Hay ring vs unrolling.

[farmer2009]

i'd loose hay if i unrolled it too.. i use a small ring.. etc.

This was my thought to. I use rings but thought I would ask what was being used to get a better understanding of how ya'll are doing it. I was thinking you was using a bale processor or something to measure the amount of hay to unroll. But now I see you just guess. I use a hay ring per no more than 5 head (including calves) to minimize the fighting. It also alows me to feed hay every 5 or so days so I can attempt to plan around storms and thawed ground. I also use a sacrifice pasture to feed hay during the summer it gets disked and planted in a sourhgum-Sudan and it the fall a plant a wheat and feed over the wheat. Moving ring helps manage mud.

But everyone has to find what is best for them. This is what works for me.

 

[Soundguy]

But everyone has to find what is best for them. This is what works for me.

this is what it all bois down to...

 

[foreman Etexas]

I think what works best for me is to unroll just long enough that the cows are eating next to each other(keeps them from having enough room to stand on it)and throw the rest in the ring on a 5x6 bale,the 4x5's usually unroll all the bale. If it puts down a thin windrow I back up over top what put out and put another layer on top.

 

[D7E]

When i see people complaining about waste is when people throw many bales out and expect to get away with it once a week or so. I know guys who just park a trailer with 40 bales in a field and call it good for a month . They need to eat it before it gets walked on or with sheep if in a rack they will leave it if it's been muzzled and breathed on too much . We often rolled out a half bale ....wrap a rope around it and take it home for tomorrow .

 

[bigbull338]

as ive said before we feed in hay rings.so theres no waste if any.unless the hay is real bad.an our cows are eating 8 5 by 6 bales a week.

 

[sweettractors]

New Dirt Dog Round Bale Unroller with Cylinder Hoses Can SHIP Fast and Cheap | eBay

Above is a link to the one we sell. Unrolling hay has major advantages, If you ever have sick, younger, slower animals in the group or even a Boss female or a Dominate male in a feeding group, You and your livestock will be well served to use a bale unroller. As a extra added benefit to "Fair and Balanced" feeding provided with a bale unroller, there is another just as important benefit from using one. We roll our grass/clover mixed hay out on areas of the fields that don't have a good stand of grass or legumes. As the cattle eat in these places, some seed gets worked back into the soil in these areas and bingo.....next growing season we have new grass. I call it no cost pasture renovation. Ken Sweet