Bale Grazing
- Thread starter Rancher3!
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Northern Rancher
Well-known member
A week or so-I usually place mine about 40 feet apart. If you have some horses run them with the cows they'll clean it up even more
Kato
Well-known member
Does anyone have trouble with deer getting into the bales and trashing them?
I'm afraid if we set a bunch out at our place, they'd be trampled into the ground before the cows got to them. It's tough enough keeping the deer out of the hay yard.... keeps the dogs barking all night. :roll: :roll:
I'm afraid if we set a bunch out at our place, they'd be trampled into the ground before the cows got to them. It's tough enough keeping the deer out of the hay yard.... keeps the dogs barking all night. :roll: :roll:
PureCountry
Well-known member
We have alot of deer around here and we've never seen deer get into bales real bad. Have seen a neighbour cuss a herd of elk that devoured a 1/4 of stockpiled pasture last fall, but nothing like trashing bales.
For us bale grazing worked good anywhere from 4-10 days worth of feed at a time. Any less than that was too much moving and work - defeated the purpose. Any more than that and they walked/laid/crapped on alot before really cleaning it up and it got harder to convince them to do so.
40' worked good here too. I used to get fussy about having the bales in perfect rows and such, not anymore. As long as they're spread out over the area I want to feed on, that's good enough. The more you move them and mess around, the higher your cost.
For us bale grazing worked good anywhere from 4-10 days worth of feed at a time. Any less than that was too much moving and work - defeated the purpose. Any more than that and they walked/laid/crapped on alot before really cleaning it up and it got harder to convince them to do so.
40' worked good here too. I used to get fussy about having the bales in perfect rows and such, not anymore. As long as they're spread out over the area I want to feed on, that's good enough. The more you move them and mess around, the higher your cost.
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
I usually put mine on end so it's easier to take the twines off them but it really doesn't matter too much. They did a test on some pretty tough ground where the bale grazing was- yield increased 4 1/2 times and the protein of the standing grass doubled. Like I said if you have any horses they love to paw through it pretty much minimizes waste. If there gets to be an area where you think build up is too heavy you can just put out your salt there and let hoof action churn it up. This hardly ever happens. An ideal situation would be to take extra cows into overwinter so you could get more ground covered. Our youngest grass stand is in it's late teens I doubt we'll ever break sod here again. One guy I met bale grazes half his ground every year-he just drops the bales with no twine. The next year he pastures that ground and bales the other half. I've got enough permanent paddocks that I don't need to build temporary fence in the winter. It's a nice feeling when it's -40 to know that all that's involved in getting things fed is opening a gate.
PureCountry
Well-known member
Why can't you Silver?
A
Anonymous
Guest
Rainy day in northeast MT again today, so I've been watching the Holden Hereford female sale...
Looking at the prices they are getting would make you believe they are the last herefords left on earth :shock: :wink:
Must still be some moldy money lying around...
Looking at the prices they are getting would make you believe they are the last herefords left on earth :shock: :wink:
Must still be some moldy money lying around...
Rancher3! said:
Rancher3, it's not too much of an effort to take the twine off or netwrap off. Some people don't but in my opinion take it off so there's less to worry about later. No risk of the cows ingesting it and less trash on the ground to look at later. If you can get yourself some bales rings, you'll save a bit of that hay too.
PureCountry
Well-known member
Silver said:
I figured that was the reason. They're pretty thick in your country aren't they?
PureCountry said:
They have been, although this summer I haven't seen great amounts of them. I've seen elk chase cows right off the feed pile, boy that's enough to make my blood boil. I once saw a 6 point bull tip a 2 yr old bull over onto his back and proceed to lay the antler to him. Oh well, just like most things to do with ranching, we just need to adapt, improvise, and overcome
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
Would they run off from protection dogs I wonder.
PATB
Well-known member
Silver said:PureCountry said:
They have been, although this summer I haven't seen great amounts of them. I've seen elk chase cows right off the feed pile, boy that's enough to make my blood boil. I once saw a 6 point bull tip a 2 yr old bull over onto his back and proceed to lay the antler to him. Oh well, just like most things to do with ranching, we just need to adapt, improvise, and overcome
If the elk are harassing the cattle that should be grounds to shoot them
.PATB said:Silver said:PureCountry said:
They have been, although this summer I haven't seen great amounts of them. I've seen elk chase cows right off the feed pile, boy that's enough to make my blood boil. I once saw a 6 point bull tip a 2 yr old bull over onto his back and proceed to lay the antler to him. Oh well, just like most things to do with ranching, we just need to adapt, improvise, and overcome
If the elk are harassing the cattle that should be grounds to shoot them
No comment :wink:
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
A friend of mine at Ten Sleep, Wyoming has them in his hay meadows bad in the spring. He said Fish and Wildlife watch them for a couple days then shoot the lead cows-he says they pull out after that. Not sure if that would work in a winter deal though. They are starting to perculate into my immediate area too I guess there was a big bull on the west side of the place in July.
starvin'dog
Well-known member
As fun as it is to hunt elk, it's best to have to travel a ways to do it.
Bale grazing is possible here mostly because my 'cow' hay usually isn't as good as what they can paw out for in the crop land. Swath grazing isn't impossible but you have to be selective on which field. Even where there are lots of elk they have their favorite haunts and leave the rest alone. That said, if they find an easy feed source in winter they'll travel miles every night to feed.
Bale grazing is possible here mostly because my 'cow' hay usually isn't as good as what they can paw out for in the crop land. Swath grazing isn't impossible but you have to be selective on which field. Even where there are lots of elk they have their favorite haunts and leave the rest alone. That said, if they find an easy feed source in winter they'll travel miles every night to feed.