Poly bale feeders

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cfpinz

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I need to replace a bunch of feeders, and have been eyeballing some poly ones. Namely the Century brand and R&C brand, the latter look better built but I haven't seen one in person. Anyone have experience with either of those? Any other brands to consider?

Do they hold up to front end loaders and being moved/loaded with a bale bed?

Thanks.
 
Don't know the brand but the poly feeder I bought in 2004 is still in one piece. :lol: Holding up to being run over with your equipment or dropping the bales on it instead of in it effects all types of feeders.....I've always been extra careful when moving with the forks such as watching for it to be stuck to the ground for some reason and not bouncing it to hard when moving, also move it putting the least amount of stress on the bolts as possible.

Noticed the other day a poly ring made with a smaller pipe dimension. Wondering how that is going to hold up.
 
Saw some home made round bale feeders the other day made out of black plastic roll pipe. Looked to be 2-2 1/2" pipe bolted together with stainless screws, washers and nuts. No idea how durable they are but looked good anyway. Sign hanging on it was $339 each.
 
It's the only kinda bale feeder I'll use.

I roll out 75percent of my hay. Keep a few rolls of poorer hay in rings so they always have some. I've drug them well over a mile with a ATV. Sometimes down a gravel road. Very near indestructible. But mostly I've yet to have a cow injured by one. The plastic pipe doesn't crush and bend around legs and necks like steel does.
260.00 browns in lampasas
 
They are tough. Out of 6 we've had one that broke on the seam where the tube is bonded together. Not sure how it happened.

If feeding calves they will climb inside and make a mess. That's the only downside I can think of.
 
All our bale feeders are Century and I'm buying another one tomorrow. They're light enough I can easily move them. Just check to make sure the bolts are tight every once in a while. Posted this pic before but they're bull proof :)
 
TexasBred":23no8brx said:
Saw some home made round bale feeders the other day made out of black plastic roll pipe. Looked to be 2-2 1/2" pipe bolted together with stainless screws, washers and nuts. No idea how durable they are but looked good anyway. Sign hanging on it was $339 each.

Local store guarantees theirs for 7 years.
 
Is there a lot of waste with them? It seems like cows might pull a lot of hay out from the bottom?
 
They can if it's short stemmed hay. Mine don't have skirts, but you can get them as an option. I called the guy and ordered mine. You can spec some options/choices like height, headstall width,skirts, diameter.
 
We made the switch a few years ago after watching a "heavy duty " steel feeder disintegrate after one month and the other lighter one split in half at one year of age. We feed with a bale spear on our three point so no abuse besides what the cows dole out. We tried one from R&C out of Missouri and never looked back. Came home with two more on Saturday making five total now and you can't pick out which one is the oldest. No skirts but they don't waste any more than the skirted steel feeders (you can get them that way if you want). Cost is double but the oldest has outlasted twice the lifespan of the steel already so now I'm ahead. Best part is how easy they are to handle. Would not have wrecked my shoulder if I had switched a year earlier.
 
Thanks again, I appreciate the help.

We feed unroll the vast majority of hay, but use the feeders during spring/fall when they're not eating a lot and if I have to be out of town for an extended period.
 
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