GPintheMitten
Elite Member
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2009
- Messages
- 3,336
- Location
- Flushing, Michigan
- Tractor
- Kubota B2620 with BH65 backhoe, Ford 2N
Round bale feeders waste a lot of hay, I think the loss offsets the cost of buying larger bales. Of course it's still easier to handle if you have a spear so there's time savings there.
My comment on that feeder is it looks too fragile. Also the roof might be a little low if you have large horses. They tend to tussle a bit by the food. You might consider modifying the plans so that you use a normal steel tube feeder, and add the decorative structure in a way that the steel protects it from being damaged.
Here's one I built back in '05, and still using it. As you can see from the wasted hay around it, I now just put a half day's worth of hay in it, to keep a couple of them from wasting so much. My boy Percy there in the picture, along with my one Walker mare eat what they pull out. But the old gelding, and young mare, pull hay out on the ground, then pick through it. I have a couple times in the past hauled out 5 loads all I could pile on my 1-ton dump truck, of wasted hay to the composting bin.
I would advise making it mobile like on the skids, with a good hitch to move it, as you'll probably have to do some cleanup around it, or at some point in time want to move it for one reason or another.
I disagree. ... On ground round bale feeders are a total waste of hay.
Your issue is the bars aren't close enough together though I admire your adaption of a round bale feeder. My door bars are exactly on 8" centers, 1/2" black iron pipe angle cut and welded to horizontal cross bars top and bottom, the bottom cross bar fits in a pipe hinge point that allows the door to fall by gravity as the bale is consumed and the 8" spacing only allows a mouthfull at a time.
I have no waste, I move them yearly because the stock mill at the feeders and wallow out the ground so I have to backblade the standing area every year. My feeders are very heavy, I spared no steel in the builds. They weigh around 1000 pounds each and are indestructable.
All stock has a bad habit, they like to pull forage out and whizz on it, then it rots. I don't have that issue because they cannot get but a mouthfull at a time.
Nothing but steel angle and PT CDX in flat sheets so there is no chewing either. The roofs and their PT wood structure is above their reach. They can chew on angle iron all they want to, if they are that stupid........
My wife can pull a round from the Clearspan with the tractor and load the feeders in any weather, alone if she has to. I sell loads of small squares to horse people (thats ny business, forage) but no squares ever get fed at our farm or at least haven't in the last 5 years.
I'll admit, it is my copycat version of a Big-O bale feeder I saw at the Qtr. Horse Congress in '04. At that time, that's all I could find close to what I had in mind, other than the open top cradle type for sheep I saw.
I do like your design, and you're right about the small openings. Maybe when I get things straightened up around here, I may make another like yours. Just hope I can find this thread..!! LOL...