Using Round bales?

mathey · Jun 8, 2006

We've always used large square bales to feed our horses, but this year my FIL switched to the smaller round bales. So I now have 4 of them sitting in my barn (with 91 in storage!). My wife and daughter are having a tough time peeling hay off the round bales...they used to just give each horse a "flake" off the sqaure bale...

Is there some trick or method to using a round bale just a little at a time (as opposed to ploping the whole bale out in the field)? I've seen antique hay knives/saws, but nothing "new".

THX!

mathey · Jun 8, 2006

We've always used large square bales to feed our horses, but this year my FIL switched to the smaller round bales. So I now have 4 of them sitting in my barn (with 91 in storage!). My wife and daughter are having a tough time peeling hay off the round bales...they used to just give each horse a "flake" off the sqaure bale...

Is there some trick or method to using a round bale just a little at a time (as opposed to ploping the whole bale out in the field)? I've seen antique hay knives/saws, but nothing "new".

THX!

MikePA · Jun 8, 2006

The only way I've seen people use round bales to feed horses is by using a round bale feeder, like this.

MikePA · Jun 8, 2006

The only way I've seen people use round bales to feed horses is by using a round bale feeder, like this.

Bird · Jun 8, 2006

I've never known anyone who used one, but the bale unroller would work, but it's really only for feeding the whole bale at a time. I've "peeled" off enough from round bales to thoroughly understand your problem, but don't know of a good solution. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Bird · Jun 8, 2006

I've never known anyone who used one, but the bale unroller would work, but it's really only for feeding the whole bale at a time. I've "peeled" off enough from round bales to thoroughly understand your problem, but don't know of a good solution. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Unclebuck257 · Jun 8, 2006

mathey,

I feed horses and cows with round bales and here's what I've found. If your horses are used to having a brick or two off a square bale fed to them every day, at first they will eat more than normal off the round bale. Kind of like a kid with an unlimited supply of something they like. However, after a couple to 4 days, the horses realize that you are not going to remove that round bale and settle down. Basically then, they only eat what they need. You need to get a round bale ring though, in order to stop them from just spreading it all over and wasting a bunch.

Unclebuck257 · Jun 8, 2006

mathey,

I feed horses and cows with round bales and here's what I've found. If your horses are used to having a brick or two off a square bale fed to them every day, at first they will eat more than normal off the round bale. Kind of like a kid with an unlimited supply of something they like. However, after a couple to 4 days, the horses realize that you are not going to remove that round bale and settle down. Basically then, they only eat what they need. You need to get a round bale ring though, in order to stop them from just spreading it all over and wasting a bunch.

DaveNay · Jun 8, 2006

( You need to get a round bale ring though, in order to stop them from just spreading it all over and wasting a bunch. )

Expect a lot more waste even with the ring.

DaveNay · Jun 8, 2006

( You need to get a round bale ring though, in order to stop them from just spreading it all over and wasting a bunch. )

Expect a lot more waste even with the ring.

JerryG · Jun 8, 2006

The unrollers work pretty good. I am surprised that someone hasn't made a stationary unroller for hobby farmers or people with just one or two animals.

JerryG · Jun 8, 2006

The unrollers work pretty good. I am surprised that someone hasn't made a stationary unroller for hobby farmers or people with just one or two animals.

pilonidal · Jun 8, 2006

We started using round bales last year as they are more available and seem to be cheaper than the square bales. The FIL bought a ring to put them in. The big bales are put out in the arena so they can eat as much as they want. Last year they hit then pretty hard due to the drought here. This year they are going for the grass as the rain has returned. Like Dave said, "they waste a lot". They string hay all over place and the FIL says that its the bad part of the bales they won't eat. Pfffffff, it all looks/smells the same, it's wasteful and money on the ground. To feed them from the bales individually, if we have space we tip them on their flat side and unroll what we need by walking around the bale or leave them on the round side and rip down from the top of the bale and peel it like an onion down both round sides.

pilonidal · Jun 8, 2006

We started using round bales last year as they are more available and seem to be cheaper than the square bales. The FIL bought a ring to put them in. The big bales are put out in the arena so they can eat as much as they want. Last year they hit then pretty hard due to the drought here. This year they are going for the grass as the rain has returned. Like Dave said, "they waste a lot". They string hay all over place and the FIL says that its the bad part of the bales they won't eat. Pfffffff, it all looks/smells the same, it's wasteful and money on the ground. To feed them from the bales individually, if we have space we tip them on their flat side and unroll what we need by walking around the bale or leave them on the round side and rip down from the top of the bale and peel it like an onion down both round sides.

Mosby · Jun 9, 2006

We used to feed an average of 50 horses once upon a time. We now have six. All we ever used were square bales until the last several years. We use a horse feeding ring (no top rail) for those in the field. I have sectioned off a feeding lot area that I can close them out of so I can limit the amount they can eat. I had some that were getting entirely too heavy. We have fed the round bales in the stalls at times. We have tried a couple of different ways. We have stood the roll on end as posted by someone else (which worked the best). It needs to be covered or left inside when you do this or it will take on rain unbelievably quick. We have also left it on the tractor and started/raised each time and that lasted a couple of days.

In an effort to monitor how much was being eaten, I divided weight of roll by days needed to clean it up and number of horses. To illustrate for some here (at home) that needed it, I then showed weight of a bale, how many blocks etc... and you get the picture. It went a long way in showing that the horses were eating ALOT! That is when I penned it off for control.

Just our experience. And as a side note, I was adamantly opposed to using round bales prior to using them. For the cost savings, I can't imagine not having them now.

Mosby · Jun 9, 2006

We used to feed an average of 50 horses once upon a time. We now have six. All we ever used were square bales until the last several years. We use a horse feeding ring (no top rail) for those in the field. I have sectioned off a feeding lot area that I can close them out of so I can limit the amount they can eat. I had some that were getting entirely too heavy. We have fed the round bales in the stalls at times. We have tried a couple of different ways. We have stood the roll on end as posted by someone else (which worked the best). It needs to be covered or left inside when you do this or it will take on rain unbelievably quick. We have also left it on the tractor and started/raised each time and that lasted a couple of days.

In an effort to monitor how much was being eaten, I divided weight of roll by days needed to clean it up and number of horses. To illustrate for some here (at home) that needed it, I then showed weight of a bale, how many blocks etc... and you get the picture. It went a long way in showing that the horses were eating ALOT! That is when I penned it off for control.

Just our experience. And as a side note, I was adamantly opposed to using round bales prior to using them. For the cost savings, I can't imagine not having them now.

HammerFour · Jun 11, 2006

There are blades you can mount on a chain saw for sectioning round bales...I don't have one personally but have heard of folks using them. That way you cut it up and feed it more like flakes from a square bale.

heehaw · Jun 12, 2006

the neighbor down the road, uses a V shaped feeder: sits a round bale in the V with his fel: and the critters seem to waste less than with the round feeders: the V feeder keeps the hay off the ground by several feet, so the ground contact loss due to rot etc is gone. i don't see why just a standard chain saw couldn't be used to slice up a round bale??
heehaw