Feeding wrapped bales this afternoon (pics)

[SRBeef]

Not having a hay shed, I have found wrapping dry 5x6 ft 1500 lb bales really saves a lot of hay in my climate.

I took a couple pictures as I put two wrapped bales in feeders for a cow group this afternoon. This is not really the best wrapping can do because these bales sat out a month or more between baling and wrapping.

My goal for several years has been to get the bales from my hay supplier as they are baled and get them wrapped before they get a rain or sit on wet ground for long. Never quite manage to do that as I am usually traveling intensively on my day job about then.

But even though the outside had lost its green color, right under the surface of the bale these dense 6ft dia bales were as green as the day they were baled with essentially zero mold even on the bottom.

Here are some pictures. A couple bred heifers just couldn't wait until I put the bale in the feeder! While I was winding up the netwrap/plastic and stuffing it in my rock box they just decided it was chow time.

Warmed up a bit today (18 deg F when I put out the hay) and the wind has died down a bit. Sure glad these girls are not starting calving until the end of March!

Jim

 

[denvermartinfarms]

The hay looks fine, but i really like you heifers. I just bought some pairs that look alot like them.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Nice pics as always Jim.

 

[Banjo]

Wrapping is the way to go.....I wrapped some year before last and really liked it, didn't get around to it this year but wish I had now. I read an article recently that said that hay that sets out in the sun loses all of its vitamins in a matter of weeks. wrapped rolled hay(dry) that comes out green when fed is equal to the coveted labor intensive square bales stacked in the barn IMO.

 

[SRBeef]

The hay looks fine, but i really like you heifers. I just bought some pairs that look alot like them.

Thanks. Every one of them in the pictures above are raised females. One of my biggest problems is they are so docile its hard to get them to move out of the way so I can fill the hay feeders! They are generally pretty healthy and in good condition, especially considering the very cold weather we've had lately. They outwinter and use the woods in the background for shelter when needed. They've had very little grain. I hope yours work out for you.

Jim

Thanks for the kind words, TnTux.

 

[SRBeef]

Wrapping is the way to go.....I wrapped some year before last and really liked it, didn't get around to it this year but wish I had now. I read an article recently that said that hay that sets out in the sun loses all of its vitamins in a matter of weeks. wrapped rolled hay(dry) that comes out green when fed is equal to the coveted labor intensive square bales stacked in the barn IMO.

I agree on the wrapping. People tell me i should build a hay shed but as you can see in the pictures, there are precious few nice flat places to build a hay shed, especially one that sits empty for much of the year. What you are saying about hay quality makes sense. My goal is to get the bales wrapped before they get rained on. Not been able to do that yet. these were sitting out for a month or 6 weeks after baling before I had time to go get them and wrap them.

Wrapping takes time though so I have gone to only wrapping about half of my total winter hay bales. Just switched to wrapped bales at end of January. Calving starts end of March. Grazing starts around May 1 so I need good quality hay for lactating cows for 4-6 weeks. That is where wrapping really helps keep hay quality up.

Jim

 

[Stocker Steve]

Hay shed justification depends on hay cost per ton and waste % and cost of money.
CCC will make low interest loans if you can stand the paper work.
We have limited control on hay cost, but we can reduce waste with larger bales and/or better drainage and/or wrapping.
I built a pad this fall for hay storage under tarps.

 

[Hondac]

Built a 40 x 80 hay barn last year for about $16 k. I figure that I can save the equivalent of $10 per
5x5 roll in waste. This should pay my barn off in 5 years or so.

 

[jasonleonard]

Sr beef...What brand of wrapper do you use? Also how many bales can you wrap an hour? I am in Pa
and use a netwrap baler...any bales stored outside are a joke to get the net off of them.
I like how you are set up! JL.

 

[Banjo]

Here we can get hay custom wrapped for $5/roll, all you gotta have is a tractor with a front end loader and load the wrapper. wrapping is like basically shrink wrapping something, no oxygen can get to it and oxidise it or let it get stale or detereorate. Kinda like a steak shrink wrapped vs.one wrapped in paper.JMO

 

[SRBeef]

Sr beef...What brand of wrapper do you use? Also how many bales can you wrap an hour? I am in Pa
and use a netwrap baler...any bales stored outside are a joke to get the net off of them.
I like how you are set up! JL.

Jason, I use this wrapper: http://www.umequip.com/hay-handling/round-about-wrapper/

It's a nice simple tool. Takes a bit of trial an error on learning to operate it but really does a nice job.

And getting the netwrap/plastic off in the middle of winter is one of the benfitsof wrapping. The idea is to keep moisture out of the bale, no moisture then there's nothing to freeze the netwrap to the hay. Comes off very easily as you can see in my picture above.

I have a few non wrapped bales that have the netwrap iced into the bale like an ice cube. I'm going to wait until the temperatures get above freezing to use those non wrapped bales.

I caution anyone using a 3-point wrapper like this is that you really need to have an hydraulic top link on the tractor. You have to spear the bale as much in the center as possible or it wobbles as it goes around and is difficult to do a good job of wrapping.

This is the top link I use: http://www.gnusemfg.com/plinks.html They ought to be included with the wrapper in my opinion.

Banjo, these bales are open on the end and are just dry hay, not baleage as you are describing. This wrapper is not meant to make a fully wrapped air tight bale, just the OD. A big difference. In fact you do not want to wrap around the edges as that would hold moisture in the bottom and promote mold as it can't get out. As you can see in the picture there is about zero mold in these bales.

About 1/3 of the hay in a 6 ft dia bale is in the outer foot. Before wrapping, I have had bales where, by spring time, I have to discard much of the OD due to mold. I will not feed my cows plastic/netwrap or moldy hay.

Jim

 

[TexasBred]

Jim that wrap looks just like the net wrap so many of the folks use around here except there bales are set up for it and do the wrapping when the bale is finished rather than using string.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Built a 40 x 80 hay barn last year for about $16 k. I figure that I can save the equivalent of $10 per
5x5 roll in waste. This should pay my barn off in 5 years or so.

Sounds like a deal, but Jim might need to spend 3 to 4 K just to create a flat spot.

 

[SRBeef]

Jim that wrap looks just like the net wrap so many of the folks use around here except there bales are set up for it and do the wrapping when the bale is finished rather than using string.

The bales are netwrapped by the baler. I wrap them with the plastic over the top of the netwrap. I don't know of any baler that will wrap them with stretch plastic as they are made.

The white plastic is a substitute for building a hay shed. As Steve mentioned I have precious little flat ground and don't want use it to build a large structure that sits empty half of the year.

Jim

 

[Banjo]

Banjo, these bales are open on the end and are just dry hay, not baleage as you are describing. This wrapper is not meant to make a fully wrapped air tight bale, just the OD. A big difference. In fact you do not want to wrap around the edges as that would hold moisture in the bottom and promote mold as it can't get out. As you can see in the picture there is about zero mold in these bales.

About 1/3 of the hay in a 6 ft dia bale is in the outer foot. Before wrapping, I have had bales where, by spring time, I have to discard much of the OD due to mold. I will not feed my cows plastic/netwrap or moldy hay.

Jim

The way I described is the way baleage is done, except I do it dry just like you do, it looks like one big long catapillar.

 

[TexasBred]

Jim that wrap looks just like the net wrap so many of the folks use around here except there bales are set up for it and do the wrapping when the bale is finished rather than using string.

The bales are netwrapped by the baler. I wrap them with the plastic over the top of the netwrap. I don't know of any baler that will wrap them with stretch plastic as they are made.

The white plastic is a substitute for building a hay shed. As Steve mentioned I have precious little flat ground and don't want use it to build a large structure that sits empty half of the year.

Jim

I totally missed the first pic showing the white plastic. No it would take a different baler to wrap them in the plastic. A lot of dairies down here wrap with the plastic tho. Cut, allow a couple of hours for the grass to wilt then bale green, wrap individually and usually just line them up down the fence row and not move them until they are ready to be fed. Makes good baleage/silage especially in the summer when it's so hard to get dry matter into the cattle.

 

[Limomike]

Good idea wrapping them like that... especially when you have winters like that.
Your cows look like they are in really good shape too.

 

[SRBeef]

Good idea wrapping them like that... especially when you have winters like that.
Your cows look like they are in really good shape too.

Thanks Mike. I am gradually developing a herd of moderate frame cows that do very well in my system and conditions, calve unassisted out in the pasture and wean a 205 day calf at least 50% of their own weight. They won't win ribbons at shows but they will produce some very good beef with minimal inputs and labor from me.

Jim