Feeding small square hay vs. round hay

[kb5iod]

I like the square bales myself. But i dont mind the work. Which i really dont call work anyway. I have a 18' flatbed trailer that i keep stocked. I have 5 hay rings in the pasture and i put 10 bales in each down to 35°. then in which i put out 12. Right now i'm feeding 36 mommas and 29 calves. i sold 10 calves the 1st week of jan.

I was thinking along the lines of using a trailer to feed with also. I can load the bales on the trailer with the FEL, then go load the feeders with enough hay to last a couple of days.

 

[vs_cattle]

square bales easy for one person to handle hay

 

[plbcattle]

the outfit that I have got a lot of cattle from only feed squares . They feed over 200 head each day. They feel that they don't have near the hay loss or reduction in quality using squares. They load on a big trailer every day and feed in the winter. They feel that the cattle eat more of the squares with out wasting it so much. I feed rounds , much easier for me and the tractor does all the lifting. stacking and putting out.

 

[domino]

Interesting reading...one thing we like about feeding square bales is the cattle don't seem to tear up the ground like they do when you feed round bales. We've had cattle that have trouble with their feet in the cold mud and we don't seem to have the problem if we move locations. Maybe just a coincidence. Most things are when you have cows!

 

[HAY MAKER]

I like to use both,I dont square bale anymore help is to hard to find.
But I have some folks bring me 4 or 5 hundred square bales of peanut hay,I give my cows free choice round bales through the winter and use the peanut hay for supplement.
I have always liked to walk in the hay shed full of that peanut hay,and pick a few peanuts as I throw some bales into the pickup.
Square baling is alot of work,not really a one man job,in contrast,one man can do alot of round baling/moving etc.
good luck

 

[Wewild]

the outfit that I have got a lot of cattle from only feed squares . They feed over 200 head each day. They feel that they don't have near the hay loss or reduction in quality using squares. They load on a big trailer every day and feed in the winter. They feel that the cattle eat more of the squares with out wasting it so much. I feed rounds , much easier for me and the tractor does all the lifting. stacking and putting out.

I always found it was better loading the trucks in the winter than the barns in the summer. You are right about the waste.

There is no way we could do that here anymore. We use round bales and live with the waste as well.

 

[Moocow11]

ok the bale acumulater would be so nice to have we still drive by it then it goes up an elevator and the we have to pick it up and move it. i would go with square bales. better quality. you could go and build a feed bunk where u feed ur cows the u could just throw a bale in the bunk then drive on put another one in so on and so forth then just do that for a week then go by and pick up the strings or wire and trow them away. now new barns you could use the ones you have easy storage then less waste, saving money, and you could sell the extras for some good money

 

[Moocow11]

I always found it was better loading the trucks in the winter than the barns in the summer. You are right about the waste.
There is no way we could do that here anymore. We use round bales and live with the waste as well.[/quote]

yes but the thing he has the accumulater gathers the bales as ur going. then there is a tractor atachment that picks up the group of squares you go put them on the trailer and do that till they are all picked up then unload them the same way and it is easy all the time winter and summer. and with this it is an easy two man job or3 if u want it done really fast

 

[kb5iod]

I always found it was better loading the trucks in the winter than the barns in the summer. You are right about the waste.
There is no way we could do that here anymore. We use round bales and live with the waste as well.

yes but the thing he has the accumulater gathers the bales as ur going. then there is a tractor atachment that picks up the group of squares you go put them on the trailer and do that till they are all picked up then unload them the same way and it is easy all the time winter and summer. and with this it is an easy two man job or3 if u want it done really fast[/quote]

The accumulator and fork is the key to even thinking about small squares. Most of the posts refer to the labor aspect of small squares so maybe most aren't familiar with the system. I'm not contemplating hand-loading and feeding the bales. Every step will be mechanical.

 

[Wewild]

I always found it was better loading the trucks in the winter than the barns in the summer. You are right about the waste.
There is no way we could do that here anymore. We use round bales and live with the waste as well.

yes but the thing he has the accumulater gathers the bales as ur going. then there is a tractor atachment that picks up the group of squares you go put them on the trailer and do that till they are all picked up then unload them the same way and it is easy all the time winter and summer. and with this it is an easy two man job or3 if u want it done really fast

"The accumulator and fork is the key to even thinking about small squares. Most of the posts refer to the labor aspect of small squares so maybe most aren't familiar with the system. I'm not contemplating hand-loading and feeding the bales. Every step will be mechanical."



A buddy has the system. He does it for resale to horse owners. I still don't want to feed square bales 6 days a week when I can do it twice a week with round bales. That would be 41 square bales per hundred cows each day and twice that on Saturday. That is the labor that we can't manage.

 

[kb5iod]

I always found it was better loading the trucks in the winter than the barns in the summer. You are right about the waste.
There is no way we could do that here anymore. We use round bales and live with the waste as well.

yes but the thing he has the accumulater gathers the bales as ur going. then there is a tractor atachment that picks up the group of squares you go put them on the trailer and do that till they are all picked up then unload them the same way and it is easy all the time winter and summer. and with this it is an easy two man job or3 if u want it done really fast

"The accumulator and fork is the key to even thinking about small squares. Most of the posts refer to the labor aspect of small squares so maybe most aren't familiar with the system. I'm not contemplating hand-loading and feeding the bales. Every step will be mechanical."



A buddy has the system. He does it for resale to horse owners. I still don't want to feed square bales 6 days a week when I can do it twice a week with round bales. That would be 41 square bales per hundred cows each day and twice that on Saturday. That is the labor that we can't manage.

Part of my plan included feeders to put the square hay in. I need these regardless of whether I feed square or round. That is where I am getting a lot of waste. I do not plan to feed everyday, just load the feeders up with small squares just like I would with round.

 

[msscamp]

I always found it was better loading the trucks in the winter than the barns in the summer. You are right about the waste.
There is no way we could do that here anymore. We use round bales and live with the waste as well.

yes but the thing he has the accumulater gathers the bales as ur going. then there is a tractor atachment that picks up the group of squares you go put them on the trailer and do that till they are all picked up then unload them the same way and it is easy all the time winter and summer. and with this it is an easy two man job or3 if u want it done really fast

The accumulator and fork is the key to even thinking about small squares. Every step will be mechanical.[/quote]

Don't kid yourself - there is still a fair to large amount of manual labor even with an accumulator and 10-pack, especially the first summer you use them. We've been using them for the last 2-3 years, and the accumulator can and does malfunction and does not drop every load in a uniform fashion that allows the 10-pack to pick it up. If your baler tension is not just so, the bales will fall apart when they are picked up, and there is also the problem of not placing the 10-pack correctly, resulting in dropped bales that have to be placed by hand, and the fact that - until you've used the 10-pack for a while - placing them is not nearly as easy as it looks! The stacks also tend to be a little less stable because all of the bales are stacked on edge, so they are not 'locked' in like the traditional stack, and one misstep while tarping or straightening bales can cause the side or end to fall out. Don't get me wrong - we would not go back to the traditional way of handling small squares, but an accumulator and 10-pack are not a sure-fire way of eliminating labor when it comes to handling small squares - the amount of labor is directly proportional to the ability of the operator of the 10-pack, and the compentence of the person doing the baling.

 

[kb5iod]

I always found it was better loading the trucks in the winter than the barns in the summer. You are right about the waste.
There is no way we could do that here anymore. We use round bales and live with the waste as well.

yes but the thing he has the accumulater gathers the bales as ur going. then there is a tractor atachment that picks up the group of squares you go put them on the trailer and do that till they are all picked up then unload them the same way and it is easy all the time winter and summer. and with this it is an easy two man job or3 if u want it done really fast

The accumulator and fork is the key to even thinking about small squares. Every step will be mechanical.

Don't kid yourself - there is still a fair to large amount of manual labor even with an accumulator and 10-pack, especially the first summer you use them. We've been using them for the last 2-3 years, and the accumulator can and does malfunction and does not drop every load in a uniform fashion that allows the 10-pack to pick it up. If your baler tension is not just so, the bales will fall apart when they are picked up, and there is also the problem of not placing the 10-pack correctly, resulting in dropped bales that have to be placed by hand, and the fact that - until you've used the 10-pack for a while - placing them is not nearly as easy as it looks! The stacks also tend to be a little less stable because all of the bales are stacked on edge, so they are not 'locked' in like the traditional stack, and one misstep while tarping or straightening bales can cause the side or end to fall out. Don't get me wrong - we would not go back to the traditional way of handling small squares, but an accumulator and 10-pack are not a sure-fire way of eliminating labor when it comes to handling small squares - the amount of labor is directly proportional to the ability of the operator of the 10-pack, and the compentence of the person doing the baling.[/quote]

I guess I should have said I already own the accumulator and fork. We use it to put up horse hay and I have put up some of my cow hay over the last three years. I just haven't thought about putting up the majority of my cow hay with it.

 

[msscamp]

I always found it was better loading the trucks in the winter than the barns in the summer. You are right about the waste.
There is no way we could do that here anymore. We use round bales and live with the waste as well.

yes but the thing he has the accumulater gathers the bales as ur going. then there is a tractor atachment that picks up the group of squares you go put them on the trailer and do that till they are all picked up then unload them the same way and it is easy all the time winter and summer. and with this it is an easy two man job or3 if u want it done really fast

The accumulator and fork is the key to even thinking about small squares. Every step will be mechanical.

Don't kid yourself - there is still a fair to large amount of manual labor even with an accumulator and 10-pack, especially the first summer you use them. We've been using them for the last 2-3 years, and the accumulator can and does malfunction and does not drop every load in a uniform fashion that allows the 10-pack to pick it up. If your baler tension is not just so, the bales will fall apart when they are picked up, and there is also the problem of not placing the 10-pack correctly, resulting in dropped bales that have to be placed by hand, and the fact that - until you've used the 10-pack for a while - placing them is not nearly as easy as it looks! The stacks also tend to be a little less stable because all of the bales are stacked on edge, so they are not 'locked' in like the traditional stack, and one misstep while tarping or straightening bales can cause the side or end to fall out. Don't get me wrong - we would not go back to the traditional way of handling small squares, but an accumulator and 10-pack are not a sure-fire way of eliminating labor when it comes to handling small squares - the amount of labor is directly proportional to the ability of the operator of the 10-pack, and the compentence of the person doing the baling.

I guess I should have said I already own the accumulator and fork. We use it to put up horse hay and I have put up some of my cow hay over the last three years. I just haven't thought about putting up the majority of my cow hay with it.[/quote]

My apopogies - it sounded like you had just acquired them. I guess I should have read a little better.

 

[kb5iod]

No need for that msscamp. You gave a very accurate description. I have managed to "tune" mine a little bit and on most days everything flows pretty well. I went to plastic string and everything, including the baler, works better. Bales can take a lot more abuse also.

 

[Susie David]

We buy hay and our supplier usually drives the hay wagon right up to the barn door and stacks it where he stops. The son-in-law bucks it into the barn.
To darn old and broken to handle rounds and feed a third of a small square at a time...takes awhile to feed but what the heck I have the time.
DMc

 

[msscamp]

No need for that msscamp. You gave a very accurate description. I have managed to "tune" mine a little bit and on most days everything flows pretty well. I went to plastic string and everything, including the baler, works better. Bales can take a lot more abuse also.

Thank you. Yes, when everything comes together the accumulator and 10-pack cuts down the labor dramatically!

 

[John Wayne]

I'v welded 3/4 inch re-bar along each arm of the squeez forks it gives me more bite on the bales and I can place them more accuratly up to about 5 stacks high then I'm in the rafters,if I cant sell some out of the feild I stack it outside the barn on pallets on the gravel pad and cover it with winter swimming pool covers 30' diameter they come with a sleeve around the edge that carries a plastic coated wire cable w/a ratchet tool that lets you realy tighten it down there cheap and last about 4 years. I might be a little odd in that I put up small squares, but I enjoy feeding, it gives me time to look all the cows over each day. I hang around a while and watch see who's who and who's doing what to who. Just my 2 cents

 

[cowbub]

we feed round bales out in the rain and mud ,I would say they waste at least 40 %. but I pick up all the waste in the spring and compost it ,spred it back on the pasture in the meantime they have good beding around the feeding area.

 

[Earl Thigpen]

I have been thinking about the time factor and I don't think it will be much different than round hay. With the accumulator and forks I can move square hay out of the field just about as fast as round hay. The square baler is a little slower, have to drop a gear when baling. Also, I can use the forks to put out the square bales during the winter. I was thinking of using a feeder instead of putting it out on the ground. I would be able to drop the bales in, ten at a time. I already cut the strings off the round bales so there is really nothing added in that area. I was surprised at the amount of loss on outside hay. If my math is correct, 20% of a 4x5 roll is contained in the outer six inches of the roll. I usually have about six inches of rot on each roll by this time of year. Has anyone had experience with these feeders?

I beleive your hay loss may be even greater than you think. Check out this site
http://msucares.com/pubs/infobulletins/ib0311.htm

From the study's I've read the loss is more like 30% (or higher). In fact, one study from A&M suggested that you can pay for a barn to store the hay in a very short time just from not having the loss due to weather and ground rot. Of course this is easy for me to say - I'm still trying to put together enough to build my barn.