Large vs. Small Round Bales

[I luv herfrds]

We use a JD330 round baler makes a 5'x4' bale. Like that one a lot more then the bigger ones. Friend helped use put up hay last year and his baler made some 6'x6' bales and our feed truck could not pick them up.
We seem to have a lot less waste with our round baler then what we had feeding small squares.
"Douglas if the baler is small enough you can, wouldn't go over making a 4x4 bale" Mr.ILH

 

[bigbull338]

i like the the big 5 by 6 bales an heres why.we have 80 to 90hd.an we put out 6 5 by 6 bales once a week.the cows eat a 5 by 6 bale every day.now if we had the 4 by 4 or 4 by 5s.the cows would eat 2 bales a day.an 14 bales a week.wich is double the amount of putting hay out.an double the amount of moveing an stacking hay.

 

[George Monk]

If your buying a bailer get a 5x6. You can make any size bale you want ?x6 When I custom bale I bale a 66" bale for most customers. That make roughly a 1200lb bale. When I bale for myself because I have a 14 mile trip I set the monitor to signal at 70" that gives me a little to smooth out the bale and I usually end up with a 71-72" bale. 1500 lb+ lots of hay and less trips, reduce spoilage, less stopping, don't have to feed as often. You do have to have a loader that can handle them. A good friend of mine tightens his baler down to make 1800 lb bales. I make a few 45" bales to put in feed lots when I pull the bulls from the cows or I need a small bale to help a sick cow along. They also work great for 4H heifers and such.

When I started baling my own hay I bid on a small baler. really bid a lot more than I wanted but I thought that is what I needed. Thanks goodness there was a horse lady there that needed it more than I. I think the versitility of the large baler is its advantage.
that being said the cost is crazy! I got real lucky and found a dealer that had a baler sitting on his lot from the previous year and got a great price. I have a Challenger RB56A and really like it.

Also your final decision should be based on safety. handling large bale with small equipment could cost you your life.

 

[badaxemoo]

Thanks to everyone who has responded.

I will probably read the responses at least three or four times - some good input here.

 

[Limomike]

Can you realistically run a small round bailer with a old 45 hp tractor?

Nope. You need at least a 60HP tractor to do it efficiently.
We usually do the 4x5 bales for easier handling, and used to bale with a JD 435 baler. I am not convinced that they are the best balers though. Sold it last year, and now pay to have my hay done each year.

 

[mnmtranching]

I think of all the various size bales I've bought and handled The ones I like best are the 4X6 1000 pound bales. Narrow 8 ft load going down the highway. They stack nice. Weather good, say better then a 4X4 or 5X5. And handle with smaller equipment and less horsepower. New Holland or JD.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I think of all the various size bales I've bought and handled The ones I like best are the 4X6 1000 pound bales. Narrow 8 ft load going down the highway. They stack nice. Weather good, say better then a 4X4 or 5X5. And handle with smaller equipment and less horsepower. New Holland or JD.

I try to bale 4x5 1000lb bales and I am like Dun I don't like the 4x6 because they want to fall over and if I bale a 4x6 bale they are consistanly over 1200lbs I do bale 4x6s for one customer and he weighed them last yr and they were at 1350lbs after being baled for 3 days so after curing I would say they weighed 1150 -1200lbs
there is alot of people that never weigh their hay and say their 4x5 weigh 900lbs and most of them average 700lbs or less


My 4x5 bales will weigh on average 950lbs after they have ssat in a barn for a few months fresh out of the field they weigh around 1100lbs

 

[ChrisB]

Around here the most common sizes are 4X5 or 4X6. I bale 4X6 myself and have slightly rolling hills and I may have a bale tip over every couple years. My bales are between 1200-1300 when just baled.

 

[1982vett]

Various sizes of bales means you can find one that fits your needs the best. Each one has it's good points and bad points according to your own situation.

In my opinon, everyone needs a good storage program. Doesn't matter what the bale size is.

 

[dyates]

Can you realistically run a small round bailer with a old 45 hp tractor?

Nope. You need at least a 60HP tractor to do it efficiently.
We usually do the 4x5 bales for easier handling, and used to bale with a JD 435 baler. I am not convinced that they are the best balers though. Sold it last year, and now pay to have my hay done each year.

It can be done in a pinch if you have to, like when your big tractor breaks down. Done very much, it will gut your tractor or get you killed on a hill.

 

[SRBeef]

Tractor hp is not as important as tractor weight and stability. You can handle larger bales if you have tires spaced out wide and fluid in the tires (esp rear) or counter weight of some sort on the 3 point. Carry bales low.

Having said that I would not generally use less than about a 90 hp tractor w/ tires spaced wide for 5 x 6 dia 1500 lb bales and still make sure there is something heavy (or another bale) on the 3 pt or fluid in the rear tires.

If you can't do that then work with smaller bales. jmho and experience in WI hills.

 

[grubbie]

We use 5X6, and I load them and feed them with old beat up 65 hp tractors. One thing to keep in mind, is some hydrabeds won't grip a 4 foot bale very well. This also holds true for some 3 point unrollers. I have 2 unrollers on tractors and one hydrabed and none will hold a 4 footer well enough to unroll it.

 

[rusty]

I think SR Beef's last post was true on so many levels.I have a MF 274 with a loader that I have to be very careful with.It's around 60hp but it has a independant pump for the loader runs of the upper pto and plumbed with big hyd lines.It'll pick up way more weight than tractor suspension can carry therefore you have to be careful or flip or break something.

 

[cypressfarms]

I think SR Beef's last post was true on so many levels.I have a MF 274 with a loader that I have to be very careful with.It's around 60hp but it has a independant pump for the loader runs of the upper pto and plumbed with big hyd lines.It'll pick up way more weight than tractor suspension can carry therefore you have to be careful or flip or break something.

Ha!,

My old Ford 6710 weighs as much as a small house; once you've got the bale picked up(front or back) you don't have to worry about it going anywhere. The trick is making sure that front bale is not so big to make it hard to pick up. The rear bale is never a problem, always lifts fine. Then again, I hate my front end loader (buhler), I'd never buy one - it came with the tractor.

 

[rusty]

We used this tractor to log with thats the main reason for external pump but i've picked up logs that would put the tractor on it's front tires only.The tractor would handle it but if you went in a dip or down a bank you'd better be ready to drop the forks.I' m not complaining about it just have to be careful.BTW it has a massey loader on it my Landini has a bush hog massey is alot better.

 

[handyman16]

I've read alot of the replies you have received so far. From my experience several of the replies were close to what I would tell you. I currently bale with both a jd336 square baler and a jd410. The 410 makes a 800 pound bale that is 4x5. One of the factors in my decision to use a John Deere is access to service/parts. Both for the tractor and the equipment. It is, as others have written, that the wear and tear on the front axle can be extreme. Especially if the weight and terrain are heavier and rougher( I've been bounced pretty hard sometimes) . If you stack in a barn, moving 200 round bales in and out is alot wear on the tranny. I had a field baled once with a larger baler and found it much more difficult to store and use the bales. I had to put the bale feeder over the bales rather than dropping the bales. Which is ok unless it gets frozen down. If you have access to a skidloader (I rent one) to help stack bales you would find that a larger number( smaller hp) would be able to handle a smaller bale for stacking in a barn . Finally, my 410 makes a solid core bale. I have a friend who's baler makes a soft core. He is not very happy with his.

 

[Phil in Tupelo]

I started years ago with a larger round bale 5x5 or 5x6 and after a couple of years used a different baler with a 4x5. I hated the smaller bales as it seemed I was feeding all the time. May have been different if I had started with a smaller roll.
My MF 255 diesel is a 50hp '75 model that I have owned since '75. About 5 years ago I installed a new Bush Hog brand 2426 QT loader and have loved it. I did add a larger hyro pump and couldn't be more pleased. The tractor weights about 5500# and then add the loader for about another 1200# plus a canopy for about 400# I seem to have good weight and it handles the 5x5 or 5x6 well for me. That being said, I have used equipment for nearly 50 years so I do understand that you can over load quickly and an overloaded tractor won't handle like you think if you get in a tight and are moving too fast. The tractor would likely tow 8 or 10 but I don't want more than 6 behind me when I am going down a county road or across some rough field roads. Just a safety factor. Smaller tractors can be used but you must keep your head in the game before you get in a tight with a light weight tractor and an overloaded trailer.
Phil in Tupelo