Hay Spears

[jimmyj]

We use round bales and like the fellas said you need at least 2 spears, although one of them can be short as all the 2nd one does is stop the bale from rotating. I bought one at TSC but it was poor quality steel and bent. Make sure you get a better quality one than the "discount" brands. I have a few, got them at auction sales quite cheaply.

 

[C4Ranch]

2 spears, both titian.
Front are pallet forks with spear + side stabelizers
Rear is receiver hitch/gooseneck mover with hay spear + side stabelizers.

Both attachments are multi use.

 

[farmer2009]

Maybe look at a haying grapple. Yours looks to be more of a brush grapple. You can get them with enough reach to grab both sides of the bale.

With a backhoe I'd only get the front spear. Either a double spear design or a 3 prong design. With the 3 prong design the vertical distance from the long spear to the short ones is important. It its really close they don't stabilize the bales and the will rotate. To far apart and when you spear the center the short prongs are on the ground. Still same problem. I don't like the county line ones. I think they're too close.

 

[Carhartt Cowboy]

...... Since we are down to 2 horses it's easy to feed square bales now and cost less.....

Wondering how you calculate it as costing less? You mean they eat less or waste less, 'cause out west round bails are less expensive than small square bails.

One of the main justifications to get an AG tractor was to swap to large bails rather than use small square bails. Got tired of loading/unloading/stacking/unstacking/feeding 12 tons a year by myself. Lots rather use hydraulics to move the tonnage. On the downside, I figure my equine will eat more now and get fat.

 

[bucktaker]

Eddie
I use my front QA pallet forks instead of a spear...works for me and I get double duty out of the forks

 

[ksbrdmkr]

I like a 4 ft spear on the FEL, enables me to unload two 5 ft bales from the same side of trailer.

 

[jimmyj]

Eddie
I use my front QA pallet forks instead of a spear...works for me and I get double duty out of the forks

Actually this is a great idea. My pal does this too.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have pallet forks, but didn't think they would work. Do they slide into the hay just like the spear does?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Wirh pallet forks i'd pick them up from the bottom.

 

[blueriver]

I have pallet forks, but didn't think they would work. Do they slide into the hay just like the spear does?

widen them and go under the sides of the bales ... sorta craddle the bale.