Hay rings

[rc]

Do yall think there is significant less waste feeding hay in hay rings. Last year I just left my hay out and let them free feed. I know this wasn't the thing to do and have put the hay for this year out of the pasture. I have a couple of rings that I used for feeding hay to horses that I thought i would use this year. I have 21 cows and 9 calves.

 

[dun]

First day dining room, second day bedroom, third day bathroom. That's pretty much the way it works without some method of controlling access to hay. Hay rings pay for themselves.

dun

 

[bwranch]

http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore ... g04570.htm

You can lose your arse feeding round bales in the mud without hay rings.

Lee

 

[rc]

That's a great way to put it. It's the same with horses. As soon as they get it down to where they can get on it it's over as far as eating goes. Thanks Dun.

 

[sidney411]

bwranch

Thanks for that link, that's a great website with great information.

 

[bwranch]

Hey Sid,

Got the weanlings on accuration. Dyn-o-mite so far. Thanks for the push.

Lee

 

[sidney411]

Hey - That's great! I hope you have as good luck on it as we did! What level did you start on? I'd love to see pics if you have time!

 

[shorty]

we use a feeder called a haysaver , it was expensive but it has payed for itself over the last 3 years . there is very little waste.

 

[bigbull338]

a hay ring will cut your waste down to 0.as stated the cows will pee an mess on hay an ruin it.an when your paying $40 a bale for hay.you dont like to waste hay.scott

 

[jersey lilly]

Shorty, I've seen pictures of a thing called a haysaver, my daughter is in ag/mech FFA at school, she's planning on building one for show this year, if it turns out well, she may have herself a job buildin somemore.
Supposedly even using hay rings you loose 1 out of every 4 bales you put out. with the haysaver it cuts that loss down to almost nothing. When your feedin as many bales as we do a year, even loosin one out of 4 that's gettin right up there round 25 to 30 bales lost as bed and bath hahaha @ bed n bath......that place is expensive too!!!

 

[Susie David]

Tried the round bale feeders and still experienced quite a bit of waste with the cows pulling off a big mouthfull and dropping half...went to feed bunks and cut waste down to almost nothing...takes about 45 minutes twice a day to feed but then I have lots of time these days.
DMc

 

[Gale Seddon]

If you're using horse hay rings, be careful if your cattle have horns...easy for them to get caught, and not so easy to get them un-caught. Learned that one the hard way, of course.

 

[Rod]

what exactly are feed bunks?

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

If you're using horse hay rings, be careful if your cattle have horns...easy for them to get caught, and not so easy to get them un-caught. Learned that one the hard way, of course.

We use only horse hay rings for our Longhorns. Only had ONE incidence where a heifer got her horns caught. Since she was one of our most gentle, she let us work her head out. Wouldn't even think of us using one of those lighter weight standard cattle hayrings with the "top ring" on them. Except for our calves and under 1 yr old Longhorns majority of our cattle are in the 45 to 60" tip to top (more horn when you measure their "total horn").

Waste: Probably about 10% with us. Bulls will stick head into bale and tear open a place to get "good stuff". But eventually, 90% of hay (including some on ground calves & others will work on) is cleaned up..."they don't get a new bale till they've cleaned their plate...lol".

 

[msscamp]

what exactly are feed bunks?

Feed bunks are a stationary object designed to feed cattle in. They can be made of 2X6's with a bottom made out of 2X4's nailed across the bottoms in a solid pattern, with or without legs. They can be made of 55 gallon drums cut in half and bolted/screwed to a 2X6 that has been nailed to an upright post, they can be freestanding plastic barrels supported by a wooden structure that gives them the support needed to withstand being rooted in by cattle. They can also be made of concrete. Does that help?

 

[Bama]

"they don't get a new bale till they've cleaned their plate...lol".

Thats the best way to control waste.If you put out new bales before the old ones are gone they will ignore the old ones for the better stuff.

 

[dun]

"they don't get a new bale till they've cleaned their plate...lol".

Thats the best way to control waste.If you put out new bales before the old ones are gone they will ignore the old ones for the better stuff.

Excellent point. And the more feeding stations, i.e holes in the feeder, you have the less waste. If you have 20 feeding stations and 20 animals they will jostle for those spots and end up getting a mouth full and being pushed away and dropping a significant amount. If they can stand with their heads in the feeder and have to back out they will tend to eat more without dropping it on the ground.
We use around a 3:2 ratio of feeding points to cows and our waste has gone done a lot.

dun

 

[MrBilly]

A study out of Missouri? or Michigan? a couple years ago found that using cone feeders for large round bales reduced waste more than just a regular feeder. We have these and love them. When they take a bite and don't get it all the hay falls into the bottom of the feeder.

Ours are very Tough and were very expensive , about $625 each but will last a lifetime and it takes a heavy duty front loader to move them.

Pics of our are on our website:
http://www.sellfarm.com/farm_pictures.htm

Billy :cboy:

 

[dun]

Here's a deal I posted a while back that will (supposedly) turn your regular round bale feeder into a cone feeder:

 

[mitchwi]

Does anyone know of a conversion that would work on the poly feeders? We've had the poly for about 8 years now, and I would never go back to steel. I have read up on those cone feeders in the past and understand the concept. I just really like the poly over the steel.