Hay rings

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denoginnizer

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Hay supply in my area is very tight this year. I am considering purchasing some hay rings in the hopes of extending my hay. Any idea how much hay this might save? What do you look for in a good hay ring?
 
According to what I see in my cows, the hay ring will save about 65% of the hay the cows normally waste.

I would look for a good heavy weight, gavenlized metal.
 
If you got a choice, buy a two piece rather than three. Once you get it put together, weld a piece of flat iron along the seams. This will prevent the eventual wallering out of the bolts and keep it tight. It will last a lot longer.
 
Hay Rings can be a great investment, IF you buy the Heavy Duty type. There's some junk brands out there to stay away from. Check out the welds, one of our biggest problems is water getting into the tubing and rusting them out.
 
Definitely buy a heavy duty one. For our Longhorns, we use the Applegate Steel (red horse type ones) which seem to last the longest. We have a few of the Tarter Gate (blue or green horse type) we use on calves and yearlings. The Applegate ones hold up a lot better with our mature cattle.

On the other hand, our mature bulls can lift up one of these 175# to 200# or so rings and move it as well as partially trash one out if he decides to do so.

Bottomline: Get one with at least 14 gage steel with a metal skirt on it. Stay away from the "mass merchandised" cheapy ones that are a lot lighter weight and not well constructed (IMO).

Expect to pay over $200 for a good sturdy hay ring, possibly up to $300 or more.

Note: About the only thing a mature bull (of any breed) can't hurt is a hay ring made out of 2" or 2-3/8" well pipe welded into a frame of your design...lol.

I've seen some of the "cheapy" hay rings made out of 1-3/8" chainlink fencing pipe...might be ok for some calves for a year or so...lol. IMO not worth loading up on your truck even if the store gave them to you!
 
I would go with the galvanized ones over the painted ones. I have some galvanized ones 10 years old. I also pick them up at the end of the season and keep them off the ground.They make some black plastic ones that I think have a 20 year guarantee but they are priced a lot higher than metal.
 
The one that has held up the best for me; and, has been easiest to repair (at least one weld a year) is one made from 5/8 rebar I bought 5 years ago from the guy that had built it about 8 years earlier. At 13 years old its still doing its job. It is octagon shape so I cut 4 flat bottom V's into the top rail about 20inches deep so the horses could use it also. Without the V's the horses would rub bald spots in their manes when reaching under the top rail. Been thinking about adding an 18 inch skirt to the inside bottom, or maybe just some more rebar.
 

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