For those that feed round bales in this weather

firesweepranch · Feb 28, 2013

First, we usually feed round bales in a ring. Every year we end up with dead spots, even if we scrape all the junk at the end of hay season (usually around mid March here). There is a lot lost from them pulling hay out and then stepping on it. Hay is a premium, if you have not heard! We usually bale all of our own hay and feed just that, and I have it tested each year so I know what I am feeding. This season, we baled half of what we normally get, and the guy that custom bales for us had his baler break right at the beginning of the season so by the time we found someone to squeeze us in it was the very end of May, and the fescue and rye was full of seed, very mature! So we got the bright idea of making a bad situation better, we decided this year to unroll our hay when we fed it, thus eliminating the pile up and dead spots, and putting seed back into the ground (when you unroll the hay, you see the seed all over the ground after they clean up the hay). This is in our "sacrifice" pasture. That worked great all season so far, we have 16 cows that are either nursing calves or getting ready to calve, and they clean up a half a bale a day. Their weight has stayed constant.
Now, for the last week the ground has been a MESS! Mushy, snow on the top and wet slop underneath. The cows run to the hay, and trample it into the ground in the process of eating, then look at us like we forgot to feed them! I was looking at them this morning, and there is a noticeable weight loss. So, how do you guys feed when the ground is like that? I think tonight I am going to put the hay ring out and drop a bale in it and just face the fact that I will have a mess to clean up after hay season is over (hopefully SOON!). I am just wondering how others feed in sloppy mud areas if they are not using a round bale feeder.

goodnight · Feb 28, 2013

firesweepranch said:
First, we usually feed round bales in a ring. Every year we end up with dead spots, even if we scrape all the junk at the end of hay season (usually around mid March here). There is a lot lost from them pulling hay out and then stepping on it. Hay is a premium, if you have not heard! We usually bale all of our own hay and feed just that, and I have it tested each year so I know what I am feeding. This season, we baled half of what we normally get, and the guy that custom bales for us had his baler break right at the beginning of the season so by the time we found someone to squeeze us in it was the very end of May, and the fescue and rye was full of seed, very mature! So we got the bright idea of making a bad situation better, we decided this year to unroll our hay when we fed it, thus eliminating the pile up and dead spots, and putting seed back into the ground (when you unroll the hay, you see the seed all over the ground after they clean up the hay). This is in our "sacrifice" pasture. That worked great all season so far, we have 16 cows that are either nursing calves or getting ready to calve, and they clean up a half a bale a day. Their weight has stayed constant.
Now, for the last week the ground has been a MESS! Mushy, snow on the top and wet slop underneath. The cows run to the hay, and trample it into the ground in the process of eating, then look at us like we forgot to feed them! I was looking at them this morning, and there is a noticeable weight loss. So, how do you guys feed when the ground is like that? I think tonight I am going to put the hay ring out and drop a bale in it and just face the fact that I will have a mess to clean up after hay season is over (hopefully SOON!). I am just wondering how others feed in sloppy mud areas if they are not using a round bale feeder.

It could be that they need more dry matter during this snap of cold weather that we have had. We feed in rings. Old ones that look like crap. I am too cheap to buy the fancy cone feeders, although I think they do save some hay. 1300 pound cows tear up the ground when they eat around a ring. That is just the fun of being in SW Missouri. If you don't have a good harrow, get one. After hay season, go over that area several times with a good harrow, and then put a summer annual on it, like sudan or millet. It makes great pasture in late June through August, and god knows there is plenty of fertilizer already there for the taking. Fence it off with a hot wire, then graze it like you ar trying to kill it when it reaches about mid thigh. If we get any moisture, this has always worked for us.

Mainevent · Feb 28, 2013

Firesweep we roll the bales out and don't have a problem. The cattle seem to clean it up much better to.

leanbeef · Feb 28, 2013

We also feed in rings. Some winters are nastier than others, and this year hasn't been bad at all for us. Some mud...yes...but that's expected. We try not to feed in areas where pasture is better...we typically keep rings around the edge of the field. You could also go to the trouble & expense to prepare feed pad areas if you wanna do that. I like the idea of sowing a summer annual in some of those areas...I may give that some thought.

garett · Feb 28, 2013

My dad bought a couple of these this spring and they have seemed to cut down on some of the wasted hay.

http://www.americanlisted.com/missouri_25/garden_house_22/hay_saver_bale_feeders_jonesburg_mo_13846125.html

hamburgman · Feb 28, 2013

We use these http://lincoln-ne.americanlisted.com/garden-house/hay-saver-bale-feeder-400-lincoln_18681737.html 30 cows on a feeder and no waste. With your 16 I would let them eat just 10 hrs a day. Yes rolling hay on unfrozen ground is a bad idea in areas that know what rain is.

Barry Farms · Feb 28, 2013

I cant find a website for this but the local farm store has em' saved our hay consumption alot this year. I personally wouldnt want to roll out hay unless it is in spring to keep calves out of bacteria infested crap
http://www.applegatelivestock.com/_uploads/Applegate/Products/manuals/165_Hay_Saver_and_Spider_Cone_-_Assembly_R01.pdf

mccannfarms · Feb 28, 2013

Well in our part of SW MO there is no shortage of rocky well drained hillsides so the past few days we have unrolled over those (one of those is somewhat wooded and the ground is the firmest there).

RyanChandler · Feb 28, 2013

Round bale rin- , burn the buildup in the spring. Weld you some sheet metal around the bottom of your ring if you feel you're losing too much.

HAB · Mar 1, 2013

In the Spring we feed our rounds in rings on top of the manure / straw mound. Some of these are 40 years old, so are 10 ft high and 30 ft in diameter. This is sometimes the only area not under water, or belly deep in mud.

garybob · Mar 1, 2013

If you'd like to see a "positive" outcome, feed Bermudagrass Hay in rings. You will get round circles of Bermudagrass that spread out and grow every year.

GB

HAB · Mar 1, 2013

garybob said:
If you'd like to see a "positive" outcome, feed Bermudagrass Hay in rings. You will get round circles of Bermudagrass that spread out and grow every year.

GB

we get those same results with Cattails.

Bulldaddy · Mar 1, 2013

Mainevent said:
Firesweep we roll the bales out and don't have a problem. The cattle seem to clean it up much better to.

This is the way to do it most effciently. Cheap hay from years past has made us lazy. The rings are convenient but wasteful.

firesweepranch · Mar 1, 2013

Thanks for the input. We broke down and put the hay in the ring last night. I just could not stand seeing the cows stomp the hay in the mud and snow mush, then have hollowed out sides until next feeding. They sure looked a lot fuller this morning

We have had next to NO waste this year by unrolling. This morning there was a good part of the hay on the ground around the feeder. The real test will be how the grass grows once they are pulled out and put on pasture we rested all winter! I sure hope spring hurries up and gets here!!!

For those that feed round bales in this weather

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