Bull Burger
Well-known member
Has anyone priced a new or used Bale bed lately? Do you have a preference?
Pickup Bale Bed
- Thread starter Bull Burger
- Start date
Soapweed
Well-known member
We have an 11' Hydra-bed that works well. It also has an 1800# rated caker (that actually holds 1500#). You can cake a bunch of cows, and while they are "distracted" pull into a stackyard and load up a couple bales and roll them out. On a windy day like today, the rolled out hay stays in place much better than hay fed through the bale processor. Besides, I hate to use the processor on a dry windy day like this, in case a hot bearing might start a fire.
With the Hydra-bed, another available attachment is a post hole digger. I have a dump box, which is made for sand or gravel, but also works well to feed ear corn. It fits behind the caker and holds around 1500# of ear corn, when heaped over the top. This year we are not feeding any ear corn, just two pounds of 40% cake.
The only thing that could be improved is the lid to the Hydra-bed caker. It hinges on the front, and only works with one of our overhead cake bins. We use a Welker caker on another pickup to feed out of the other cake bin.
I would put in a good word for the Hydra-bed, and the quality of their product.
With the Hydra-bed, another available attachment is a post hole digger. I have a dump box, which is made for sand or gravel, but also works well to feed ear corn. It fits behind the caker and holds around 1500# of ear corn, when heaped over the top. This year we are not feeding any ear corn, just two pounds of 40% cake.
The only thing that could be improved is the lid to the Hydra-bed caker. It hinges on the front, and only works with one of our overhead cake bins. We use a Welker caker on another pickup to feed out of the other cake bin.
I would put in a good word for the Hydra-bed, and the quality of their product.
A
Anonymous
Guest
BB- I like Besler best... Have used DewEze and Hydra beds also-- Liked the Hydra bed better than the Deweze and last I looked both Beslers and Hydra bed were cheaper-- The Besler I have now is about 5 years old and has picked up or rolled out over 10,000 bales with not one problem altho the cylinders are beginning to weaken-- won't pick up the 1800-2000 lb bales anymore... And like Soap said I know you can get both the Besler and the Hydra bed plumbed and set up for a post digger or to run a Hydraulic chute.....
Brad S
Well-known member
If you want post digger/wire winder/flyspray blower, remember to get a 3 spool valve. Make sure you get a hydraulic pump powered off the crankshaft. Those electric over hydraulic power units don't cut it.
I like the simple pto cables of hydrabed better than the the electric solenoid switches on deweze. Reliability is the bottomline, and those solenoid valves cause trouble when yopu least need it.
If you're unrolling hay, then you want the HB style arms that pivot at the bed rather than the deweze that squeezes flat against the entire bale side.
There is a cannonball that has a simple dump bed option than seems cool, but I don't know if I'd ever use it.
All in allI'd rather have a HB than a deweze if they cost the same, but I really like to cake with unrolling high quality alfalfa. Try this, walk up to the flat end of any round bale of alfalfa. rub your hand above the center swirl from left to right and right to left. You'll notice one dirrection is all stubbly while the other dirrection is smoother. This is hard to explain, but if east to west is the sticky dirrection, then unroll to the east and you really save on leaves.
The HB is off patent I think because I saw a Canadian knockoff for arround $5K, that's what I'd look for today.
The 12 gpm pump is the only size HB sells, and the biggest deweze offers - you want the 12 gpm pump.
There is a nkock off deweze from right across the street in Harper that really looks good on a Dodge. It has mounted tool boxes along the sides.
I like the simple pto cables of hydrabed better than the the electric solenoid switches on deweze. Reliability is the bottomline, and those solenoid valves cause trouble when yopu least need it.
If you're unrolling hay, then you want the HB style arms that pivot at the bed rather than the deweze that squeezes flat against the entire bale side.
There is a cannonball that has a simple dump bed option than seems cool, but I don't know if I'd ever use it.
All in allI'd rather have a HB than a deweze if they cost the same, but I really like to cake with unrolling high quality alfalfa. Try this, walk up to the flat end of any round bale of alfalfa. rub your hand above the center swirl from left to right and right to left. You'll notice one dirrection is all stubbly while the other dirrection is smoother. This is hard to explain, but if east to west is the sticky dirrection, then unroll to the east and you really save on leaves.
The HB is off patent I think because I saw a Canadian knockoff for arround $5K, that's what I'd look for today.
The 12 gpm pump is the only size HB sells, and the biggest deweze offers - you want the 12 gpm pump.
There is a nkock off deweze from right across the street in Harper that really looks good on a Dodge. It has mounted tool boxes along the sides.
Bull Burger
Well-known member
Thanks Soapweed, OT, and Brad S for the feedback!
Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Hey Bull Burger where ya been?
On Holidays :wink:
On Holidays :wink:
Cal
Well-known member
I was hoping Bull Burger was back, too....but see this thread is 3 yrs old. :secret:Big Muddy rancher said:Hey Bull Burger where ya been?
On Holidays :wink:
Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Cal said:I was hoping Bull Burger was back, too....but see this thread is 3 yrs old. :secret:Big Muddy rancher said:Hey Bull Burger where ya been?
On Holidays :wink:
DeepDan
Member
I guess I'm hi-jacking an old thread, but I'm new here and not scared to skin my ignorance , so here goes. Ya'll mentioned "cakers" on those bale beds, and I've seen "cake" mentioned in alot of posts. What is cake? Liquid protein supplement?
I'll retreat now...
BTW, I've really enjoyed this site. Seems to be some great folks here.
Dan
, so here goes. Ya'll mentioned "cakers" on those bale beds, and I've seen "cake" mentioned in alot of posts. What is cake? Liquid protein supplement? I'll retreat now...
BTW, I've really enjoyed this site. Seems to be some great folks here.
Dan
Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
DeepDan said:I guess I'm hi-jacking an old thread, but I'm new here and not scared to skin my ignorance
I'll retreat now...
BTW, I've really enjoyed this site. Seems to be some great folks here.
Dan
I think Cake originally was cotton seed cake pressed into cubes for cattle feed. Now all large cattle pellets are referred to as cake in some regions.
Cake feeders were boxes mounted on the pick up bed that had a floor chain to feed out the cake, Some had tippers that filled then dumped pre-measured amount and some had counters that totaled the dumps to measure what was fed.
If I am wrong somebody please correct me.
Big Muddy rancher said:DeepDan said:I guess I'm hi-jacking an old thread, but I'm new here and not scared to skin my ignorance
I'll retreat now...
BTW, I've really enjoyed this site. Seems to be some great folks here.
Dan
I think Cake originally was cotton seed cake pressed into cubes for cattle feed. Now and large cattle pellets is referred to as cake in some regions.
Cake feeders were boxes mounted on the pick up bed that had a floor chain to feed out the cake, Some had tippers that filled then dumped pre-measured amount and some had counters that totaled the dumps to measure what was fed.
If I am wrong somebody please correct me.
on just this or life in general???!!!!
:lol: :wink:Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Yanuck said:Big Muddy rancher said:DeepDan said:I guess I'm hi-jacking an old thread, but I'm new here and not scared to skin my ignorance
I'll retreat now...
BTW, I've really enjoyed this site. Seems to be some great folks here.
Dan
I think Cake originally was cotton seed cake pressed into cubes for cattle feed. Now and large cattle pellets is referred to as cake in some regions.
Cake feeders were boxes mounted on the pick up bed that had a floor chain to feed out the cake, Some had tippers that filled then dumped pre-measured amount and some had counters that totaled the dumps to measure what was fed.
If I am wrong somebody please correct me.
on just this or life in general???!!!!
GO get on the BUS
:lol: :lol: :lol:per
Well-known member
Somethings smells in this thread. Until I met Ranchers.net I called them pellets.
loomixguy
Well-known member
They are referred to as "Idiot cubes" when I am surrounded by my colleagues.
Soapweed
Well-known member
loomixguy said:
I thought that was the term used to describe small square hay bales, when each one was loaded by hand, stacked by hand, and fed by hand. :wink:
Clarencen
Well-known member
Here is the way my Dad told it. He worked on a Sandhill ranch in either 1918-1919 or 1919-1920. There was a lot of snow in November so they were not able to pick corn. He hired out to work on a ranch. His first work was hauling cotton cake from a railroad car on a siding at Thacher NE. He said the cake was just as it came off the press just broken enough so it could be baged in 100 lb gunny sacks. It was real hard could not be crushed with the boot heal.
They hauled this cake twenty or so miles to the ranch with teams and wagons. He said it was cold. The boss set in his wagon all the way withhis heavy overcoat, but the rest got off and walked some to keep warm.
Dad job at the ranch was to feed 100 head of steers 2 miles from the ranch. He fed with a team of mules and a hayrack. Getting to the feeding area horseback. He said he would load 100 lb sack of cake on the hayrack then pitch on a load of hay about 1 ton. He would pitch off the hay. The steers could smell the cake or expect it so would follow the hayrack and flatten down the hay. Then he would go back and scatter the cake on top.
There was mild weather in January, so he went back home for two weeks and helped finish picking corn. He went back to the ranch in time to help with putting up ice. He said the fresh snow melt water produced crystle clear ice.
Cotton cake was the standard supplement for Sandhill Ranchers for years. The old process cotton cake had about 44% protien and a good shot of phosphores and some fat.
Later cotton cake was ground and made into pellets or cubes so it wasn't as hard. Soybean and other meals are used more often now in cake and are blended with other by products of milling. The term cake is still used here.
They hauled this cake twenty or so miles to the ranch with teams and wagons. He said it was cold. The boss set in his wagon all the way withhis heavy overcoat, but the rest got off and walked some to keep warm.
Dad job at the ranch was to feed 100 head of steers 2 miles from the ranch. He fed with a team of mules and a hayrack. Getting to the feeding area horseback. He said he would load 100 lb sack of cake on the hayrack then pitch on a load of hay about 1 ton. He would pitch off the hay. The steers could smell the cake or expect it so would follow the hayrack and flatten down the hay. Then he would go back and scatter the cake on top.
There was mild weather in January, so he went back home for two weeks and helped finish picking corn. He went back to the ranch in time to help with putting up ice. He said the fresh snow melt water produced crystle clear ice.
Cotton cake was the standard supplement for Sandhill Ranchers for years. The old process cotton cake had about 44% protien and a good shot of phosphores and some fat.
Later cotton cake was ground and made into pellets or cubes so it wasn't as hard. Soybean and other meals are used more often now in cake and are blended with other by products of milling. The term cake is still used here.