I bet you stateside balers rarely encounter this problem...

[Whitewing]

....boa constrictors in your bales.







I didn't see it when it happened, but this guy had actually been picked up by the machine and run through the baler. He was still alive (and not very happy) when I finally saw half his body hanging out of one of the bales. I dispatched him quickly with my 9mm.

This particular field (owned by an Italian family) was full of mice so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to encounter a boa or two. The hawks sure had a field day the day I was cutting. Here are few more shots from the baling.





And finally, the most important part.....a happy client leaving with his bales. I wasn't too happy with the grass as it hadn't been cut all winter and also had some broadleaf clutter. But summer is setting in here and the buyers are happy when they can find bales.

[George]

I've baled several snakes but none that big!

Hate finding decayed rabbits or coons in the bales - - - sure can make a stink!

[hayguy]

wife baled a little garter snake once, it was still wiggling from the bale halfway up the stack when she came in that evening. she told me to quit trying to hay swamp land nice pics WW

others on here will have different ideas but to me an old automatic stooker on your baler would sure be a good start to saving a lot of work, or eliminate all the little steps and get aNH bale wagon

[Whitewing]

[Nicky]

We often find bullsnakes and rattlesnakes in our bales.

[Silver]

Nice to see pics of bales and warm climes WW. I think if I had baled up a creature like that I may have screamed like a girl upon seeing it.
Those pictures brought to mind this picture that was going around a while ago.

[gcreekrch]

Hayguy, you're forgetting how cheap wages are down there.

WW, I will try to find you a link for a bale accumulater we used years ago. Its was simple, the latch and hinge were the only moving parts and it would gather up to 10 bales in a bunch.
The bunches were put in rows so there was far less walking by the time a load was put on.

[hayguy]

[Whitewing]

Just to give you guys some ideas of the costs I encounter, here are a few values in bolivares (bs) converted to $$$ using the current black market exchange rate.

Manual labor - 12 hour day - 80 bs.....$9.40.
Manual labor - 8 hour day - 50 bs.....$5.88
New baler (Brazilian) - 88,000 bs....$10,350.00
New mower (Italian) - 42,000 bs.....$4940.00
New tedder (Netherlands) - 43,000 bs....$5058.00
Diesel/gallon - $0.02
Gasoline/gallon - $0.04
Price of my best bermuda bales (pick up at ranch versus delivery) - 14 bs - 19 bs......$1.65 - $2.24

[Doug Thorson]

I would really like to say something awfull maen about the price of gas and diesel down there, but I like living where there are no BIG snakes!

[Triangle Bar]

Hey WW, you really put the squeeeeze on that boa.

Rattle snakes are what to watch out for in windrows in these parts.

[Northern Rancher]

Subscribe to the Hay and Forage Growerr printed in the U's they have several different kinds of accumulators advertised in every issuue. It is an interesting read my buddy in the U'S saves all his issues so every trip stateside I get a big box of various magazines to read then I disburse them throughout my friends