Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[RollingAcres]

Are round bales like 4 or 5 ft tall and wide? There will be some weathering on the outside, and if there is exceptionally wet weather, there will be a bit more rot. But those are left/stored outside here all year.

Yes. Thank you for explanation. I kept wondering why they left the bales out in the weather.

 

[Bruce]

There is a guy here who makes little round bales, like small square bales but they are actually miniature round bales. Now those will get wet all the way through and mold. I think is was a short lived fad to make the small round ones.

I would guess that the small rounds were mostly for people with compact tractors that can't run a big baler. They could be good for people who don't need tons of hay and therefore the inside storage requirement is more affordable. Easier to move as well. Hobby farmers like me! But I've not seen any miniature rounds.

 

[Mike CHS]

We got some of the smaller round bales last year that are half the size and weight of the large bales. This year I'll just borrow my neighbors big John Deere tractor and go pick up the large round bales we already paid for since it's only a half mile away.

 

[farmerjan]

Just a note that I wanted to share with all that were sending their support. My father is making an UNPRECEDENTED recovery from the stroke and the carotid surgery. From no response on his right side, and things looking like he would be in a wheelchair with constant care, he went to rehab with some feeling coming back in his right side and his speech improving. He had no short term memory of what had happened when they took him to the rehab but understood when they said he had a stroke due to the 98% blockage of the carotid artery on the one side. He could say a few words, could use his left hand to feed himself somewhat and could stay upright if helped up, for a short period of time, and recognized my brothers. He has now been in the rehab, for about a month, maybe 5 weeks. He has pretty much regained his short term memory, and only has a loss of words occasionally....which, he// so do I at times or can't remember names.... he has nearly full use of his right side, is walking with a walker now and is doing an "obstacle course" at the end of the hallway near the nurses station which is 100 feet or more from his room and walks back several times a day. He can manage the bathroom by himself they say so that is a big boon to anyones' dignity. He is still weak, needing to build back up his strength, which anyone does after major surgery. It is thought that he will pretty much regain to where he was before and maybe better since there is better blood flow.
So I say THANK YOU to all who offered their good wishes and support. My brother said he is getting back to being his usual ORNERY self.... HAHAHA. That is good for all concerned up there. I hope that he will be able to go back "to normal" and maybe be a little humbled by this and realize how much everyone does care and be a little more agreeable to all. Regardless, I hope that he continues to have a good recovery and can soon go home to mom. They have taken her to see him a couple of times, they say she recognizes him, and I hope for her sake that he continues to get better. It is still a difficult situation with her inability to do anything anymore, but maybe he will be able to see the situation more clearly as to what he can and cannot do. My son will be going up as soon as they get some of the overnight accommodations straightened out. My sister is up there and they still cannot stay at the house. She is with my brother for a couple of days, that manages the Christmas tree farms at the one farmhouse that my brother has leased for the time being. The brother that is the POA and all, is on his fishing boat with charters and is in daily phone contact. They said my father can answer and talk on the phone like normal and are now encouraging phone calls, and mental stimulation, so I am sure we will all be calling.

Thank you all again.

 

[Mike CHS]

That has to be a great surprise in the changes in him.

 

[Baymule]

That is GREAT news about your Dad.

That he has made such a good recovery is making me smile. Maybe his being so ornery is the spark needed to make him so determined to do all his rehab and then some, so he can go home. I know you and your siblings are heaving a sigh of relief. I am really glad that he is doing so good.

10 pound chickens! Haha, I let mine get big. I wind up with 6 and 7 pound carcasses. For my DD and her family, I package a half of breast and that makes them a meal. If you sell them at the chicken meet for $5, someone is getting a darn good deal.

 

[farmerjan]

I would guess that the small rounds were mostly for people with compact tractors that can't run a big baler. They could be good for people who don't need tons of hay and therefore the inside storage requirement is more affordable. Easier to move as well. Hobby farmers like me! But I've not seen any miniature rounds.

The small rounds I am talking about were in the 50-75 lb range.... really just like small square bales but round. Someone told me some baler company had a bright idea about being able to "stack them" in a barn easier than the square bales, but I just don't see it. PITA to try to carry out to feed and you can't feed a "section or a leaf" like you do with a normal small square bale. Even the bigger of the "small sq bales " that run about 100 lbs are more practical than the small round bales.

As for the big round bales, anyone operating a tractor can make them less heavy. Our big baler makes 5 ft wide by 5 to 6 ft "tall". The round baler that we have that net wraps uses 52 inch net wrap with an overlap on the outside edge; meaning the bale is 4 ft wide and it is about 5 ft tall. The width is the part that is "round", the height is the side that is "flat" or the end of the bale. We make ours as big as we can, because it is less trips to move them off the field, less trips to feed, all because they have more hay in each of them.
We have a friend that makes his 4x4 ; 4 ft wide and he only goes to 4 ft high. He has a smaller tractor and loader and it makes it easier to move them. He also has the place to store them in a shed so there is not much waste. He also only makes about 10 acres a year, 2 cuttings most times. That is alot of hay to move and store, but it works for him.
I have never seen a round baler less than 4 ft wide, but maybe there are some.

There is a guy who makes the BIG square bales. They are 4x4x6 (or maybe 4x4x8?). Some are 3x3x6 I think too; all according to the brand. Can weigh over 1000 lbs. He can move them with his skid loader, but they are a load. They have to be stored under cover as the rain/weather will soak into them. The rounded part of a round bale acts like a shield of sorts, the rain doesn't have any "cut edges" to get into. A square bale has more "cut edges" and the rain just finds its' way in and they will get ruined if exposed to rain. At least rain directly on top.... I have seen many stored in sheds with just a roof, and the outsides get a little weathered, but they aren't too bad unless the rain has blown in and really soaked them. It is like a round bale the rain "rolls off" the rounded part and in a square bale it just sits and soaks in. I am sure there is a better way to describe it, but for the life of me, I can't come up with the right words. The tightness of the round bales also determines the weight and the ability to shed the water.

 

[Baymule]

You did just fine with the right words and gave a darn good description of how round bales work.

 

[farmerjan]

@Baymule , I may be a little off in the weight guessing, I am going to take a scale with me to see because they sure are heavy to pick up. Maybe I just don't do a good job of guessing weight since I pick up buckets of feed and such.
The big ones will not be getting sold for $5, I was thinking the larger of the smaller (last group I got) 15 that I would sell for that. But now I am going to weigh them too just to get an idea. They are eating alot better, but the past few days we got back into a heat wave and they are all feeling it. It hit 96 here the last 2 days, set a few records....The birds were all spread out in the underbrush with their wings out away from their sides this afternoon when I went up to refill waterers and feeders and they hadn't eaten half their feed due to the heat. We were selling cull roosters for $10 each , and these certainly have alot more meat on them. I am planning on asking $15 each for the big ones. Maybe $10 for the smaller ones and can always drop it. I might just take them all and see if I can sell them all. I am thinking that if the guy does leave the farm where I get them, I will just get in contact with the owner and tell him to just text me when the birds go out and I will be able to go get them just like now. He knows that I go get the "left behinds". Since they have to dispose of any left behind, I actually am saving them a little work. I normally don't take the cripples, there are a few on occasion, but if I have to I will them just dispose of them myself.

 

[farmerjan]

@Mike CHS ; yes, I am very shocked that he has come back so well already. I think my brother is totally in awe of the recovery as you read his texts, it is almost comical that he is talking about stuff father is doing. I think everyone was hoping / expecting for some limited movement and some coherent speech, being patient for him to be able to find the words. My brothers last text was that he has tried to impress on my father that the insurance allows for him to be there for 90 days and he HAS to stay as long as allowed so he gets back as much strength and movement as possible. I honestly think that they will be able to get him into a little better shape than he was in because they are making him "work" and exercise in ways that he didn't at home. Shoot, I don't do all that I could with it hurting all the time. I just found out that I can qualify for something called silver sneakers.... through medicare and my supplement, and that I can go to the hospital exercise/rehab facility and work with a "personal trainer" there to try to get more mobile. I have to be referred by a dr. so that is my next step. The dr for the ankle @ Duke, said that there wasn't alot that I could do prior to the replacement surgery in part because I would not be able to do any weight bearing with the fusion of the two bones in the heel part of the foot/ankle. I did specifically ask if there was anything I should/could do, like they have people with knee replacements do to strengthen the muscles which they say really helps the rehab. Still, since it is a one time fee of maybe $80 and 60 days of unlimited time with the "trainer" , plus unlimited use of the facility after, seems like a good way to go. It is about 35 min to the hospital complex and I think it will be time well spent. Just have to do a little more figuring of my time and leave extra early for some farms to test and go there first. Since I am not testing as much, and we are getting into the "wind down" time of hay, I ought to be able to make it work. The more mobile, and the more ways I find to "work these joints that hurt" the better off I am going to be.