Big round bales

[Mark Page]

Any one have any idea what a big round hay bale weighs, just roughly.

 

[MIKE R]

Any one have any idea what a big round hay bale weighs, just roughly.

I have seen them weigh anywhere in the range of 1000 up through 2000 pounds depending on size and how tight there packed. Any dementions or specs on the bales.

 

[Ed of all trades]

Also depends on is it just baled or sitting and fully dried. some 4x4 bales go as light as 7 or 8 hundred lb, at least that is what they say.

 

[RickB]

4x5 800-1100 lbs
5x6 1500-2000 lbs.
Tight bales of dry hay.

 

[Mark Page]

A farm just to the south of us is owned by an aging farmer who refuses to quit and retire. I hunt his property along with his son. His wife called and asked if I could help get some hay into his hay barn at the other end of their property. He had mown it and done a very poor job, his son had raked and baled it but ran out of time to finish.
Without thinking I said sure.
According to Massey's specs I have 2,900 lbs of lifting capacity at 10 feet, the tractor weighs in at 4,800 lbs. and the rears are ballasted with 850 lbs of methanol. I've used his hay barn as blind, and it's plenty roomy. He stacks them 3 bales high. I can pick up a bale spike today at TSC and be ready to go tomorrow AM. I was planning on buying one of the double spike models. I figure if I'm not comfortable stacking them 3 high he'll have to be satisfied with 2 high.
My loader skills are somewhat limited as I have only owned one for 6 months. I ran over there yesterday afternoon and counted 32 bales.
Any advise would be appreciated. Should I stack the remnants from previous mowings together before stacking this last cutting?

 

[DJ54]

My 4X4's are supposed to weigh 500 lbs. according to the manual, but average 580 lbs.

 

[Ed of all trades]

A farm just to the south of us is owned by an aging farmer who refuses to quit and retire. I hunt his property along with his son. His wife called and asked if I could help get some hay into his hay barn at the other end of their property. He had mown it and done a very poor job, his son had raked and baled it but ran out of time to finish.
Without thinking I said sure.
According to Massey's specs I have 2,900 lbs of lifting capacity at 10 feet, the tractor weighs in at 4,800 lbs. and the rears are ballasted with 850 lbs of ethanol. I've used his hay barn as blind, and it's plenty roomy. He stacks them 3 bales high. I can pick up a bale spike today at TSC and be ready to go tomorrow AM. I was planning on buying one of the double spike models. I figure if I'm not comfortable stacking them 3 high he'll have to be satisfied with 2 high.
My loader skills are somewhat limited as I have only owned one for 6 months. I ran over there yesterday afternoon and counted 32 bales.
Any advise would be appreciated. Should I stack the remnants from previous mowings together before stacking this last cutting?

I would move things around to make room and start stacking. Take it easy until you get used to sliding out of the bails up on the stack, it is harder than it looks, also if the farmer has a 3ph bale spike I would use it, Cuts travel time in half. let us know how it works out

 

[Mark Page]

Thanks Ed Great advise. I assume you want the spear to pierce the bale as close to center as possible.

 

[MIKE R]

Thanks Ed Great advise. I assume you want the spear to pierce the bale as close to center as possible.

Getting the spear close to the center of the bale helps. The double spear works best as the bales are stabilized the best. You will get the hang of it pretty quickly and will probably get comfortable stacking them 3 high after a few bales. Remember to watch how high you lift the loader not to hit any rafters in the building. Have fun.

 

[RPW]

Depending on size anywhere between 500 to 2100 lbs. My loader is capable of lifting 2000# and I haven't found a bale I couldn't lift....yet.... My tractor is about 6800# without ballasting.

 

[boggen]

why are you not using his tractors and equipment vs going out and buying stuff for your tractor? if he can stack them 3 high, surely he has the tractor and implements to do things. and just need some manual labor of driving one of there tractors.

be extra careful when dealing with round bails on the FEL. and only raise FEL high. when you have your tractor positioned in perfect spot. to were you can just raise FEL and drive forward a few feet and drop bail. if you have bail up high on a raised FEL and try to turn, you risk tipping entire tractor over on its side fairly quickly.

 

[dweems]

Here is an example of how NOT to stack round bales 3 high with a borrowed tractor.

 

[bigbull338]

shaking my head.all these posts an i didnt see anythinh about keeping a bale on the rear the whole time your stacking hay in the barn.also make sure backstop on the bale spear is high enough not to roll back on you.an do not hurry stacking hay up high.2 bales high is the max most loaders can stack.what hp is your tractor.

 

[Mark Page]

Well it took almost all day but they are in the barn. I took Ed's advice and found the Old Man's 3pt spike. I put one of the smaller bales on it, no doubt it helped stabilize the tractor. The first 5or 6 bales I just stacked 2 high, took it slow and easy. Then I got my nerve up and went for 3 high, made sure every thing was lined up lifted the bale and moved forward slowly and eased it on to the other 2, no problem. From the field to the barn was about 1/2 mile so most my time was spent running back and forth. It wasn't until I was almost done that the thought occured that I should have been dropping off the bale on the 3pt spike each time, it would have saved me a bunch of trips DUH!!.
I was fun to really use the tractor as was intended, not just mowing grass and pushing snow. I wouldn't say my use of the loader is now second nature, but I don't have to stop and think before making a move.
When I got home I had to blow the hay off the tractor, man that stuff is nasty. I was blowing hay out of places I didn't know were there. Used about 16 gallons of fuel and had to refill once from my farmer friend's tank.
All in all a learning experience, but I wouldn't want to do it everyday.

 

[Mark Page]

why are you not using his tractors and equipment vs going out and buying stuff for your tractor? if he can stack them 3 high, surely he has the tractor and implements to do things. and just need some manual labor of driving one of there tractors.

be extra careful when dealing with round bails on the FEL. and only raise FEL high. when you have your tractor positioned in perfect spot. to were you can just raise FEL and drive forward a few feet and drop bail. if you have bail up high on a raised FEL and try to turn, you risk tipping entire tractor over on its side fairly quickly.

I'm still learning to use my own machine (28 hours) didn't need any more distractions.

 

[Mark Page]

why are you not using his tractors and equipment vs going out and buying stuff for your tractor? if he can stack them 3 high, surely he has the tractor and implements to do things. and just need some manual labor of driving one of there tractors.

be extra careful when dealing with round bails on the FEL. and only raise FEL high. when you have your tractor positioned in perfect spot. to were you can just raise FEL and drive forward a few feet and drop bail. if you have bail up high on a raised FEL and try to turn, you risk tipping entire tractor over on its side fairly quickly.

Sometimes it just feels good to help someone out who can not help themselves, and in this case I had fun doing it. They have welcomed me to hunt their land for the last 7 years. I can come and go as I please. So turnabout being fair play I almost felt obligated.

 

[schmism]

4x5 800-1100 lbs
5x6 1500-2000 lbs.
Tight bales of dry hay.

4x5 800-1100
5x5 1000-1500
5x6 1500-2000

if your looking at large squares

3x3x7' 700-800
3x3x8 800-1000 (aka 100-125lbs per foot)