feeding hay rolls

[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

When I tilt the spike up the bottom spikes slid in an either side of the uprights. It probably has to do with the size of the bale spike set up and the openeing in the ring.
Or in your case, maybe just a lack of talent!
Can't you just buy those rings on ebay?

dun

 

[cfpinz]

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

When I tilt the spike up the bottom spikes slid in an either side of the uprights. It probably has to do with the size of the bale spike set up and the openeing in the ring.
Or in your case, maybe just a lack of talent!
Can't you just buy those rings on ebay?

dun

On my old loader I never had a problem, the new one gives me trouble, spikes in different location.

It could possibly be lack of talent. When I get to be a fossil such as yourself I will probably have it mastered.

ebay - UPS doesn't know how to deal with the rings. :lol:

cfpinz

 

[grubbie]

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.[/quote]

Thats great! I don't have the luxury of a large tractor with a grapple yet. But in our operation I notice a lot of hay pulled out of the rings and walked on. I have not tried rings on the main herd but that is the case in the corral areas.

 

[dun]

Thats great! I don't have the luxury of a large tractor with a grapple yet. But in our operation I notice a lot of hay pulled out of the rings and walked on. I have not tried rings on the main herd but that is the case in the corral areas.

We used to have a problem with waste until we went to smaller round bales. The 6X6 and even 5X6 bales the cows didn;t have to stick there heads all the way into the ring to get hay. They'ld just reach in with there nose and pull hay out. We went to 4X5 and feed them laying on end instead of laying on there side and the waste was significatnly reduced.

dun

 

[MoGal]

We use bale rings and the hubby moves them with the spike like dun says. In the spring they put the scoop on the tractor and out in the field we go and where there was a bale ring we scoop up the remains and put it in the manure spreader and spread the whole field, and sometimes throw out fescue seed where the round spot is (after we load the manure spreader).

Right now we've not got a problem, there doesn't seem to be any hogging the feeder as there are 17 cows to a ring, but we see them everyday and if there becomes a problem we'll add another ring.

 

[dun]

We use bale rings and the hubby moves them with the spike

Must be more talanted then cfpinz

dun

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Must be a major difference in LOCATION - as to whether rolling or feeders are best. Everyone on here that rolls, thinks they have the least waste. But that's not what research shows.
Latest article I read was 2003 Research Report from Dickinson No Dakota.
"Feeding costs per cow in the 100 head cow herd for rolling out bales, shredding bales w/ processor & feeding bles in a tapered-cone feeder were $97.99, $107.44, and $85.36, respectively." They took waste, labor & BCS into figures.
Granted the cone feeders are the least waste but they are really pricey.
I know I would NEVER be able to have enough winter hay if I fed on the ground. Plus feeding each and every day would SUCK. I feed every 2-4 days. Have several different groups to feed, so they may not all run out at the same time, no matter how I try to "preplan" stategy. And, if a storm is coming, I can make sure they are fed ahead of it so I'm not out there fighting the weather.
And I also move all my rings with the front end loader spear. Once we get frozen I don't have to move them at all (don't think we are EVER going to freeze!!!) I think the ones with a "skirt" on the bottom waste less. Also, I have learned to purchase the "bull" size. If the cows can pick the feeder up with their necks because the feeder is short and light weight, than yes, they push it over the edge of the bale & stand on the hay.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Now that I have built the hay rack, I am convinced that is the way to go. When I build the herd back up, I am going to need several racks. The one I built out of that old trampoline frame works great. I wish it were elevated about one more foot. But, it was my first attempt and I didn't have one around to "reverse engineer" dimensions off of.

Think I'll try to pick up more old trampoline frames. That is a cheap way out for material. When I saw the one Caustic built, I can use those bolt together hay rings that are in thirds, but I think I will need a bit of reinforcement.

If I get to 100 cows, I will use about 15 bale racks. Less waste than any other method I have seen in this area.

 

[cfpinz]

We use bale rings and the hubby moves them with the spike

Must be more talanted then cfpinz

dun

Most folk are. Stop picking on me or I'll get mad and leave. :lol:

Since we're on the subject, how much are rings going for in other areas? Picked up three of the cheap slant-bars with skirts yesterday, around $135, had one dented one for a bit less, never heard my cows complain. I've got a few of the big s-bars but they hurt my back to move them, been buying the cheap ones last few years.

cfpinz

 

[Dusty Britches]

Advantages of unrolling -
You can unroll only what they need in one day - figure 30 head per roll per day. If it is cold, ours will clean one roll per day, in warmer temps, they take a day and half to clean one roll, so we feed every other day in warm temps.

The manure gets spread out and you don't get those burned rings for a year.

More hay gets consumed.

The little bit of hay that does not get eaten becomes seed for grass next year. Our little bit of hay has retained soil moisture better - very important in this drought. Some areas of fresh grass are due soley to unrolling hay.

Less habitat for horn flies and stable flies to breed and hatch in.



Disadvantages -
Highly labor intensive. You have to put out hay every day.

If you have rolling terrain, roll it downhill, but be prepared to push it. We finally went with the Perry Hay Roll. Much easier and we can put hay exactly where we might need grass the next year.

If you can't feed hay every day, use the rings.

 

[dun]

We use bale rings and the hubby moves them with the spike

Must be more talanted then cfpinz

dun

Most folk are. Stop picking on me or I'll get mad and leave. :lol:

Since we're on the subject, how much are rings going for in other areas? Picked up three of the cheap slant-bars with skirts yesterday, around $135, had one dented one for a bit less, never heard my cows complain. I've got a few of the big s-bars but they hurt my back to move them, been buying the cheap ones last few years.

cfpinz

I haven't priced them around here for new ones. We haven;t had to buy any for a number of years. I've seen rusted out bent ones sell at auctions for upto $150.00. I still haven;t figured out thr auction mentality.

dun

 

[mtncows]

I bought a Worksaver 3pt unroller in 1990 when we went to a 5X5 bale.I have unrolled and fed in rings both.A small bunch of cattle get fed in rings and the larger ones have it unrolled most of the time.If you are feeding in rings you need at least one hole per cow or have very good hay.I made the mistake of putting too many cows in a field one year then it got wet and I couldn't get on the hills to unroll so I dumped a bale in a ring each day for 18-20 cows.Hay was not too good but had them on a lick tank.By spring I had buried two cows.Vet said one was malnourished.The other was also but i was lax about getting salt out once and when I fed it,I think one of the cows ate too much causing a stroke.Symptoms like grass tetany but when vet stuck her with IV needle we had a gyser Blood pressure must have been real high.

 

[mtncows]

I bought a Worksaver 3pt unroller in 1990 when we went to a 5X5 bale.I have unrolled and fed in rings both.A small bunch of cattle get fed in rings and the larger ones have it unrolled most of the time.If you are feeding in rings you need at least one hole per cow or have very good hay.I made the mistake of putting too many cows in a field one year then it got wet and I couldn't get on the hills to unroll so I dumped a bale in a ring each day for 18-20 cows.Hay was not too good but had them on a lick tank.By spring I had buried two cows.Vet said one was malnourished.The other was also but i was lax about getting salt out once and when I fed it,I think one of the cows ate too much causing a stroke.Symptoms like grass tetany but when vet stuck her with IV needle we had a gyser Blood pressure must have been real high.

 

[grubbie]

Thats great! I don't have the luxury of a large tractor with a grapple yet. But in our operation I notice a lot of hay pulled out of the rings and walked on. I have not tried rings on the main herd but that is the case in the corral areas.

We used to have a problem with waste until we went to smaller round bales. The 6X6 and even 5X6 bales the cows didn;t have to stick there heads all the way into the ring to get hay. They'ld just reach in with there nose and pull hay out. We went to 4X5 and feed them laying on end instead of laying on there side and the waste was significatnly reduced.

dun

Hmmm, great point. If we had smaller bales I could definitely see how there would be less waste. Some of the bales we are feeding are grass hay, though. So when you cut the strings they explode open out to the edge of the ring. Waste or no, we will continue to use the rings for anything we have penned up so we don't have to feed every day. We have had zero snow here this year so the cows just graze mostly, but when we feed the main herd we use our homemade feed truck to unroll the bale, as we don't usually want to feed any more than half the bale per feeding. Also, I might try as you said, laying the bale on its side in the ring. Thanks for the input!

 

[plbcattle]

Boy I need to move to where you guys are feeding 40-50 cows 1 bale of hay. I have a pasture of that many cows that will have that gone in about an hour. I feed this set of 50 cows 4 bales every other day and they clean it up. I also feed 25 yearling bulls and 20 yearling heifers 1 bale per day. My nursing cows go through more than that. I need some of your hay if that is all they need.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Boy I need to move to where you guys are feeding 40-50 cows 1 bale of hay. I have a pasture of that many cows that will have that gone in about an hour. I feed this set of 50 cows 4 bales every other day and they clean it up. I also feed 25 yearling bulls and 20 yearling heifers 1 bale per day. My nursing cows go through more than that. I need some of your hay if that is all they need.

I was thinking the same thing! :shock: I'm feeding baleage 4x4 - 5 bales for 40 head every other day. I figure that is about 40# dry matter a day. I think that's about how much a cow needs - well could be more than she NEEDS, but they sure don't have any trouble eating it all - and they are far from being over conditioned.
Their 1 bale would have to be about 1600# dry. That's one big dry bale - or maybe they don't need that much hay per day. I think they recommend 35# for 1200# cows. Anyone got a better handle on recommended daily requirements?

 

[IL Rancher]

We weighed bales one year and I really wish I could remember what they weighed. They were out of a JD 567 and I want to say they did push a ton but my memory isn't as good as I want it to be.. Would go weigh one now but we stopped feeding Alfalfa/grass hay last winter and the only thing we have baled now is stalks...Still need to weigh one of those

Cow needs 2-3% of its body weight a day to feel full. So a 1200 pound cow would "need" to ingest 24-36 pounds of DM a day and that doesn't include waste which can be a lot..

I think we we feed 140 head a day hay we were in the 3-4 bales area a day depending on the type of hay and the weather and consumption.. I know there was generally no hay by the time I feed but there sure were times that they was hay an hour before I fed again.... Last time we feed lots of hay we did 4-6 bales for 240 head and a bunch of wet gluten but that was a different circmstance with lighter bales.

 

[randiliana]

We figure 30# per cow per day. That works out to 1 1200-1300# bale per 40 cows. Those will be 5x6 bales.