Hay Unrolling Question

[chaded]

I am thinking I'm about to start unrolling hay and just thought of something. They way I usually do it in the winter is I feed hay in rings in a sacrifice paddock. The cattle usually can roam around the pastures connecting to it during the winter but towards the end of winter and beginning spring they get shut in the sacrifice paddock for a little while (a month?) until the grass is tall enough to graze.

With unrolling hay how do you manage this part? Mainly, keep them from eating the grass when it's not ready. Just trying to get some ideas.

 

[bird dog]

Two thoughts here.
first once you start unrolling, there is no reason you can't stop and use the rings and the sacrificial area as you normally do.

second. Why not rotate your cows through the fields. Unroll in one for a week, then move to the next, I don't think your going to hurt the grass as it starts to green up.

I continue to rotate my herd even thought there isn't much to eat. It spreads the manure around and each field gets some nutrients put in the soil from the unrolling.

You will probably find after a couple years you won't need the sacrifice area.

 

[gbfarm]

I have been doing something like this the past several years.
I roll hay out on the pastures unless it gets wet enough that the ground
is being torn up really badly. When this happens I feed the in the paddock.
Once the grass begins to green up I will fasten them in the paddock
until the grass has enough head start to begin rotations
(usually about a month)