round bales vs. square bales

[glennmac]

This agricultural nutritional science is way over my head, but I have noticed that I tend to eat round donuts and round pancakes instead of square ones. I would have guessed that square ones are equally fattening.

 

[ERNIEB]

What are we talking about here? Small square bales? As a youngster I hauled thousands of those, wich is probably why I have a bad back right now.
The main reasons people went with the large round bales is, 1. they don't need covered storage, and 2. less, and easier handling.
If all you have is a couple of horses, and you have a hay barn, there is nothing wrong with small square bales. If you have to feed 100 head of cattle, you really should look at a big round baler. And if you grow alfalfa and want to ship it down to us poor Texans, who will pay handsomely for it, since we can't grow our own, then get a big square baler. They fit real nice on them big flatbed trucks.

Ernie

 

[Doublezero]

Richard,

I'll defer to your expertise on the hay shape and storage issue. My wife has halter horses (quarter horses) that mostly stand around in the barn stalls. They get out to the pasture for daily exercise, but their daily feed ration has nutrients supplemented. The hay is mostly for roughage. Our problem in Coastal Virginia is high humidity year round which sometimes results in moldy hay. From what I'm told, moldy hay causes horses to "colic" while cattle can digest moldy hay without problems.

I do the mowing, mending and other upkeep around the place and don't get involved in the daily care of the horses. As you know, stall kept horses require a lot of daily attention. The extra we pay for good quality hay that is kept dry in the hayloft is probably offset by reduced Vet bills. If we had a lot more horses, I'd probably have a completly different opinion.

I hope we haven't strayed too far from the original subject, but I'm learning from this discussion.

Larry

 

[mlmartin]

Here in central Massachusetts we go from 100 degree heat at 95% relative humidity to -20 and snow three to four feet per storm at the extremes. Almost everyone uses square bales, even the riding schools. When we designed our new barn we made sure that we could store far more hay than we could need in a year.

A few local farmers use round bales for milk cattle forage in the winter.

As has been pointed out, square bales are more economical to ship. We have purchased hay from New York, Canada and Maine. High quality, uniform, heavy bales are typical when we buy from out of state. Local bales vary greatly in quality as most hayfields around here are small. From load to load the size and weight of the bales can vary quite a lot, too.

Matthew (who has far too little land to really care about haying)

 

[art]

The round bales as well as the large square bales have less cut edges so animals are eating more. The large square bales put more weight in less cu-ft if storage is a problem. The rounds shed more water when stored outside than square bales. For small round balers you should be able to buy a new one in the low teens. Small square new for mid teens and large square new for about 60 thou.

 

[cowboydoc]

Gentlemen,
Originally that's why I asked about what conditions for a round or square baler to Paul. Everyone has mentioned pros and cons of one over the other and that's why before I said what to do I asked his application. For Doublezero definitely go with square bales. You really wouldn't want to mess with a round bale feeding horses in stalls. The only disagreement is that if hay is put up right it won't mold if it's in round bales or square bales. Doublezero as far as colic goes yes you are right you can't feed moldy hay to horses. We also have extremely high humidity here in Iowa and my round bales never mold because of the humidity. They will mold from putting it up bad though.

mlmartin you are right too as alot of people use square bales for their ease of use. You have to have round bale feeders and the equipment to move round bales and they are more difficult to use. BUT they cut my labor time by probably 75% in feeding and haying time, not to mention my storage issues.

The one thing to remember though is if it is done right hay is hay. It doesn't matter if it's round bales or square bales the nutrient content and quality is exactly the same. You will pay alot more for square bales though if you are buying hay, in most places about double because of all the work involved with square bales.

 

[Woodbeef]

Hey Paul........

a few questions ,sir. How much hay do you put up? What do you use it for? How are you equipped?

The round vs. square debate hmmmm..... I do both,and would say that: If it is quality hay,at the correct moisture,both put away before rain it is pretty well a wash! But one of the big problems I've seen is that some people think because certain rb can do silage,then they can do dry hay at a greater moisture also. This is not true especially for a hard core baler. For dry hay put up a little damp small squares are better(but if too damp will also mold) when stored on their side,they breathe.

 

[Doublezero]

Re: Hey Paul........

Woodbeef,

<font color=blue>...when stored on their side, they breathe.</font color=blue>

Why didn't I think of that? We unload a big trailer load of bales, take them off the conveyor, and stack them in the hayloft just like they were stacked on the trailer. We only get enough for 2 to 3 months per delivery (sometimes more just before Christmas because the price gets right) but still find a moldy bale every now and then.

Nobody has ever suggested or recommended stacking the bales on the side. This wouldn't even add time to the unloading chore for us and we only stack 3 bales high so the gals can manage.

Thanks for the tip!

Larry

 

[jdkid]

Re: Hey Paul........

Hi ya
well we have used all small ,med, big, squares 4,6 foot rounds twine and net wraped and also baled silage . now if ya only got a hand full of stock ,or buying in and no big gear and shed space to store it squares are a good way to . moldy bales happen more in big squares and hard rounds but if hay is unfit to bale it will show up in all of them .ok a tip i have heard and i'm sure someone will back me on this spred salt between each layer and if hay is a bit poorer feed value powdered mollasses(?) too ..seem's to stop some of the mould (+ add's salt and makes hays like sweets to a kid)
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[jdkid]

Hi ya Paul
like my other posting here we have done most forms of making hay
ok seeing ya had a small square( takeing a stab in the dark there) ya know it's hands on but has good points ie anyone can feed out if ya away or get sick and ya got the gear already
ok mid/big square can be feed out by hand (pain in the ass tho) truck well for buying selling have to cart in asap cos water get's in fast and can't get back out like small squares .all squares need to be covered .i had to larf at the squares are better than round feed wise leave a big square and a big round out side and let me know what one is compost next year, put them both in a shed both are the same ...ok round balers i had 2 a belt and roller if i had my heart set on getting a nother baler i'd get a 4X4 or 5X4 roller baler.. claas 46,66, 46 rotocut or 250 (66 =5X4) other all 4 footers net wrap is a must have ,like someone said net is dearer but work this out 55 bales per hour with net 27 bales per hour with string you tell me how much that $1 is worth looking at the clouds building up in the hills ok feeding out rounds cattle eazy sit on end let cattle feed , horses sit bale on end and walk around unwinding what ya need .ok bottom line all bales have good point and bad points i like rounds cos i can bale with out worring bit them getting wet and i can cart with out manhandling them
hope this gives ya a few ideas
catch ya
JD Kid