Cutting Round Bales - Chainsaw?

[sd455dan]

Cool idea, but my wife lacks the innate physics aptitude to use a system like that. She'd be asking me why it doesn't unroll when she pulls the hay, and I'd be drawing pictures and showing her the math, and she's be nodding her head, and I'd get this oft repeated sinking feeling that I'm wasting my time.

We bought rounds for our horses in the past and what i normally did was get one set it on it's side on a pallet (leaving room to walk around it).
The wife would then start peeling the hay off of the roll while walking around the bale, and then tear when she had the amount desired.

Although this did work for a few years mixed with other years of small squares.
I gave up on rounds and small squares, and now buy large 1200lb squares set them on pallets and cut the bale strings and lay over a layer and then just pitch fork what is needed. Just to old to stack small bales anymore.
Hope one of the methods will work for peeling a round bale for you Or even that Chainsaw method roadhunter posted that's pretty cool .

 

[Argonne]

...Or even that Chainsaw method roadhunter posted that's pretty cool .

I found that video encouraging. Once I get a bale in the barn I'm going to give the electric chainsaw a try unmodified. Could be the key to not jamming is to cut in a spot that will spread open naturally once cut, and use a light touch on the pressure.

 

[Al 2]

A few years ago a local farmer was cutting such a bale with his chain saw and started a fire in the barn . He didn't make it out.
Al

 

[holeycow]

Set the bale on edge and peel off what you need with a pitchfork. Work the bale from the bottom to keep it clean at the bottom.

Simples. You are overthinking this. All you need is a pitchfork and work the bale from the bottom. Feeding three horses is not very much hay everday. About 4-5seconds to peel off a day's feed.

Work the bale from the bottom and keep the bottom edge clean. That is the key.

 

[Argonne]

...You are overthinking this. ...

Hey, who let this guy in? Overthinking is what we DO here :cool2:.

 

[holeycow]

Ok. Unsubscribed.

But my suggestions work way more easily than trying to cut pieces of a bale off while it is lying on its side.

This part of the world feeds thousands upon thousands of round bales every winter. Hundreds of thousands.

Most of those bales are set out whole (on edge as the animals clean them up better that way). Some get fed individually and portioned out as I described. Work the on -edge bale from the bottom, that way it will unwrap right to the core cleanly...use a 5 or 6 tine fork. A manure fork.

Done it hundreds of times. This after fighting with bales on their side for a while before we wisened up about 20 years ago.

 

[sd455dan]

YEP.
i forgot to ad the part about making sure to start with the bottom edge,
have to keep it from being left - same principle as a roll of tape that splits on one side, If it isn't unraveled and made sure a whole layer is unwound it creates an on going problem.

Agree- This is not rocket science

 

[mapper]

I used straw bales for raising tomatoes for a few years, it required making pockets in the bales for the plants. I used a chainsaw to cut the pockets, cutting about two dozen pockets I needed to remove the chain and bar at least three times to clean out the debris that would pack in around the drive sprocket and cover. The straw was damp from conditioning it for planting so that may have affected the tendency to clog. If the dry hay clogs like that it would probably be a serious fire hazard!

 

[holeycow]

Neat planting idea. How did that work out?

 

[mapper]

Straw bales worked well for tomatoes, there is a book 'Straw Bale Gardening' that I used for the basic idea. I used this method to reduce the occurrence of tobacco mosaic disease. I was running out of places to raise them that I had not used recently.
I switched over to a greenhouse and pots this year to extend the growing season. I am going to clean the tomato plants out of the greenhouse this week, they are not setting much and the I am fighting a losing battle with mold now. It's been an interesting learning experience this year. Figure I will be starting again in late February if all goes well.