings. When I unroll, like mentioned above, all the cows get to eat, and they clean it up MUCH better. I cringe when I see a cow standing on 2 feet of hay at a ring. And there's no question about them standing on it there and not eating it.

 

[sidney411]

We only use rings. We have rings that are at least 20 yrs old made out of real heavy steel and boards at the bottom. They have to be moved w/ the front end loader. The cows don't waste much at all, the only problem is the muck that builds up around them, but we move them on a yearly basis and it's not too bad. We put out 4 bales per week for about 40 cows. We are also grazing oats/ryegrass a couple days a week.

 

[Beefy]

i'm a big fan of unrolling too. otherwise i'd have about 475 ticked off cows standing around mooing at me all the time. and 50 really fat ones.

 

[stocky]

If I could, I would unroll every bale for the cows. Unrolling works great, but there is one rule you have to follow. Only unroll the amount of hay the group of cows will eat that day. This spreads the seed and manure all over the field. If the hay does not spend the night on the ground, the cows will not mess it up. In my situation, I have to use rings and unroll in a combination. I keep hay in front of my cows all winter in hay rings. I unroll better hay in each pasture to give the cows about 1/3 of their diet in better quality hay, depending on the condition of the cows and whether they have calves or not.

 

[travlnusa]

I always use a hay ring(s) for my 15 black angus. I've never tried unrolling. I move my rings as to keep any one area from being stomped into a muddy mess. Seems I always get way out in the field and forget to bring a pair of gloves that come in handy when rolling the ring to the new area. I don't seem to be able roll the ring without picking up some "stuff" that gets all over my hands.

Dont you that is what the back of your pants are for?

I use a 3 pt bale spear to move the new bale to where I want it. I then back up to the bale ring, letting the bale spears go though the top, lift the 3 pt, and pull it over to the new bale.

This is when I want to move the ring a fair way off. For close by, I also just roll them.

 

[dun]

I use a 3 pt bale spear to move the new bale to where I want it. I then back up to the bale ring, letting the bale spears go though the top, lift the 3 pt, and pull it over to the new bale.

This is when I want to move the ring a fair way off. For close by, I also just roll them.

We do simialr but use the frotn spike to move the ring. I use the front spike no matter how short a distance or how far.

dun

 

[grubbie]

You asked how many cows we have and said my way sounds like a lot of work. Right now we have about 50 head. Unrolling and spreading it into a thin windrow wastes no hay in my opinion. Yes, it is a little extra work, but cows require some work. There are easier ways of course but this is the way we do it to minimize waste. It maybe takes an extra 20 minutes to pitch the hay into a thinner windrow. We also use rings, however, in the smaller pasture for our 10 replacement heifers. The rings are great for a smaller group and are very convenient but they do waste some feed. So in my opinion it is basically a choice of waste vs. convenience, whichever is more important in your situation.

 

[gabby]

You asked how many cows we have and said my way sounds like a lot of work. Right now we have about 50 head. Unrolling and spreading it into a thin windrow wastes no hay in my opinion. Yes, it is a little extra work, but cows require some work. There are easier ways of course but this is the way we do it to minimize waste. It maybe takes an extra 20 minutes to pitch the hay into a thinner windrow. We also use rings, however, in the smaller pasture for our 10 replacement heifers. The rings are great for a smaller group and are very convenient but they do waste some feed. So in my opinion it is basically a choice of waste vs. convenience, whichever is more important in your situation.

I can shove 8 rings to new spots and unwrap and put out eight 1100 lb bales in about 20 minutes, and waste is minimal. I haul the bales on old flatbed cotton wagons hitched in tandem. I do it every 3-4 days. I'm feeding 90 mommas plus calves.

 

[cfpinz]

I use a 3 pt bale spear to move the new bale to where I want it. I then back up to the bale ring, letting the bale spears go though the top, lift the 3 pt, and pull it over to the new bale.

This is when I want to move the ring a fair way off. For close by, I also just roll them.

We do simialr but use the frotn spike to move the ring. I use the front spike no matter how short a distance or how far.

dun

I used to move them all with the loader but got tired of them shifting around and the stabilizer spikes going through the skirts. Move them by hand now, but will use the loader to break them loose if frozen to the ground.

cfpinz