Formal, which means wearing "tails".Holy smokes! What is the dress attire to eat at an establishment like that?
Our cows would probably turn tail and run for the brush because they would think it's a trap.
Very nice set up!
Hay feeder mess?
- Thread starter Ouachita
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Hogfarmer10
Well-known member
Hijacking this thread a little, but has anyone else compared bale placement when using rings? I've noticed that when I put the 1 bale on its end, and another one horizontal, the cows almost always go to the upright one first. I wonder if it is because they can pull the hay apart easier??
I haven't compared it, but I did see something when I was looking on the internet about waste that said placing them on their side caused less waste. Don't ask me if that is true, because the articles are all over the board on the waste issue.
Edit: I found it in my computer history, "More recently, a trial done by the Lakeland Agricultural Research Association (LARA), found that placing the bales on end wasted 18% vs only 10% if the bales are placed on the side."
But this was an article about concentrated bale grazing. Take it for what it is worth.
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Hamiam
Well-known member
I do have it chained at the bottom to the tree to prevent them from moving it. I honestly don't know what else I can do.
Hamiam
Well-known member
I see the same. I think you are right.
GoWyo
Well-known member
When I have placed them on their side they eat all around the middle, then a gust of wind blows off the top 20% and that gets wasted. Otherwise would probably work well.
Farm Family
Well-known member
We use a combination of rings and "busting out" which is basically "rolling out". We find more waste with rings. I am interested in the notion of setting bale on its side. This would be a challenge in our funnel like feeders that narrow in center but would be fine (bit challenging getting wrap and or twine removed) in the uniform width rings. I am going to experiment. My husband and kids can you hear their eyes widen and roll 
Yearling replacements are on hay rings. And they tend to be wasteful "teenagers", spoiled creatures who have to learn the fine art of responsibility and rations. They lay around feeder vs straw pack and in this manner won't eat from ground. The cows are not this way, move back to straw packs to bed, clean up the ground around rings better.
I have been told "busting" prevents bedding more than "rolling". I do not know on our operation as we strictly "bust" but I can see the theory in this in that the "busted" feed is light and fluffy vs flat. Perhaps? Not sure. We have found there is a fine line to straw pack and feeding groundsā¦more distance and/or proximity to water/mineral can encourage cattle to bed in windrows vs return to windbreak/straw packs. Calves bed in windrows while mamas eat full stop. We tend to only bust what they reasonably can eat. Keep them on that border and they clean their plates. We also find scrapping the "table" helps vs busting into fluffy snow. Feed gets pushed into that snow layer and creates waste.
My thoughts for what they are worth
Happy feeding.
Yearling replacements are on hay rings. And they tend to be wasteful "teenagers", spoiled creatures who have to learn the fine art of responsibility and rations. They lay around feeder vs straw pack and in this manner won't eat from ground. The cows are not this way, move back to straw packs to bed, clean up the ground around rings better.
I have been told "busting" prevents bedding more than "rolling". I do not know on our operation as we strictly "bust" but I can see the theory in this in that the "busted" feed is light and fluffy vs flat. Perhaps? Not sure. We have found there is a fine line to straw pack and feeding groundsā¦more distance and/or proximity to water/mineral can encourage cattle to bed in windrows vs return to windbreak/straw packs. Calves bed in windrows while mamas eat full stop. We tend to only bust what they reasonably can eat. Keep them on that border and they clean their plates. We also find scrapping the "table" helps vs busting into fluffy snow. Feed gets pushed into that snow layer and creates waste.
My thoughts for what they are worth
Happy feeding.
Can you explain "busting"?We use a combination of rings and "busting out" which is basically "rolling out". We find more waste with rings. I am interested in the notion of setting bale on its side. This would be a challenge in our funnel like feeders that narrow in center but would be fine (bit challenging getting wrap and or twine removed) in the uniform width rings. I am going to experiment. My husband and kids can you hear their eyes widen and roll
Yearling replacements are on hay rings. And they tend to be wasteful "teenagers", spoiled creatures who have to learn the fine art of responsibility and rations. They lay around feeder vs straw pack and in this manner won't eat from ground. The cows are not this way, move back to straw packs to bed, clean up the ground around rings better.
I have been told "busting" prevents bedding more than "rolling". I do not know on our operation as we strictly "bust" but I can see the theory in this in that the "busted" feed is light and fluffy vs flat. Perhaps? Not sure. We have found there is a fine line to straw pack and feeding groundsā¦more distance and/or proximity to water/mineral can encourage cattle to bed in windrows vs return to windbreak/straw packs. Calves bed in windrows while mamas eat full stop. We tend to only bust what they reasonably can eat. Keep them on that border and they clean their plates. We also find scrapping the "table" helps vs busting into fluffy snow. Feed gets pushed into that snow layer and creates waste.
My thoughts for what they are worth
We store our hay in a barn and unroll 99% of the time. I say 99% because if its raining we unroll half the bale instead of the intire roll. I'd say we have less tha 5% hay loss. We have found that unrolling only works if you have enough cows to eat what you unroll. Unrolling a 1,100# bale to 15 cows creates allot of waste and rings would be better. We've also noticed that our calf sickness has gone to near zero since unrolling. I attribute this to the cattle tromping around a muddy hay ring then the calves sucking. I definitely don't think unrolling will work for everyone but it works for us and reduced our hay consumption by half. Not saying that anyone on here doesn't know this but I have a hard time making people understand that cattle won't eat junky hay. If I unroll a bale that's 40% weeds and briars the cattle will waste 40% of that bale.
This year we unrolled 2 1,100 pound bales a day and fed 5# of commodity mix in troughs a day to 100 head and the cattle look great. I know guys feeding twice that amount or more of hay to 100 head.
This year we unrolled 2 1,100 pound bales a day and fed 5# of commodity mix in troughs a day to 100 head and the cattle look great. I know guys feeding twice that amount or more of hay to 100 head.
If I were buying hay for the winter....i would roll it out all over different places on the land to fertilize w/droppings and re-seed. But I cannot make a profit with expensive hay. With corn stalk hay (dense and smothering, long decay time) I like to feed in two places so as NOT to kill the grass all over the pasture. Corn stalk should not be open range delivered. I have two areas where i feed corn stalk one stationary feeder and one place I drop bales/piles...both have lots of large rocks so cattle won't sink. I miss upstate N.Y. and all the rocks..free rocks. Texas where I am is one big silt bed with fine clay...you can auger and never hit a rock. We have to buy rock and save every brick we find for fill. When it's muddy in Texas...there's been a few times I had my mud up past my boot to my knee-stuck with water suction. Texas needs more rocks! Just sight of those rocks in your truck bed...is a delight...reminds me of N.Y. When i came to Texas 35 years ago...the thing i missed the most was rock streams....trout fishing. No rocks and no trout here.
That pretty much mirrors my experience, and we're 1100 miles apart.
I can't remember the exact number, but I'm thinking it lowered my hay use by 30-35%. But you can only roll out what they will consume in a 24 hour period, roughly 30 lbs/head.
The increase in calf wellness and lack of treatment incidents is worth the price of admission, to me anyways.
SBMF 2015
Well-known member
Absolutely,
true!Ouachita
Well-known member
I'm not sure what busting is, but it gave me an idea. Will advise if successful.
Plus you can get a bale bed and feed with the truck which is a big time saver.
Ouachita
Well-known member
I think keeping it in a barn is the ticket, but I don't have a barn anywhere near. By overseeding ryegrass in September, I usually don't start feeding hay until Christmas, through end of February. I've fed 32 rolls to 15 mommas this winter (two of those remain untouched so far). I can't make the math work. It's cheaper (for me) to waste some, than it is to have a dedicated barn for hay storage.
bird dog
Well-known member
Hay barns built right and kept in good shape are pretty much free as they generally add a lot of value to the property.
Look at it this way. Build a barn and depreciate it on your taxes. Your tax bill goes down, your property value goes up and you get to use it until you sell out.
I attended a seminar once where it was stated that a hay barn is one of the best investment you can make.
Look at it this way. Build a barn and depreciate it on your taxes. Your tax bill goes down, your property value goes up and you get to use it until you sell out.
I attended a seminar once where it was stated that a hay barn is one of the best investment you can make.
1982vett
Well-known member
Oh...Texas has rocks.....
EasTex
Well-known member
Go to the Texas Hill Country if you want rocks
I'd rather the worms and other soil life get to devour it. Worm poo is a perfect ph of 7.
If I understand right, burning puts the carbon in the air. Id rather it go in the ground.
My 2 cents.
