Round bales

[whistlepig]

So we have a new horse boarder and she wants to go to round bales. I'm willing to give this a try. I have never fooled with round bales. For sure I would have to buy a spear. I don't even know how much a round bale weighs. Would my B7800 handle a round bale with a spear on the front loader or to I need to buy a three point spear?

 

[TomSeller]

So we have a new horse boarder and she wants to go to round bales. I'm willing to give this a try. I have never fooled with round bales. For sure I would have to buy a spear. I don't even know how much a round bale weighs. Would my B7800 handle a round bale with a spear on the front loader or to I need to buy a three point spear?

It depends on the bale size. See attached. Note that with the bale out front or out back you don't have as much lift as you do at the pins/ends.

http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/Ga_Cat_Arc/2012/SF1209.pdf

Your B7800 has 1655 lbs at the end of the 3 pt ams. I don't know what loader you have. If you with round bales, you should go towards the smallest size.

http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/003/3/8/3386-kubota-b7800.html

 

[Wagtail]

G'day whistlepig. I handle round bales with my 300CX and twin bale spikes regularly. As long as you take your time, keep the load low & have ballast on the back your B7800 should be fine. Definately go with FEL spikes as you'll be able to position the bale upright with them once you reach the area of the paddock you'll be setting up at. My spikes are compatable with my forklift frame so I can interchange them when needed.

The trick you'll learn is to put the bale down on its side (never dropped from a height and hope that it lands correctly), back the spikes out then come in underneath with the tips about a foot. Then raise the FEL somewhat quickly and the bale will land upright.

You will need to either make or purchase a hay ring. If not, the horse(s) will barge through the bale IOT get at the 'good stuff' in the middle! They'll then foul what they've barged through 'cause all they'll be interested in is the 'good stuff' in the middle. I've experimented with a cattle hay ring and found that, although better than nothing, the horse will still destroy a good portion of the bale to get at the middle.

I knocked up a hay ring out of 5 wooden pallets (pine ones are best) and it works a treat!

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/274873-diy-hay-ring.html?highlight=

 

[bucktaker]

You will need to be real careful about the quality of the round bales you buy......alot are not real careful about what they bale...during last yrs dry spell I went all the way out near chillothe to pick up some rounds since my pasture was shot. What I got was weeds and stickers inside with a little grass on the outside.

Round bales are ok to use aslong as the horse has plenty to choose from and doesnt eat the bad parts. I use them as supplements and if there are times I need to be gone for a few days.
I have not had good luck with the horse style feed rings from TSC they only last a yr or less before they break up. The cattle rings last longer but your horse will loose some mane where they reach through.

What kind of horses do you have?

 

[Ken45101]

Oftentimes, round bale hay quality is less than that of square bales. I've heard it said that farmers round bale hay that isn't good enough quality for square bales. Also, not too many people store their round bales inside, which means they start to go bad before you even use them. Not a problem for cows, but horses need better quality hay than cows.

Unless you have a big herd eating the round bales, they will go bad (moldy) before they get eaten. If they get rained or snowed on, they will mold in a few days. Back when we had 23 horses, round bales worked out okay since the horses finished a bale in three days, but with a small number of horses, the bales will go bad before they get eaten.

While round bales do seem easier to handle and feed, I think square bales are more efficient (less waste).

 

[Xfaxman]

Check this poly plastic bale ring, it is what we use.

Century Livestock Feeders

 

[Wagtail]

Oooooh! I like that bale ring Xfaxman. I'm always open to alternatives.

The UV-rays in Tassie are stronger here, though. (wearing an Akubra is a necessity, not a fashion statement)

What's the price on that as I've been thinking about knocking up a second hay ring? It would make it easier/quicker to set up the next paddock for 'the boys'. There's no problem with the ring that I made, it just takes time to dissassemble/assemble.

 

[Xfaxman]

Oooooh! I like that bale ring Xfaxman. I'm always open to alternatives.

The UV-rays in Tassie are stronger here, though. (wearing an Akubra is a necessity, not a fashion statement)

What's the price on that as I've been thinking about knocking up a second hay ring? It would make it easier/quicker to set up the next paddock for 'the boys'. There's no problem with the ring that I made, it just takes time to dissassemble/assemble.

$220 unassembled, depending on the dealer.

 

[Leejohn]

I have b7800 and wouldn't try it on round bales. They would have to be a real small ones to use the fel. 3 pt would do small rounds.

 

[Xfaxman]

My wife sets out the 5x6 bales with the Toolcat. You can see the bale ring behind it, she has no problem raising it up, or pushing it over the bale.



To the OP, whistlepig, you have to cut the twine or netwrap before you set the bale on the ground. :thumbsup:

 

[Leejohn]

Dennis your toolcat is alot more machine then the kubota B7800. The B7800 is only 30HP, it can't come close the 61HP Turbo with 3000psi hyd. you have. I sure can't see my B7800 lifting a round pale with the FEL.

 

[foreman Etexas]

If you know who your going to be purchasing the bales from just ask them to bale you smaller bales. I would no problem if someone asked me,its just a push of a button to lower size,kick out of few then back to business. Usually around 32/34" is as low as the monitor will go but that really is a small bale,maybe a 48x60" bale would work good with your tractor,weight somewhere around 800lbs just guessing.

 

[Soundguy]

just stick to 4x5 or similar bales. go with something normal like coastal or tifton.. ... costs more than bahia or cow hay.. but works fine.

it's what we feed our horses. been using rounds for 15 years...

i have an old ford 850 with loader and a 3pt bale spear CHAINED into the loader bucket.

works fine.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

WE feed both round bales and square bales. I made covered feeders with windows so they can only stick their heads into the hay. There is a door on one end that is big enough to load a single round bale in. Works out pretty well. Only the inside horses get square bales since its easier to feed them. We got a new baler this year that makes fairly small bales and I can handle them with my L3400 pretty easily on the 3pt. Never tried with the loader though since I have a bigger tractor for that.

 

[Wagtail]

I made covered feeders with windows so they can only stick their heads into the hay. There is a door on one end that is big enough to load a single round bale in. Works out pretty well.

I would enjoy seeing a picture of what you've made RNR. Even better would be pics of how you made it.

How does it go with the horses leaning on it as they go for the last morsels of hay at the end of a roll? Is it a permanent or transportable unit?

 

[jimmyj]

How many animals are you feeding? Do you have too place the bales into a feeder? Or lift them up, if so how high? They come from 500lbs to about as much as you want but most around here are 750 to 900 lbs. I love them as they are way less work than squares and cheaper too. But as mentioned get 1st cut, dry, stores indoors.

If you don't have to lift them up into a top load feeder, the 3ph rating that TomSeller says you have is plenty. We made a small "house" that we put the bales + bale feeders inside of so they don't get any rain on them. As said if they are out in the weather, or where the animals can walk on them, you will just have waste waste and more waste.

Sidebar, I once was in a pinch so I bought a HUGE round bale. It was so big it spread (bent) out the sides of my Dodge Ram truck. I had to winch them back together to get the tailgate to line up. LOL

 

[Ken45101]

You don't have to lift the round bales into the feeder. I always stood the feeder on it's side, set the bale down, and then put the feeder back in place over the bale.

Yes, I would have loved to have a bale spear on the FEL, but at that time I didn't have a quick attach to do it.

 

[Soundguy]

my square compressed 3x3x8 alfalfa timothy bale just petered out. I usually toss one out at the start of hay season to transition the animals from green grass to green hay.. then i stick them with costal bermuda the rest of the year.

 

[Xfaxman]

So we have a new horse boarder and she wants to go to round bales. I'm willing to give this a try. I have never fooled with round bales. For sure I would have to buy a spear. I don't even know how much a round bale weighs. Would my B7800 handle a round bale with a spear on the front loader or to I need to buy a three point spear?

These were rolled about 4 months before the pictures were taken.

Chained the scales to bale spike frame. looped a tow strap around the bale.

5x6


5x5.5

 

[Larry Caldwell]

These were rolled about 4 months before the pictures were taken.

Chained the scales to bale spike frame. looped a tow strap around the bale.

5x6
View attachment 344090 View attachment 344091

5x5.5
View attachment 344092 View attachment 344093

Those are some big bales. My neighbor feeds cattle with round bales, and his are about half that size. I don't know about the 7800, but the FEL on my 3130 is rated at about 2300 lbs in the bucket, as long as I have the mower on the back for a counterbalance. I have moved something as heavy as 3600 lbs, though I couldn't lift it. I'm sure a short spear would handle one of my neighbor's bales. I would have to get strategic for one of yours.