patandchickens
Overrun with beasties
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Yes, as noted in previous posts -- but it is botulism you're thinking of, not salmonella.goodhors said:
Pat
Round bales...
- Thread starter dianneS
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Pat
Cornerstoneacres
Exploring the pasture
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I have always done round bales (except when we hayed our own fields, then we did square). Before I had a tractor I did the daily peeling of the bales. That acutally worked okay until winter came (I also didn't have a barn) and I had a large heavy snow covered tarp over them 
. I have found that a SMALL tarp just covering the top in winter (that can also hang kinda down the sides) secured with binder twine tied to the eyelets and then tied to a brick (or better yet a milk jug filled with water). keeps the snow from getting down into the bale. Snow getting onto the edges doesn't matter much as that is getting pulled off at least twice a day. We BUILT our own feeder for round bales also. So once we had a tractor, we could put a bale right in the feeder. I didn't free feed unless the weather was horrendous. We use electric fence so I was able to tap into that and run a piece of the yellow and black hotwire around the feeder (far enough away that they couldn't stretch over it and try and nibble). We used the flexible wire so we could roll it back up easily on to a spool and out of the way for the day to let all the horses eat. We had five horses and it worked great for them, never an injury and everybody got a chance to eat.
I love round bales and (unless I get "free" square bales that I bale myself) will always use them. With or without a tractor. BTW - when I didn't have a tractor I bought my round bales one at a time and rolled them off truck - but I was lucky enough to have a nearby hay supplier that had plenty of hay and I could "reserve" what I thought I would need for the year so I didn't have to worry about running out.
Sorry such a long post, but I hope it helps somebody out.
. I have found that a SMALL tarp just covering the top in winter (that can also hang kinda down the sides) secured with binder twine tied to the eyelets and then tied to a brick (or better yet a milk jug filled with water). keeps the snow from getting down into the bale. Snow getting onto the edges doesn't matter much as that is getting pulled off at least twice a day. We BUILT our own feeder for round bales also. So once we had a tractor, we could put a bale right in the feeder. I didn't free feed unless the weather was horrendous. We use electric fence so I was able to tap into that and run a piece of the yellow and black hotwire around the feeder (far enough away that they couldn't stretch over it and try and nibble). We used the flexible wire so we could roll it back up easily on to a spool and out of the way for the day to let all the horses eat. We had five horses and it worked great for them, never an injury and everybody got a chance to eat. I love round bales and (unless I get "free" square bales that I bale myself) will always use them. With or without a tractor. BTW - when I didn't have a tractor I bought my round bales one at a time and rolled them off truck - but I was lucky enough to have a nearby hay supplier that had plenty of hay and I could "reserve" what I thought I would need for the year so I didn't have to worry about running out.
Sorry such a long post, but I hope it helps somebody out.
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dianneS
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That is helpful Cornerstoneacres.
I did my experiementing with round bales this year and I discovered that unless I'm going to free feed, they are a pain to peel the layers off of. I'm only using them for free feeding in the future.
I also learned that I will not be buying any round bales that were stored outside. I got a few that had been kept outdoors and peeling off that musty layer on the outside of the bale wreaked havoc on my sinuses. I can't deal with that again.
I found a source of reasonably priced, very good quality horse hay, stored indoor round bales. That hay was beautiful. I ended up getting a load of square bales too.
I've decided to stock up this summer with square bales and when the weather gets bad in the fall and winter, I'll pick up two bales at a time from my "good hay" supplier and drop them in the pasture for free feeding. I think that is going to be our preferred method.
I don't think I really saved much money on hay this year by going with round bales, due to the waste, but I liked the convenience of letting the animals free feed. Plus the comfort of knowing that they can eat as much as they need is nice too, since it is more natural for them. I guess I did save money on grain this year since increasing the hay availablity. Fortunately I don't have any horses who get fat off of free-choice hay.
I did my experiementing with round bales this year and I discovered that unless I'm going to free feed, they are a pain to peel the layers off of. I'm only using them for free feeding in the future.
I also learned that I will not be buying any round bales that were stored outside. I got a few that had been kept outdoors and peeling off that musty layer on the outside of the bale wreaked havoc on my sinuses. I can't deal with that again.
I found a source of reasonably priced, very good quality horse hay, stored indoor round bales. That hay was beautiful. I ended up getting a load of square bales too.
I've decided to stock up this summer with square bales and when the weather gets bad in the fall and winter, I'll pick up two bales at a time from my "good hay" supplier and drop them in the pasture for free feeding. I think that is going to be our preferred method.
I don't think I really saved much money on hay this year by going with round bales, due to the waste, but I liked the convenience of letting the animals free feed. Plus the comfort of knowing that they can eat as much as they need is nice too, since it is more natural for them. I guess I did save money on grain this year since increasing the hay availablity. Fortunately I don't have any horses who get fat off of free-choice hay.
They have come up with some big bale nets that do seem to save on all that waste hay. You just cover the whole bale. Folks are saying nets work pretty well, worth the price. They got more days out of a bale, even with free access to it by the horses.
Just an idea for consideration. I don't think the net works for cattle with pointed hooves to snag.
Just an idea for consideration. I don't think the net works for cattle with pointed hooves to snag.
