• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Round Bale Feeders

R

Redranch

Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2008
Messages
7
Location
Central Montana
I have a question for someone. We have about 85 cows that we start feeding hay to about Christmas. For years been just rolling it out for them. Lately been reading how can save so much hay using a cone round bale feeder. Now I roll out about two bales a day. If I put them in two feeders will they all get feed that day. I would think you need about 4 feeders for them but then they will eat more than they need and go threw more hay than ever. Has any one here ever not put out enough feeders and let them fight it out and has it worked. I just cant see how it would.
 
Shortgrass said:
Sounds to me like the aggressive cows would do well, while the more timid cows would fall off. Free advice is worth all it costs.
Click to expand...

Yep- I agree-- and unless you had lots of feeders with hay in them all the time- you'd have a bunch of cows fighting and injuring themselves every time you refilled the feeders...

I've never used them on cows- preferring to roll them out and give each one plenty of space for that reason....And even then there always seems to have to be one or two old "boss" cows that like everyone elses hay better than theirs...
 
I use them for small a quanity of calving cows that I feel need to be in a corral at calving time, no more than 6 cows per feeder and I do see a trememdous hay saving, You know the old saying about overfeeding them first day dinner, 2nd day bed 3rd day bath room well that is not the case with the round feeders, but I do not think it would work on the amount you are referring to.
 
Your replies are are about what I was thinking. But I was thinking if I had about 5 feeders and could cover them with some kind of cover after a few hrs it might work. Make some kind of metal ring with a lever you could lower and raise over the feeder. Would it work.
 
Know an out fit that feed around 300 cows, they had a ring for every 20 head and feed every other day. (Would depended on bale size)
He had a old loaf stack mover he haul a big load of round bales on he welded a reverse 5th-wheel hitch on the mover and then had a hitch on his 3 point hitch he just had to lift up or down to unhook. He moved the ring before he refilled them
 
Thats funny you said that , just bought one of those yesterday and put it together this morning. Havent got to try it yet on my replacements. Are they as good as the sales man says. Guess will find out, had to pick between that one and the bull saver cone ring.
 
Guess what Im trying to say is how am I saving hay by letting 20 cows to a feeder eat free choice probably around 45 pounds per cow when they only need about 30.
My bales weight about 900.
 
Much prefer to distribute (roll out, bale processor) hay to the cows. In cold climates like ours, the feeders do freeze down, the cows do waste some hay, the manure and hay is really hard to get loaded up and hauled out and it is just more pleasing to see that long string of cows lined up at their "table". Gives a good opportunity to count, inspect and watch the cows better. Plus it is easier for the cows to haul manure than it is for me to do it. I use some feeders for the calves, but I generally hate them. I guess they are a "sin of necessity".
I would not let the feeders be empty if the space is limited. I hate to see those cows belly butting trying to get a spot around the feeder.

On a side note. I just bought some new feeders (cheap, farm store type) for my weaned calves this fall. I had a calf get inside one, As I approached to try to lift the ring off of it, she decided to jump through. Then she became hip locked and was running around the lot with a bale feeder around her waist! Finally went to get the portable grinder to cut a bar out of the one day old feeder :cry: At the sound of the grinder, she had the sense to back up and get unhooked. I was able to lift the feeder off of her. Close call.
 
Sundancer said:
Much prefer to distribute (roll out, bale processor) hay to the cows. In cold climates like ours, the feeders do freeze down, the cows do waste some hay, the manure and hay is really hard to get loaded up and hauled out and it is just more pleasing to see that long string of cows lined up at their "table". Gives a good opportunity to count, inspect and watch the cows better. Plus it is easier for the cows to haul manure than it is for me to do it. I use some feeders for the calves, but I generally hate them. I guess they are a "sin of necessity".
I would not let the feeders be empty if the space is limited. I hate to see those cows belly butting trying to get a spot around the feeder.

.
Click to expand...

I agree... I feed kind of skimpily- and they do a pretty good job of cleaning up.... But like the opportunity on the 20-30 Below days to roll out an extra bale or some old hay or straw and more adjust the feeding day by day as the weather requires....
 
Take this for what it's worth and see how you can apply it, with my dairy background there is a lot of research on "bunk space", I can't remember what the recomendation is, somewhere in between 18-24" I believe. But the point is having a certain number of inches per cow. I would think the same applies for the feedlots. I think you could apply this to the round bale feeders. The other thing to consider is these charts that show the hours cows graze, rest and ruminate. Durring the peak times of days when they eat, you want to have enough space.
 
I also prefer to roll it out and ration the hay to the cattle rather than to use the round feeders. We do have some that we use for small numbers of sore-footed cows or in corrals for convenience. The feeders should be moved to a fresh location each time they are filled, or the ground becomes dirty and wet. During one bad winter when the temperature was below zero for several weeks, I saw calves freeze their feet from standing in the oozie ground beneath round hay feeders that were not moved to a new location. Cattle just stay cleaner and "prettier" if the hay gets rolled out to them daily. The water needs to be checked and ice broken anyway, so it is handy to feed them in the same operation.
 
You talked about covering the top of the hay in a round feeder. Saw a fella around here had taken one of the large fiberglass saatelite dishes and turned it upside down over the feeder ring. Looked pretty good but not sure how it was attached.

G3
 
I also prefer to feed everyday(I use a hay processor). I guess I figure I would rather spend half a day feeding on the ground rather than spending a whole day foolin around with feeders to keep them fed for a few days. Besides the calves and bulls, I never use feeders. In my opinion they are kind of a pain in the butt, although convenient at times.
 
As a guy who still feeds small bales (idiot cubes some of ya'll call em') i watch those old sisters daily and their pecking order. Some old cows will just follow the truck as ya feed each bale and then stop on the best bales and chow down. The heifers and timid cattle will take their feed when the dominant cows are somewhere else. Our neighbors tried feeders with round bales in a pasture but discontinued using them for the same reasons stated by others here. With small bales we can mix meadow/grass hay, triticale, stubble and good alfalfa throughout the feedrow and help all the cows get a little of each. But hydrolics sure are nicer than bicept-olics when ya have to load on cold winter days.
 
Rolling the hay out is good for all the reasons given above. I do, however, keep a couple of bale feeders for feeding straw. Our girls get half hay and half straw in their ration and I find they waste less straw by having it in feeders than when I roll it out.

But feeding hay in feeders is too wasteful in my experience.
 
I use bale feeders. Figuring 20 cows per feeder is on the high side(upper limit on space)...I like about 15 per...even less with horns. At this rate, 4X5 bales will last two days...even the bottom end of the social hierarchy will get a chance to eat.
750 lb. bale divided 30lb./days will give you 25 cow days. So, my feeding rate is between 25 and 30 pound per head per day. Good hay is well over 90% consumed...the only way to get better efficiency is to feed it in a trough. When I start time-limit grazing the cows on winter annuals, the hay last almost twice as long.

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to tell anyone how to run their operation! :wink: :!:
 
burnt said:
Rolling the hay out is good for all the reasons given above. I do, however, keep a couple of bale feeders for feeding straw. Our girls get half hay and half straw in their ration and I find they waste less straw by having it in feeders than when I roll it out.

But feeding hay in feeders is too wasteful in my experience.
Click to expand...
Burnt-i was wondering if you're feeding rice straw?I would like to find a way to strectch my hay and have seen some reasonably priced rice straw,i only have a few head of cows,but last year i fed them through the winter in a 15 head slant bar feeder and like the way they cleaned everything up,except the bossy cows pushing everyone around,I'm feeding on the ground right now and it annoys me how they can trample it checking out thier buddies feed.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top