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Let the unrolling begin..
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<blockquote data-quote="RDFF" data-source="post: 1718729" data-attributes="member: 39018"><p>I've been unrolling now for 2 years, homemade unroller that I can put on my skid loader or tractor loader. Skid loader has tracks, so works good if conditions are bad or deep snow, tractor is nicer to work with because it gets me back away from the bale and up higher, so I can see over it and know where I'm going better. Cattle are as much as 2 miles from home, so the tractor is nicer for to/from them, cause I don't need to start the pickup, load and haul over there with a trailer. That means that the bales have to be stored by the cattle though, instead of at a central bale yard. And no matter where you store them, if you're unrolling, you end up covering alot of ground... so the bales just are NEVER in the BEST location to help minimize "travel distance" when feeding. If you haul them with you to the cattle, the bales will ALWAYS be in the best spot for that day for unrolling to help minimize "travel distance". Not entirely uncommon for me to cover nearly a quarter mile when unrolling a single bale... so it's easy to see how the "animal access" to hay is dramatically better when bales are unrolled, or why bringing the bales with you can save a considerably amount of time.</p><p></p><p>At least here in Minnesota, usually you can pick your days to unroll, even in spring or fall, when the ground is frozen or dry enough to not leave tracks, for the most part. We unrolled 11 bales in the last 2 days, and then limit feed them with a polywire. Expecting 8-10" of snow tomorrow, with temps into the 40's again next week, so most of it will melt.</p><p></p><p>I'm working on revamping my unroller design now, so that I can insert the spikes more reliably centered from the tractor seat. My unroller is currently more like the Greg Judy design, where you need to drive the spikes in, ...and reliably hitting the center of the bale then usually means several "positioning attempts", if you want to get it right..... (or having your daughter there to help you, see below........ <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> ). I can run my spikes right down close to the ground (about 3"), so most of the time, there's hardly any core left at all, and alot of the time, it just falls off between the spikes when I lift the loader on the go. I've got about 20" of space between the ends of the spikes. When I'm done rebuilding it, I'll be able to just "open" them, and the core will drop out, like it does with the "clamp type" unrollers. This is a bale clamp that I built for small square bales (held 36 bales, could put them in the barn, retrieve them, and load a trailer with them), so the wings on the ends were built to slide in/out hydraulically, however, I took the cylinders out and just "fixed" the width for a 5' bale. It wouldn't open wide enough to get the spikes out around the bale to just squeeze them in hydraulically... My custom grazed herd owner brought me 4' bales this year... they don't work so good with those "fixed sides", wishing I still had the hydraulic width adjust active on it now. Won't take much to put it back on, but like I said, I'm intending to rebuild it anyway. I've got a plan!</p><p></p><p>I want to be able to carry one on the loader, and two extra on the 3 pt. from storage to the pasture, on a single tractor (bigger one than this one, with a CAB AND HEATER!!!) I'll keep the duals on, to keep it lighter on the ground. 3 bales per trip will work for me. Feeding about 230 head total right now, but with my gradually increasing herd size, I need to be able to haul enough hay along to the cattle for feeding to make the trip practical, and still keep the whole thing compact and able to get through our snow (so if possible, I want to avoid the need for taking a trailer along to haul extra hay bales). I only want to start ONE rig to feed in the winter, and I want to store my bales in inline rows, preferably in a central storage area nearby to my yard and tractor shed, where I can blow out the bale yard easily, and put down some gravel for support in bad weather.</p><p></p><p>The picture below is a winter rye bale that just sat on the dirt alongside the field the whole summer... that's why it's flat on the bottom and dirty. I generally put posts underneath my inline stored bales now. Keeps them nearly "perfect", with almost no spoilage, and no frozen netwrap in the mud.</p><p></p><p>The "bale not wanting to unroll" thing is mostly because of some heating and then spoilage in the bale, causing the hay to stick together. Put up just a little too wet. The 4' ditch hay bales that my "custom grazed cattle owner" brought me are sticking like that too, and there's some light mold in them. I find it helps to go faster... centrifugal force throws it off as you go. Covered alot of ground getting his bales unrolled though!</p><p></p><p>Spike type of unrollers are about the simplest design you could ever come up with for unrolling bales, IMO. Nothing to go wrong pretty much. A trailer like Greg Judy's would never work for me. Too much snow, and a 4 wheeler wouldn't be able to pull the bale on our hills. CONTEXT.,.. Greg is in Missouri, NOT Minnesnowta. Bale grazing is absolutely the lowest day to day cost way to do it... but I want my resources spread out across the farm, instead of concentrated in one spot. Not so concerened about the "wasteage"... that will come back to you over time... I'm completely convinced of that. Where I bale grazed 2 years ago the grass was substantially better this past season... but last year those spots were devastated. Where I've unrolled, the grass is noticeably better too... but over a larger area, and to a lesser degree. Two years of bale grazing, and you've accomplished the same across the whole field that you do only in spots where you've bale grazed, IMO. So to me so far, it's worth the extra time, effort, and $$$ investment.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]10973[/ATTACH]</p><p>The picture below</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RDFF, post: 1718729, member: 39018"] I've been unrolling now for 2 years, homemade unroller that I can put on my skid loader or tractor loader. Skid loader has tracks, so works good if conditions are bad or deep snow, tractor is nicer to work with because it gets me back away from the bale and up higher, so I can see over it and know where I'm going better. Cattle are as much as 2 miles from home, so the tractor is nicer for to/from them, cause I don't need to start the pickup, load and haul over there with a trailer. That means that the bales have to be stored by the cattle though, instead of at a central bale yard. And no matter where you store them, if you're unrolling, you end up covering alot of ground... so the bales just are NEVER in the BEST location to help minimize "travel distance" when feeding. If you haul them with you to the cattle, the bales will ALWAYS be in the best spot for that day for unrolling to help minimize "travel distance". Not entirely uncommon for me to cover nearly a quarter mile when unrolling a single bale... so it's easy to see how the "animal access" to hay is dramatically better when bales are unrolled, or why bringing the bales with you can save a considerably amount of time. At least here in Minnesota, usually you can pick your days to unroll, even in spring or fall, when the ground is frozen or dry enough to not leave tracks, for the most part. We unrolled 11 bales in the last 2 days, and then limit feed them with a polywire. Expecting 8-10" of snow tomorrow, with temps into the 40's again next week, so most of it will melt. I'm working on revamping my unroller design now, so that I can insert the spikes more reliably centered from the tractor seat. My unroller is currently more like the Greg Judy design, where you need to drive the spikes in, ...and reliably hitting the center of the bale then usually means several "positioning attempts", if you want to get it right..... (or having your daughter there to help you, see below........ :) ). I can run my spikes right down close to the ground (about 3"), so most of the time, there's hardly any core left at all, and alot of the time, it just falls off between the spikes when I lift the loader on the go. I've got about 20" of space between the ends of the spikes. When I'm done rebuilding it, I'll be able to just "open" them, and the core will drop out, like it does with the "clamp type" unrollers. This is a bale clamp that I built for small square bales (held 36 bales, could put them in the barn, retrieve them, and load a trailer with them), so the wings on the ends were built to slide in/out hydraulically, however, I took the cylinders out and just "fixed" the width for a 5' bale. It wouldn't open wide enough to get the spikes out around the bale to just squeeze them in hydraulically... My custom grazed herd owner brought me 4' bales this year... they don't work so good with those "fixed sides", wishing I still had the hydraulic width adjust active on it now. Won't take much to put it back on, but like I said, I'm intending to rebuild it anyway. I've got a plan! I want to be able to carry one on the loader, and two extra on the 3 pt. from storage to the pasture, on a single tractor (bigger one than this one, with a CAB AND HEATER!!!) I'll keep the duals on, to keep it lighter on the ground. 3 bales per trip will work for me. Feeding about 230 head total right now, but with my gradually increasing herd size, I need to be able to haul enough hay along to the cattle for feeding to make the trip practical, and still keep the whole thing compact and able to get through our snow (so if possible, I want to avoid the need for taking a trailer along to haul extra hay bales). I only want to start ONE rig to feed in the winter, and I want to store my bales in inline rows, preferably in a central storage area nearby to my yard and tractor shed, where I can blow out the bale yard easily, and put down some gravel for support in bad weather. The picture below is a winter rye bale that just sat on the dirt alongside the field the whole summer... that's why it's flat on the bottom and dirty. I generally put posts underneath my inline stored bales now. Keeps them nearly "perfect", with almost no spoilage, and no frozen netwrap in the mud. The "bale not wanting to unroll" thing is mostly because of some heating and then spoilage in the bale, causing the hay to stick together. Put up just a little too wet. The 4' ditch hay bales that my "custom grazed cattle owner" brought me are sticking like that too, and there's some light mold in them. I find it helps to go faster... centrifugal force throws it off as you go. Covered alot of ground getting his bales unrolled though! Spike type of unrollers are about the simplest design you could ever come up with for unrolling bales, IMO. Nothing to go wrong pretty much. A trailer like Greg Judy's would never work for me. Too much snow, and a 4 wheeler wouldn't be able to pull the bale on our hills. CONTEXT.,.. Greg is in Missouri, NOT Minnesnowta. Bale grazing is absolutely the lowest day to day cost way to do it... but I want my resources spread out across the farm, instead of concentrated in one spot. Not so concerened about the "wasteage"... that will come back to you over time... I'm completely convinced of that. Where I bale grazed 2 years ago the grass was substantially better this past season... but last year those spots were devastated. Where I've unrolled, the grass is noticeably better too... but over a larger area, and to a lesser degree. Two years of bale grazing, and you've accomplished the same across the whole field that you do only in spots where you've bale grazed, IMO. So to me so far, it's worth the extra time, effort, and $$$ investment. [ATTACH type="full" alt="1639065595728.png"]10973[/ATTACH] The picture below [/QUOTE]
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