Round bales...

dianneS

Loving the herd life
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
974
Reaction score
11
Points
176
I'm thinking of getting round bales this year 4x4 bales, not the humongous ones. It will save me some money and the farmers around here bale a lot in round bales and its still good quality horse hay. It would be easier to have it delivered and unloaded in my one area of the barn vs. unloading and stacking small square bales.

I'm just not sure how to feed from round bales? How do I know how much to fork to each horse? Should I try standing one in the pasture and just letting the horses eat from that? I've never fed off of round bales before, just wondering how other people manage with them. Love them, hate them? Pros and cons?
 

dianneS

Loving the herd life
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
974
Reaction score
11
Points
176
Thanks. That has answered a lot of my questions. We've had very little rain here this year and most of the hay in our area has had no rain. We have many farmers that store roundbales indoors and make good quality horse hay in round bales. I have a farmer right next door to me that can bring a few round bales over and drop them in my barn any time.

I'm thinking of still getting a pickup truck load of square bales for my mare. She's my main concern. The goats and the mini horse can eat cattle quality hay and be just fine.

We had 2-4 feet of snow on the ground last year for about three months of the winter and I found myself wishing that I had a few roundbales to roll out into the pasture for the goats in particular. I think I'll try a combination of the two this year and see how it goes.
 

patandchickens

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Jun 2, 2009
Messages
781
Reaction score
7
Points
89
dianneS said:
We had 2-4 feet of snow on the ground last year for about three months of the winter and I found myself wishing that I had a few roundbales to roll out into the pasture for the goats in particular.
A winter of deepish snow on the ground is IMHO one of the big situations where you WOULD NOT want to feed roundbales if avoidable, unless you own a tractor. You will not be able to roll those bales out there in significant snow. Really really. (IME the *biggest* bales actually roll best in standing snow, not the little 4' jobbies, because if you can manage to get them moving in the first place they at least have momentum on their side and squish the snow reasonably well.

(Also the waste tends to be horrendous in those conditions)

If what you want is to not have to trudge out there multiple times per day to hay the goats, you might consider constructing a large hay feeder that you can stock with *whatever* type hay, whenever the weather is nicer. In this case small squares (if affordable and adequate quality) are better than unwound roundbale hay, because they are easier to carry by hand when conditions prevent rolling a roundbale.

Another solution some people use is to create a hay depot out in the paddock to be fed -- ideally store the hay just outside the fenceline, under a tarp. With a gate or removeable fence section that you can roll the bale thru for feeding. (Just literally roll it thru the fence and then replace the gate/fence -- so the bale is only travelling like 10'). You still get the horrendous waste (and potentially some weathering waste if your hay is not palleted and tarped right), and may have to do some shovelling to be able to move the bale, but at least it does not have to go *far*.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

Just saying,

Pat
 

w c

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Aug 23, 2010
Messages
152
Reaction score
3
Points
91
Pat what do you think about horses poking their noses into the round bale to eat from it? Respiratory problems?
 

adoptedbyachicken

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
291
Reaction score
0
Points
94
In this area tested hay for horses is 1/2 to 1/3 the price in rounds that it is a squares. So the quality of what I buy is known, but even in untested hay the ratio is about the same. If you free feed anything there is going to be some waste but the cost is still way cheaper than squares, and they are so much less work. Even before I had a tractor I brought it home in the pick up, opened the tailgate and backed up, slammed on the breaks, it rolled out, put the feeder around it. The feeder you want for that system is the 2 part one that pins together. Now with a tractor I also have one of the solids that you drop the bale into.

Storage outside is fine if your area is dryish. The waste from the 'skin' they develop here is max 2 inches into the bale. However I have heard of some that say in their area it goes 6 or so inches into the bale. That would be lots of hay! Do not fully tarp round bales, but you can put a top of plastic over the top 1/3 to help shed water. In wet areas having them up on a hill of gravel really helps too, so they are not soaking in from the bottom.

Round bale feeders made for horses are safe, just don't use cattle ones. I have 3 and used them 4 years now and never had an injury.

If you don't want to free feed you can put the feeder in a pen and let the horses in however long you want. However with this option let only a few horses in or be sure there is enough feeder space. If you free feed the feeder space is not as big an issue, they all take turns and honestly most horses will not get horridly fat like you might be expecting. Buy your hay accordingly, don't get the hot stuff, something with more chew value is great. Often around here that hay is even cheaper still.

I go for the hard core bales, the soft core are around here are the ones that are dusty or have mold.

I have forked hay off a round bale to my horses so they eat it off the ground and honestly did not see a savings that made it worth my time. One winter was enough of that. As it was a bad hay year and the hay I got tested higher than I normally buy I felt I needed to restrict them, in that spot again I would restrict their time at the feeder instead.
 

patandchickens

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Jun 2, 2009
Messages
781
Reaction score
7
Points
89
w c said:
Pat what do you think about horses poking their noses into the round bale to eat from it? Respiratory problems?
Well, as you've probably got the impression already, I am not a big fan of stickin' a roundbale out there for horses to munch on in the first place :p IMHO the things are generally dusty/moldy enough to begin with that you would not want to consider feeding them to a horse who you KNOW has allergies or heaves... not even if you unwind the hay and feed it 'normally' (to that type horse).

I have not seen obvious respiratory problems (in other peoples' horses - I don't feed 'em this way myself) from HEALTHY horses free-choice feeding on roundbales. For whatever that's worth. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen, it just hasn't leapt out at me over the years.

Pat
 

w c

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Aug 23, 2010
Messages
152
Reaction score
3
Points
91
Thanks. My vet says that after enough time sticking its head into a round bale, a horse will snuff up enough molds and dust to START a respiratory problem.

And that's NOT the same vet that got into, let's say a 'non professional state' before he came over to our farm (with blood all over his shirt) and started crying 'WHAT A BEAUTIFUL HORSE' when someone led out Old Swayback George.

He said he was 'celebrating a successful surgery', and we said 'SON CHANGE YOUR SHIRT'.
 

adoptedbyachicken

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
291
Reaction score
0
Points
94
Again I think it's about the feeder, 2 that I have prevent that, they are made just for horses. The third they do tend to burrow into the bale and eat from a hole after the first burst of eating of the outside, then once the bale is half gone they are back to feeding off the top since it's down into the feeder further. This feeder is a dual one for horses or cattle so it's really low and the dividers are wide set.

The challenge is for those that have many heights of horses. The adjustable feeder you are in control of if they do that, but adjusting it too high for some to prevent the others from burrowing will prevent shorter ones from eating unless the bale is new.

I still think the theory holds, if they are breathing in dust and mold they will get heaves eventually, get good hay and feed it best you can to prevent breathing in. For what it's worth none of mine have developed an issue in the 5 years here, but they are a youngish crowd. One is 18 but the rest are 14 and under, mostly 9.
 

goodhors

Overrun with beasties
Joined
May 15, 2010
Messages
863
Reaction score
18
Points
79
Something to consider with feeding round bales, is giving botulism shot. Lots of the southern folks give that shot automatically, the ground has the germs in it.

Depending on local conditions, weather, the area may be perfect to grow botulism. Round bales can help expose livestock with dead animals baled up inside, unable to dry out or being wetted and warmed to make the perfect location for development of the disease. You never know about the dead things in a big bale until you find the carcass or you have problems. Doesn't have to even be a big dead animal, just something to let the germs propagate.

With germs in the ground, the waste hay can make a good breeding area too, pulling moisture up into the bale, allowing mold growth as well. Putting each new bale into a new location may or may not help.

Anyway, the botulism vaccine should seriously be considered in many locations, and if you plan to feed round bales.

I don't have the tractor to handle big bales, so we will stick with the small ones.
 
Top