Hay Bale Bundle

[Xfaxman]

I didn't know about small square hay bale bundles until late last year when we bought a 21 bale bundle for the horses.

The bales are stacked on edge and strapped with steel bands.:

We bought two bundles this month. The bundle on the trailer is laying down, the one in the truck is standing up:

Unloaded the trailer first with the forks and put the bundle on two 4' square plastic pallets close to the back wall.

Unloaded the truck and set the bundle on the 8' long dolly:

My wife pushed it over to the first bundle and pulled the tarp over them:

Sure is easier than unloading each bale and putting it on the stack.

 

[Dougeye]

Takes a bit of equipment on the farm:

Bale Baron | Marcrest Manufacturing Inc.

But if you have the equipment to unload, it does save work. Depending on the bale weight, the bundle is going to be in the 1,000 pounds plus range.

We feed about 1,000 seventy pound bales a year, and I think I handle each bale too many times...

 

[Hay Dude]

Krone makes a large square baler that makes bundles of small bales. I have looked at them and they are not gaining a lot of popularity despite the scarcity of labor to stack small squares in barns.
I think the 4x5 round bale will eventually take over once the current generation finally tires of handling and stacking the small squares.
The round bale feeders are really helping the round bale sell itself to the horse customer.
The round baler is so much cheaper. Still need a chore tractor to move them around....

 

[Xfaxman]

We have always set out 5x6 round bales for the horses, but have to have square bales for camping trips and when an injured horse needs to be stalled for recovery.

 

[Dougeye]

Where I am the overwhelming majority of people feeding horses are women, and most don't have the equipment needed to handle rounds or big squares, so small squares are what they want. It's the three stringers that I don't understand, too small for mechanical handling and way too heavy for many people to move around. We end up with them sometimes, but I sure don't like it. And yes, it's getting harder and more costly every year to get unloading and stacking help. But we carry on...

 

[Hay Dude]

We have always set out 5x6 round bales for the horses, but have to have square bales for camping trips and when an injured horse needs to be stalled for recovery.

View attachment 662970

Most of my customers are now doing this, too.
They are using a tractor to set round bales, or having me deliver them directly to the feeder and place the hay hut over the bale. They supplement the round bales with a small quantity of square bales for feeding overnight in stalls or road trips.
In MY area, small squares average about $8. Round bales (delivered) are about 1/2 that cost, so they are an appealing alternative.
I also have one clever customer who has me deliver their round bales and placed their feeder just a slight downhill grade from the barn where they roll them downhill into their feeder. No tractor needed.

 

[EddieWalker]

A few of the people that I bought round bales from are now only doing square bales. The profit in square bales is significant higher, and apparently, the demand is there.

For me, it's a never ending search to find a source of good horse quality round bales as close as possible to where I live, that isn't charging more then the feed store.

Why put a tarp over the bales inside the barn?

 

[Hay Dude]

A few of the people that I bought round bales from are now only doing square bales. The profit in square bales is significant higher, and apparently, the demand is there.

1. For me, it's a never ending search to find a source of good horse quality round bales as close as possible to where I live, that isn't charging more then the feed store.

2. Why put a tarp over the bales inside the barn?

1. That is my quest. To make higher quality round bale hay. I see the same market for them. I can price good dry round bales in the $4-5/35lb small square bale range, which is 1/2 the price of small squares ($8-$10) and I can deliver them in bulk, or right into the feeder.
2. Just a guess, but maybe roof has small leak??

Related: round bales are a difficult sell to the really discerning horse customer and I actually can understand why. Let’s face it, a round bale is a BIG bale. When I’m making them, it’s pretty easy to understand how a dead mouse or snake could end up in the bale and ruin it. Small bales are small, so if a mouse or snake ends up in a small bale, the buyer will smell it or see it in the flakes and can toss that bale, only losing $5-$10.
The few round bale buyers I have who own horses and don’t get freaked out about a small dead animal in a round bale 1-2 times per year. They understand the horses will probably just stop eating in that spot and/or I will replace that bale for them at greatly reduced cost. I mostly sell round bales to owners of easykeeper horses or people who aren’t raising Thorobreds and need perfect hay

 

[Xfaxman]

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Why put a tarp over the bales inside the barn?

To keep the bird poop off of the hay bundles.

 

[hosspuller]

My area is like Dougeye's Horse people without the equipment to handle large rounds. Or the desire for suitable equipment. Because of the labor required, producers are quitting the small square market. That gives me, a small producer with small squares , a niche to fill. What ever my horses don't eat, I sell at a premium.