best way to put out round bales

robbyr · Aug 31, 2011

Just curious as to what folks thoughts are when it comes to putting out round bales 1) put a ring around them or 2) roll them out. I've always just set em out in pasture with a ring around them. Father in law has one of those 3pt implements to roll them out so thought would give that a try but didnt have any better luck. Have some waste at the bottom inside the ring, but when rolled it out they end up laying on it and you know what on it. So what method do y'all prefer and why?

weldingisfun · Sep 1, 2011

What are you feeding?
I raise goats and also raise the round bale off the ground. They eat it from underneath and cannot get up on it and soil it. Experience only about 10% or less waste.

robbyr · Sep 1, 2011

Feeding cattle

Bigfoot62 · Sep 1, 2011

robbyr,
I feed mine the same way, with a hay ring. I don't know of a feeding method that would completely eliminate waste. After all, they are cattle.

Don't know if this applies to you, but if you are not storing your hay in a barn, that is the best way to reduce waste. Keep it out of the weather before you feed it.

piller · Sep 1, 2011

As mentioned, proper storage of hay can reduce losses. I was told that if you use a hay ring to use the cone type. Finally, if you are looking to renovate/improve an area of pasture then unroll the hay.

dieselbeef · Sep 2, 2011

if your cows arent extremely hungry and eating it all in a very short time...like 30 cows on a roll its gone in a few hrs kinda hungry..then a ring is best..or some type of cradle that will hold it up like the one above

otherwise if ya unroll it they will waste a lot of it..but i unroll when i feed alotta hugry's cuz they cant all git to a the ring to eat so some dont get as much to eat either. since 40 cows cant get to the ring and the big ones will eat all they can til the calfs git none

MMagis · Sep 2, 2011

It depends on your situation. If you can feed every day, then unrolling the exact amount needed will produce the least amount of waste. They’ll eat everything before laying in it. That’s what I understand at least, I’m not able to do it. If they’re laying in it, try unrolling less and less until they’re eating it all.
Otherwise, the feeders that hold the bales off the ground work the best. There are a lot of them on the market, all just a little different. I just use a plain old ring, but I have plenty of waste

piller · Sep 4, 2011

dieselbeef said:
if your cows arent extremely hungry and eating it all in a very short time...like 30 cows on a roll its gone in a few hrs kinda hungry..then a ring is best..or some type of cradle that will hold it up like the one above

otherwise if ya unroll it they will waste a lot of it..but i unroll when i feed alotta hugry's cuz they cant all git to a the ring to eat so some dont get as much to eat either. since 40 cows cant get to the ring and the big ones will eat all they can til the calfs git none

This reminds me of another potential issue when using a ring to feed a bunch of cattle along with some young calves. You get some large animals working to get the hay, and the ground around the ring can get torn up and with enough moisture can become quite muddy. Then, a small calf ventures close to the hay ring and is crushed to death in the mud.