Round Bale advice!!!

[Beeglebatty]

A friend of mine has offered to sell me 2 Poly Round bale feeders for 75.00 ea. I have always rolled my bales out. Are these feeders OK to use. I have heard people conplain about them but when I roll out the bales it seems the cows just lay in it and pee and poop in it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks...Randy

 

[Herefordcross]

Don't unroll the whole roll, at times we use a machette to chop the roll off and save it for the next day. Never used one of the poly feeders but, I could see them getting moved around the field but, hey you wouldn't have to worry about mud holes that way. :lol:

 

[SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE]

I am sure that there are advantages/disadvantages to both methods that could be elicited from members on this board. Among them for rolling out would be:

Disadvantages: 1. Wastage due to fouling with urine and
droppings. (Major drawback)
2. More labor intensive.

advantages: 1.The smaller cows and calves can get in and get
theirs.
2. Helps reseed your pasture
3. Saves money by not buying hay rings.

Hay feeders... less labor intensive,helps to reduce wastage.
1. I am not familiar with the "poly round bale feeders".
In my experience,they are usually torn up by trying to move them with the tractor (at least that is what happens when I try to do it). I use the metal ones. I am getting some made out of angle iron...they should last me as long as I need them.

I am sure that other members can add to this list far better than I can...Good luck!
;-) :cboy:

 

[Green Creek]

If the feeders are heavy duty enough, they will last a lot longer than the metal ones. We have two for the bulls and have used them for three years with no damage. Sometimes you have to put a bolt back in but overall we are pleased. The heavier ones cost about $200 so $75 is a pretty good buy.

 

[Travis B.]

We usually just dump round bales in the field and don't unroll them at all. Most of the time the cows clean it all up before they get another one, unless it rains on it or they use it as a bathroom. They know that to get another one they better clean it up first.

Travis Bryan

 

[mnmtranching]

I unroll bales when the ground is frozen or snow packed hard.
That way all the cattle get an equal chance at it and there is very little waste. In wet weather or when the ground is soft I use rings and feeder wagons.

mnmt

 

[mitchwi]

I have never unrolled hay, so I cannot comment on that. We started with the metal feeders and they were bent up, rusted and shot in approx 5 years. Since then we have used only the poly, and I would never go back to steel.

The trick with the poly is to put in additional spacers, that we be 2 spacers between each support post. This helps alleviate some of the climbing into the feeders. You will still get an occassional smaller animal in.

The second trick is to every year check all the bolts that hold the posts together,they get bent or broke off. Once I learned these two things, I have not had a complaint.

If it were me, I would buy them at $75, it'll cost another $75 to put the spacers in if you so choose.

One other item I will mention is that we have the 9' feeders so we are able to put 3 of our round bales into each feeder on end, and we have 4 feeders, usually this will feed out our animals for a week at a stretch during the coldest of months.

Michele

 

[samm]

we have never unrolled our hay, we just put a hay ring, (metal) on/over it, at this point they dont waste a bite, they eat everything thats put out, so theres no time to mess the hay up, in previous years when they eat it about gone the calves would sometimes get in the rings and sleep especially if was cold, but we had an over abundance of hay at those times, not like now. we have never really had problems with the metal rings, we roll em up in a corner in the summer and do any repairs that need to be tacked back together. one day we might try the poly, maybe they are not as awkward or heavy to try and get over a roll of hay by yourself as the metal ones.

samm

 

[shorty]

We uise a hay saver , it's a round feeder with a cone in the middle to hold the bale , they are expensive but they don't spoil as much, they are well built and should last a long time , I think in the long run they will pay for themselves