Poly hay ring any good?

[Lisagrantb]

Do the poly rings hold up over time. Do you prefer poly, galvanized or painted rings. My 20 year old homemade rings are giving up the ghost finally. Thanks

 

[pricefarm]

If your 20 year old ones are finally bad. I would make some new ones just like what you have. I don't think anything you will buy will last that long.
My neighbor has some of the poly rings and it seems to me like the cows waste A lot of hay with them. They push them around and sometimes off the roll before they ever finish eatting the roll of hay.

 

[Lisagrantb]

I would but they will cost a lot more and I don't have that many more years to farm, Getting old. Thanks

 

[MurraysMutts]

Neighbor has a bunch of them poly rings.
MOST seem to be holding up. One or two the seam where the tubing is joined/spliced have broken apart. Dont know how that happened.
They are very easy to move and what not. High winds and empty poly rings are sometimes a problem. Need a good fence to keep em where they belong.

I bought some cheaper galvanized rings last year. We will see how long they last...

 

[TCRanch]

All we have a poly rings (Century) and I love them, haven't had any crack in 12 years, just tighten the screws a couple times a year. And they're bull proof!

 

[simme]

All we have a poly rings (Century) and I love them, haven't had any crack in 12 years, just tighten the screws a couple times a year. And they're bull proof!

Agree. Bulls will let their boredom lead them to bad behavior. Turn them over, push them into the woods, turn them on edge and roll them around. The poly rings are light weight. Have not had any damage. One thing I will point out. If you use a hay spear on the front end loader to move the rings, I notice a lot of deflection when picking up the ring with waste or wet hay left in the ring that hangs over the bottom rings. So much deflection that I have stopped using the FEL to pick them up. Haven't damaged any, but I suspect you could split the seam when doing that. I prefer the poly. I have some very heavy galvanized rings. They still rust on the "feet" portions that holds the lower ring off the ground. But are so thick they will last a long time. My issue with them is moving them. If you are dumping hay off a FEL, just use the loader to pick and place the ring. But, if you are dumping bales off a hay buggy or truck and have to pick up the heavy metal ones out of the waste hay and move it to the new bale by hand, that is a job for a young strong person. They are heavy. The thin cheap metal ones rust out so quickly, I fell like I am going to cut my hands when I reach down to lift the lower ring on those.

 

[Dsth]

I have not used the poly rings but am using the heavy built bull steel rings. Started using them about 15 years ago or so. like them because they have 8 foot diameter for 8 ft big square bales. would not use anything any more that does not have the hay saver metal around the bottom. Amazing how much less wasted hay that saves. My rings stay pretty much in the same spot in a concrete yard , but I do use the skid loader forks to move them when cleaning the yards. Too heavy for me to move by hand although I did in my younger years. Have had to repair the hay saver metal on some but all the rings I still use (5) are the original ones.

 

[TCRanch]

Agree. Bulls will let their boredom lead them to bad behavior. Turn them over, push them into the woods, turn them on edge and roll them around. The poly rings are light weight. Have not had any damage. One thing I will point out. If you use a hay spear on the front end loader to move the rings, I notice a lot of deflection when picking up the ring with waste or wet hay left in the ring that hangs over the bottom rings. So much deflection that I have stopped using the FEL to pick them up. Haven't damaged any, but I suspect you could split the seam when doing that. I prefer the poly. I have some very heavy galvanized rings. They still rust on the "feet" portions that holds the lower ring off the ground. But are so thick they will last a long time. My issue with them is moving them. If you are dumping hay off a FEL, just use the loader to pick and place the ring. But, if you are dumping bales off a hay buggy or truck and have to pick up the heavy metal ones out of the waste hay and move it to the new bale by hand, that is a job for a young strong person. They are heavy. The thin cheap metal ones rust out so quickly, I fell like I am going to cut my hands when I reach down to lift the lower ring on those.

True, using the bale spear to pick up a ring can bend it a little. Fortunately, they're light enough I can lift them over any residual hay and roll them to a fresh spot.

Here's my Facebook video of Johnson, our Village Idiot, channeling his inner gerbil by re-purposing a poly ring into a giant exercise wheel.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Channeling his inner gerbil!!!!

Rofl!
They cant be related can they!!
But that's one of the cheap rings I bought

 

[gitnby]

one of the best things i ever bought

 

[Brute 23]

Ranger gate makes some 1pc galvanized rings that are like 1" pipe. I think they are right around $200. I have sone that are pushing 12 years and are still solid and have good coating. They are the best bang for the buck I have found.

 

[BFE]

GoBob hay feeders. They'll last a lifetime, maybe two. Even if the bottom finally rusts out, new pipe can be welded in.

 

[Rafter S]

I delivered a couple rolls to a neighbor yesterday who had just bought some. The light weight and no rusting has me considering trying one.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I like mine.

 

[Dusty Britches]

I like mine, too. Bought it a long time ago and it still looks good. I think the poly rings have a warranty? 2 years?

 

[Lucky_P]

Had a half-dozen of them that we bought 13 years ago... sold all but one when we dispersed last fall. Other than one that had one ring broken at the joint/weld, all were as good as the day we put 'em together... just have to tighten the bolts every once in a while.
Yeah, the cows/bulls can push 'em around a bit, but they don't sink deep into the mud or freeze in. My wife was always able to flip 'em up and roll 'em to the next bale, by herself... whereas decent steel rings often took both of us to move... and most rarely lasted more than about 2 years before they were rusting out or bars breaking out.
Sure... they cost 2-3 times as much as a cheap steel ring, but will still be in service when you've hauled the remains of those steel bale feeders to the scrapyard.

 

[moses388]

I use poly bale feeders. The feeders I buy have a poly skirting on the bottom. They do not have the middle poly tubing ring on the bottom like the photos TCRanch posted. The tubing has held up, but I have had to replace the skirting.

Like MurraysMutts stated, I had wind blow an empty feeder around.

Like simme stated, do not use a bale spear to pick a poly feeder up by the top tubing ring. I use a bale spear and scoop underneath the entire feeder. Raise the spear a little and the old hay falls through. Go to the opposite side and repeat. Then you can move the poly feeder by hand.

Like Lucky_P stated, check and tighten bolts. Once per year is probably sufficient. Replace any missing bolts or nuts. Cattle like to scratch and they can go missing.

 

[SixMileCountry]

I would but they will cost a lot more and I don't have that many more years to farm, Getting old. Thanks

I tend to like the poly ones for the fact they are easier to move and the life on them is pretty great factor too.