How to Stop Hay Waste?

[robertwhite]

Hay loss is less than 10% and when the top ring is removed you can also feed horses with it.
http://www.mijnalbum.nl/Album=KUT7LMVU

DC

Dutch, unless it is just a photo illusion, isn't that 4th rail at least 2ft+ high? If so, how do the calfs get the hay? Also, what stops the cows from grabbing mouthfuls and bringing it back over the rail?

 

[ddg1263]

I personally struggled with wasting a lot of hay every year. It was so obvious at the end of the year of what I wasted because I feed in the same place all year long. I was determined to try and be proactive in solving this issue. In previous years I used hay rings. They really did not help that much. There would always be a good pile left over when they were ready for a new bale. I bought a beat up trailer and put the hay on top of it thinking if I could get it off the ground and out of the mud it would help. However, they would waste just as much as if I left it on the ground. So this year I bought an apache wagon. It is unreal at the difference it makes. My cows eat the whole bale with just a few scraps left around the wagon after each feeding. I am not joking, this wagon will pay for itself if you have a big enough herd. To clean the thing, I just tie a strap to the opposite side and pull it over and it is clean in about 30 seconds. I have been feeding peanut hay so I have to clean out the dirt about every third feeding. I think the way it was described to me is the interior spindles make the difference in how much the cows can pull out at a time. I feed three 5 x 6 bales at a time and I bet I only have maybe 3 lbs of wasted material when I refill it.

The problem of course is the price. They are expensive, but I not only figure my cost in purchasing the hay as an expense, but labor it takes in transporting and feeding it as a major added cost. When I add it all up, I think the trailer will pay for itself through the years. It is built solid, and I am a happy customer. I will be buying another when my herd size permits. In any event if you want to do something about your hay losses, buy one. It is going toget me through this drought year when I am short on hay.

Oh and one other thought I had. I was looking into getting a TMR. I was that short on hay. Someone somewhere described these wagons as the poor man's TMR, so I figured that described me to tee! Any way one day I want to buy a jay lor, but I have to run a few more cows and stockers to make it work out on my budget, and until then I am a happy camper with my apache wagon.

 

[Goodlife]

So this year I bought an apache wagon. It is unreal at the difference it makes. My cows eat the whole bale with just a few scraps left around the wagon after each feeding. I am not joking, this wagon will pay for itself if you have a big enough herd. To clean the thing, I just tie a strap to the opposite side and pull it over and it is clean in about 30 seconds. I have been feeding peanut hay so I have to clean out the dirt about every third feeding. I think the way it was described to me is the interior spindles make the difference in how much the cows can pull out at a time. I feed three 5 x 6 bales at a time and I bet I only have maybe 3 lbs of wasted material when I refill it.

Which one did you get DDG? Sounds like the long one with wheels since you feed 3 bales at a time.

My concern with Apache Wagons is the floor bed. Doesn't it hold water creating spoilage and a mess?

 

[Isomade]

http://bandbequipment.com/apache/hayfeeders.html

 

[ddg1263]

I bought ther 24 foot version. It also has drain holes and the spindles are not welded to the floor so it flexes and drains fairly well. I also try not to put much over two to three days worth of feed because I like to check on them every so often, I am sure I could load it up with 5 large bales and 1 four foot bale to last them longer, but still it just works for me to stick three to four bales on at a time.

I know I said this before, but I think the key is looking for a wagon that has the interior spindlles to help regulate the quanity of hay they pull each time they eat. I know several companies make something similar, but this wagon works for me. I just wish they were not so expensive, but I just can't find anything cheap anymore. I am waiting for the government to start charging for the air we breath anyday now.

If you had the time I bet CB's set up might just work even better with out the costs of a wagon. I just did not have the time this year to tackle another project.

 

[shadyhollownj]

Check out J and L haysavers in Pennsylvania. My neighbor has two and I never see any hay on the ground and he feeds on concrete.

 

[Isomade]

Check out J and L haysavers in Pennsylvania. My neighbor has two and I never see any hay on the ground and he feeds on concrete.

http://jlhaysavers.com/

 

[kerley]

Check out J and L haysavers in Pennsylvania. My neighbor has two and I never see any hay on the ground and he feeds on concrete.

http://jlhaysavers.com/

I just called these folks and the nearest dealer to me is in southern Tennessee, the cost for an eight foot round feeder is $1075.00 each.

 

[Isomade]

Check out J and L haysavers in Pennsylvania. My neighbor has two and I never see any hay on the ground and he feeds on concrete.

http://jlhaysavers.com/

I just called these folks and the nearest dealer to me is in southern Tennessee, the cost for an eight foot round feeder is $1075.00 each.

Krley if a round cost $40 and weighed say 1000# and the feeder saved you an extra 10% on hay waste at .04 per pound and a savings of 100# of waste per bale it would take 268.75 bales fed thru that feeder to pay for its self. A traditional feeder cost $250 if you saved only 5% with the traditional feeder it would take 125 bales fed thru it to pay for its self but of course the savings would be much less once the traditional ring had payed for its self versus the pricey one. Not to mention the pricey one would probably last twice as long. I have no opinion as I don't use them just got me to wondering.

 

[dutchcowboy]

Hay loss is less than 10% and when the top ring is removed you can also feed horses with it.
http://www.mijnalbum.nl/Album=KUT7LMVU

DC

Dutch, unless it is just a photo illusion, isn't that 4th rail at least 2ft+ high? If so, how do the calfs get the hay? Also, what stops the cows from grabbing mouthfuls and bringing it back over the rail?

Right, the 4th ring is just about 2 ft high. There are no calves with the cows during the winter, so thats not a problem. And yes the cows do bring mouthfuls of hay over the rail, but never more then the 10% I said before. I have to say that I don't have a big herd. At the moment there are 11 cows in one pasture and they can al eat at the same time. I use round and square bales and I believe the squares give less spil.

DC

 

[JSCATTLE]

In my area Most of the waste isn't from the cows pulling it out of the ring ... It's from sitting the bale directly on the ground ..it wicks water and the cows won't eat the wet hay ... I wish I could post pictures I have something similar to caustic s . Mine holds 6 rolls and is 30 ft long .. its basically a v shape that holds the hay about 3 foot off the ground . Cows can reach under it but can't lay or poop on the hay that falls out ...it is lined with cattle pannel to stop them from taking big bites and dropping hay ...