FEEDING HAY

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piedmontese

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I feed my rounds in a traditional feeder but i know some guys who roll it out on the ground and say that is less wasteful than a feeder.i just dont see it.once in awhile i will do that so they can eat some and lay on the rest when it gets really cold.my cows always S and P on alot of it and that gets wasted.
 
the only way i could see that being more efficient is if most of it is eaten at one time, otherwise i don't get it either...
 
tsmaxx47":1mqj3wcx said:
the only way i could see that being more efficient is if most of it is eaten at one time, otherwise i don't get it either...
I've sen it done that worked pretty well by unrolling it and placing a temp hotwire over part of it so they had to reach under the wire to eat.
 
I unroll all of mine and I started to take pics for you today so you could see how little waste I had

unrolling works well and helps distribute the manure and builds the organic matter on the soil

unrolling ONLY works if you have enough cattle to eat what you are putting out in a 12hr period
no it isn't cost effective if you feed your cows more than what they eat in 12 hrs as they will waste it
 
Do you unroll it out in the field, or on gravel? I'd tear the field up if I took the tractor out there right now. Even if you didn't rut up the pasture, Seems like the compaction would be more of a negative than the wasted hay.
 
tripleBfarms":qmyphf17 said:
Do you unroll it out in the field, or on gravel? I'd tear the field up if I took the tractor out there right now. Even if you didn't rut up the pasture, Seems like the compaction would be more of a negative than the wasted hay.
Got to understand, AC is on a pile of rocks...unrolling doesn't work to well in the mud flats...

Yes unrolling has its advantages as well as drawbacks...you can manage how you feed hay just as you manage grazing pastures.
 
tripleBfarms":2ltcysgx said:
Do you unroll it out in the field, or on gravel? I'd tear the field up if I took the tractor out there right now. Even if you didn't rut up the pasture, Seems like the compaction would be more of a negative than the wasted hay.
I unroll it on the pastures
if it gets muddy which is a problem we don't have very often I go to a ridge and roll it out on that
right now I am feeding in my hayfields
I also don't feed in the same spot everyday

out of 14- 900-1000lb bales fed yesterday I would say their was less than 2-300lbs of waste and you will have more than that feeding in a conventional round bale feeder
 
Angus Cowman":37zgkhkr said:
I unroll all of mine and I started to take pics for you today so you could see how little waste I had

unrolling works well and helps distribute the manure and builds the organic matter on the soil

unrolling ONLY works if you have enough cattle to eat what you are putting out in a 12hr period
no it isn't cost effective if you feed your cows more than what they eat in 12 hrs as they will waste it

In other words they need to be hungry? :)
 
Kingfisher":d7u1cqqe said:
Angus Cowman":d7u1cqqe said:
I unroll all of mine and I started to take pics for you today so you could see how little waste I had

unrolling works well and helps distribute the manure and builds the organic matter on the soil

unrolling ONLY works if you have enough cattle to eat what you are putting out in a 12hr period
no it isn't cost effective if you feed your cows more than what they eat in 12 hrs as they will waste it

In other words they need to be hungry? :)
NO it is called efficient management of not overfeeding them and letting them waste it
if there is excess then I will feed less that day if they are milling around acting like they are hungry and all the hay is cleaned up then I will feed more by unrolling it lets you manage your hay
a cow does not have to have feed in front of them 24hrs a day
in the summer do your cows graze 24 hrs a day if they do then your cows are hungry
 
Angus Cowman":30lu399c said:
out of 14- 900-1000lb bales fed yesterday

You go through 1400 pounds of hay every day? :shock:

That's a bunch of bales each season.
 
robertwhite":y0pngd2m said:
Angus Cowman":y0pngd2m said:
out of 14- 900-1000lb bales fed yesterday

You go through 1400 pounds of hay every day? :shock:

That's a bunch of bales each season.
Yep, and he only has 14 cows. :lol:
 
robertwhite":7rcsvo90 said:
Angus Cowman":7rcsvo90 said:
out of 14- 900-1000lb bales fed yesterday

You go through 1400 pounds of hay every day? :shock:

That's a bunch of bales each season.
i understod it as 14,000lbs per day.
 
piedmontese":1nu6o8dl said:
robertwhite":1nu6o8dl said:
Angus Cowman":1nu6o8dl said:
out of 14- 900-1000lb bales fed yesterday

You go through 1400 pounds of hay every day? :shock:

That's a bunch of bales each season.
i understod it as 14,000lbs per day.
:nod: :nod:
when the snow is on and they can't graze anything else it is usually anywhere from 10-14 bales a day
2 of those bales were set out in the woods for some hfrs so I don't have to feed them but every other day so I actually only unrolled 12 bales on Thursday and unrolled 10 on friday
will feed probably feed 14 today

we don't have snow like alot of people on here but what we got this week 6" melted on top the first day after it snowed and is hard as heck right now has a crust of ice on top of it
 
Think of it Pied as if you had a cow or a bull in the barn lot temporarily and were giving it square bales. You wouldn't feed them more than they would eat that day, why would you unroll more of a big bale than your cows would eat that day? When I fed only square bales, I would figure 1/2 to 2/3 bale per cow. Was too lazy to haul more than they would eat each day. gs
 
plumber_greg":2vq4ftpj said:
Think of it Pied as if you had a cow or a bull in the barn lot temporarily and were giving it square bales. You wouldn't feed them more than they would eat that day, why would you unroll more of a big bale than your cows would eat that day? When I fed only square bales, I would figure 1/2 to 2/3 bale per cow. Was too lazy to haul more than they would eat each day. gs
I have heard plumbers were lazy :lol: :lol:
 
Angus Cowman":3qf2awbx said:
we don't have snow like alot of people on here but what we got this week 6" melted on top the first day after it snowed and is hard as heck right now has a crust of ice on top of it
Think how lovely it will be with that crust and another 3-4 inches on top like they're claiming is coming!
 
I feed mine using electric wire offering limited access to graze into the stacks. For me less waste then round bale feeders and a whole lot less labor and problems getting through the snow and mud and zero degree temps we usually have. I would post a picture but this website seems to be difficult to do it on.
 
plumber_greg":2075btfl said:
Think of it Pied as if you had a cow or a bull in the barn lot temporarily and were giving it square bales. You wouldn't feed them more than they would eat that day, why would you unroll more of a big bale than your cows would eat that day? When I fed only square bales, I would figure 1/2 to 2/3 bale per cow. Was too lazy to haul more than they would eat each day. gs
that makes sense but i would rather feed in a bale ring and not have to feed everyday.i use 7 feeders and feed 1-2 times per week.
 

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