Questions on handling round bales

[Z-Michigan]

Thought everyone might be interested in an update, and posting for the benefit of others reading this as a how-to. Our hay was baled today - only got 13 4x5 round bales out of our 4 1/2 acre field. Disappointing... I think the hailstorm a week and a half ago knocked over lots of our alfalfa and a lot of it didn't get cut, others had leaf loss. Hoping we get two more good cuttings.

But anyway... we also managed to get a FEL spear today, the type that replaces the bucket. Thought I was getting a Frontier from my JD dealer but they apparently order Horst instead, with JD mount and painted green:
HORST WELDING | HLA >> SINGLE PRONG BALE SPEAR

Quality seems very good and this dealer seems to know what they're doing, so no complaints. 3ph mounted spear has not yet arrived, so moved bales with just FEL, leaving my 842lbs disk harrow on 3ph for counterweight. No problems with FEL capacity or having adequate counterweight! However, found that spearing a bale takes more skill than I had guessed; would appreciate any comments on where in the bale you aim (I am generally aiming for center hole or slightly below) and whether you drive spear straight in or pointing downward a bit - straight makes logical sense, but has me nearly at full rollback already, not leaving me any room to roll FEL further back for carrying.

At my wife's insistence we flipped a bale outside the barn and tried spearing it. As you all told me, spear is not getting into round side of bale! We flipped bale back over and started thinking. I was ready to happily but all bales on side in barn, conventional stacking, but wife insisted on trying to flip bales so bottom bale is on end, just as in Egon's post below.

In Alberta many people stack two high. The bottom bale is set on end with the top bale set flat on top. These are usually the large round bales.

Doing it this way would let you spear the bales conventionally and bring to shed. The bottom one could be flipped and pushed in place. The top one is conventionally speared and placed.

Although this can be done with FEL, we actually found it easiest to put bale on side next to where we wanted it, then simply push it over by hand. Much easier than complicated dance of two FEL controls, clutch and throttle on my gear tractor. Have done this so far for 5 bales (10 total in barn now) and it works fine. I still think conventional stacking would have been a reasonable choice, but we will probably get a few more bales into our horse barn this way than conventional stacking, while leaving room to walk.

I have 3 bales left to do in the morning and then we're done for 4-6 weeks. Looking forward to getting the 3ph spear as I'm tired of making 1000ft trips at 3.0mph (or less) with only one bale on my tractor.

 

[john_bud]

Much easier than complicated dance of two FEL controls, clutch and throttle on my gear tractor.
.

So, ready for a second round of the HST verses Gear, or do you need to stack a couple hundred bales first?

 

[RFB]

Z,

I wish I knew you were getting a single...I would have suggested a double point. With 2 long spears mounted lower (sort of like where the stabilizer spikes are located in your posted website pic), you get more usable position on lift and curl: you spike the bales a little lower and roll them back onto the brick guard.

I run a Bradco (skidsteer style QA) pallet fork, so I removed the pallet tines and welded up spikes and fabbed back plates similar to the verticals on the pallet tines. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.

and +1 on the HST

 

[Turbys_1700]

Thought everyone might be interested in an update, and posting for the benefit of others reading this as a how-to. Our hay was baled today - only got 13 4x5 round bales out of our 4 1/2 acre field. Disappointing... I think the hailstorm a week and a half ago knocked over lots of our alfalfa and a lot of it didn't get cut, others had leaf loss. Hoping we get two more good cuttings.

But anyway... we also managed to get a FEL spear today, the type that replaces the bucket. Thought I was getting a Frontier from my JD dealer but they apparently order Horst instead, with JD mount and painted green:
HORST WELDING | HLA >> SINGLE PRONG BALE SPEAR

Quality seems very good and this dealer seems to know what they're doing, so no complaints. 3ph mounted spear has not yet arrived, so moved bales with just FEL, leaving my 842lbs disk harrow on 3ph for counterweight. No problems with FEL capacity or having adequate counterweight! However, found that spearing a bale takes more skill than I had guessed; would appreciate any comments on where in the bale you aim (I am generally aiming for center hole or slightly below) and whether you drive spear straight in or pointing downward a bit - straight makes logical sense, but has me nearly at full rollback already, not leaving me any room to roll FEL further back for carrying.

At my wife's insistence we flipped a bale outside the barn and tried spearing it. As you all told me, spear is not getting into round side of bale! We flipped bale back over and started thinking. I was ready to happily but all bales on side in barn, conventional stacking, but wife insisted on trying to flip bales so bottom bale is on end, just as in Egon's post below.



Although this can be done with FEL, we actually found it easiest to put bale on side next to where we wanted it, then simply push it over by hand. Much easier than complicated dance of two FEL controls, clutch and throttle on my gear tractor. Have done this so far for 5 bales (10 total in barn now) and it works fine. I still think conventional stacking would have been a reasonable choice, but we will probably get a few more bales into our horse barn this way than conventional stacking, while leaving room to walk.

I have 3 bales left to do in the morning and then we're done for 4-6 weeks. Looking forward to getting the 3ph spear as I'm tired of making 1000ft trips at 3.0mph (or less) with only one bale on my tractor.

Two at a time is the only way to go. With that 3 pt bale spear you have just doubled your efficiency. That's the way we do it here in NC.

 

[daTeacha]

A bit off topic here since everyone's talking about handling rounds --

I picked up a large square bale of grass hay yesterday from a neighbor. It's about 3' x 3' x 8', mixed grass, no alfalfa. I had him set it in the bed of my Dakota, which it neatly filled all the way to end of the tailgate. I had previously put some heavy nylon tow straps across the bed so the bale was laying on top of them.

When I got home, I took the bucket, toothbar, and grapple off my LX114 loader, lightening the front end by about 325 lb or so. Then I simply connected the straps to the Quick Attach plates and lifted the bale off the truck. I didn't lift it real high, just enough to drive the truck out from under it, but even with the bale swinging some it felt a lot more stable than when I have a bucket full of heavy rocks. Again, I have 900 lb on the rear hitch and 260 lb on the wheels. I was able to easily move the bale into place in the barn, but I did leave some nice rubber marks on the smooth concrete floor.

The guys who work large square bales around usually use a skid steer with two round spears and pick them up a bit below center from the side with the spears about 3 or 4 feet apart. The ones who use rounds tend towards the 3 prong spears on each end.

 

[redlevel]

At my wife's insistence we flipped a bale outside the barn and tried spearing it. As you all told me, spear is not getting into round side of bale! We flipped bale back over and started thinking. I was ready to happily but all bales on side in barn, conventional stacking, but wife insisted on trying to flip bales so bottom bale is on end, just as in Egon's post below.


Although this can be done with FEL, we actually found it easiest to put bale on side next to where we wanted it, then simply push it over by hand. Much easier than complicated dance of two FEL controls, clutch and throttle on my gear tractor.

With a little practice you'll be able to flip that bale on its side in 10 seconds or less with that gear tractor and front spear. But I still don't see why you want to do that. What is going to happen when either you or, especially, your wife, happens to be alone, the horse needs hay, and the only rolls accessable are on end? Depending on the size, its almost impossible for one man to flip a bale. I guess if you only have 50-60 rolls to feed all winter, it wouldn't be so bad.

As for stability, the most stable way to store the rolls is on the round side. It would be possible, I guess, to get a few more rolls in the barn if you put all the rolls on the flat end; I mean the bottom row as well as the second, and if applicable, the third row up. I've seen it done this way, but they were using a skid-steer machine with forks.

That spear looks good, by the way. With a little practice you'll learn the best way to pick up the rolls.

Sounds to me like somebody needs to put his foot down about how to stack.

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Z,
I guess Im a little late on this thread ! But if you still have Neils e-mail you might try giving him a shout ! He switched over to round bales a couple of years ago and fabricated a couple of neat gizmos on his John Deeres for handling purposes. You might send him a note and Im sure he will send you some pics.

 

[Z-Michigan]

With a little practice you'll be able to flip that bale on its side in 10 seconds or less with that gear tractor and front spear. But I still don't see why you want to do that. What is going to happen when either you or, especially, your wife, happens to be alone, the horse needs hay, and the only rolls accessable are on end? Depending on the size, its almost impossible for one man to flip a bale. I guess if you only have 50-60 rolls to feed all winter, it wouldn't be so bad.

As for stability, the most stable way to store the rolls is on the round side. It would be possible, I guess, to get a few more rolls in the barn if you put all the rolls on the flat end; I mean the bottom row as well as the second, and if applicable, the third row up. I've seen it done this way, but they were using a skid-steer machine with forks.

That spear looks good, by the way. With a little practice you'll learn the best way to pick up the rolls.

Sounds to me like somebody needs to put his foot down about how to stack.

My wife and I get along pretty well in large part because I will listen to her... otherwise I would need a cab tractor as I would be living in it.

Our operation is much smaller than you're thinking. We have 13 4x5 rolls in our barn now. 20 total will be our entire needs for the winter. We have only two horses and we're working on pastures so that hay will only be needed December - early April.

Each of us has been able to flip these bales alone, though it is easier with two people. They are not super tightly baled. We don't know weight but the farmer said they once weighed a clover hay bale and it was about 700lbs. And in any event, we aren't planning to feed whole bales at a time - we'll most likely be taking pitchfork loads off a bale, putting them in a wheelbarrow and taking that into the pasture. Low tech - yes! But with only two horses, a whole bale would get ruined long before it would be eaten. I'm familiar with round bale feeders and that only removes one risk, not the rain/snow/mud issue.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Mornin Z,
I guess Im a little late on this thread ! But if you still have Neils e-mail you might try giving him a shout ! He switched over to round bales a couple of years ago and fabricated a couple of neat gizmos on his John Deeres for handling purposes. You might send him a note and Im sure he will send you some pics.

Thanks Scott, very interesting. I'll try emailing him. I have found the 5105 very comfortable for moving our bales.

 

[rback33]

And in any event, we aren't planning to feed whole bales at a time - we'll most likely be taking pitchfork loads off a bale, putting them in a wheelbarrow and taking that into the pasture. Low tech - yes! But with only two horses, a whole bale would get ruined long before it would be eaten. I'm familiar with round bale feeders and that only removes one risk, not the rain/snow/mud issue.

This is the way to go, but what I have found.. is it's much better to set the feeding bale close to the feeding spot... the wheel barrow (insert LOADER) is a pain after a while. You can always throw a tarp over the hay to protect it... since it will be FLIPPED UP ON END to feed... U just unroll as you go. Important key not to forget. This is how we feed our horses... I just wish I had your tractor to do everything with...