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Hay Chix nets

Horse Care
#1

What has everyone else’s experience been with the Hay Chix round bale nets and durability?

I have an insanely smart and food motivated Arab mare who has learned to chew holes in the regular 1 3/4" round bale net in the two months she’s been on it. I’m pretty sure she just neatly snips holes in the net with her teeth, puts her little teacup nose in the hole and chows down.

We’ve repaired/patched it multiple times but she just chews another hole. For what it’s worth, the net is also in a round bale feeder. This is mostly an issue because the real reason the net is on is to keep her pasturemate’s nose out of the round bale since he has allergies.

I’ve ordered one of the heavy duty 1 3/4" Hay Chix nets, so we’ll see how well that holds up to Ms. Hungry Mare. If she’s fed using a regular hay bag or a slow feeder net for square bales, she either opens the top of the net and starts eating or tips the bag upside down and shakes all the hay out for easier consumption. What can I say… she’s a smarty pants!

#2

We’ve been using the 1/2 bale nets for about a month. Our 17 hand gelding chewed through a regular net in 2 days. The hay chix net shows no sign of giving up. We even bought two more for our other horses! My boyfriend likes filing the nets because they open really wide and have the big carabiner so they don’t sag down in the stalls.

I was given a link to give people 20% off if they used my code (then I get a percentage off my next order), PM me if you want it!

#3

Super tough. My first round bale net (1.5" holes) lasted 5 years. Still going but as a back-up. The only hole that occurred came from a tractor spike–not horse’s teeth.

Second net (1" holes) has been in use for 4 months. I wrap the round at the barn and shove it down hill to the paddock with the tractor. No damage.

They pay for themselves in short order.

#4

My experience has not been as positive as those posting above.

I am on my second Hay Chix round bale net. The first net lasted a few years and then got hole after hole after hole (I was happy with it, three years of winter only use is not excellent but I was still OK with this). I replaced it with a new net and it has been one hole after another from day one. Very frustrating and not at all happy with this second net.
When I contacted them about it I was told that my horses were the problem, not the net.

The same group of horses have no problem with any of the other nets I use (various brands of typical sized small hole hay nets, a different brand of whole small square bale small hole hay net, etc.). I use hay nets with various sized holes for all my hay feeding and do not have a big problem with holes.

#5

I love my hay chix net. I think it is going on 6yrs old. Lives in my hay feeder off the ground. Has had a few holes that I repaired with their material.

#6

I have two of the small bale nets from Hay Chix. One has held up better than the other for some reason, however, the semi-worn one is at least 4 years old. I repaired with the extra string they send and it is holding up just fine.

#7

My Hay Chix net is 5 or 6 years old. It has some holes, but I honestly haven’t bothered to fix them. I don’t use it to slow the horses down as much as I use it to minimize the mess, and it still works for that. I’d expect to get a few more winters out of it at this point.

#8

I get my netting from:
http://www.westcoastnetting.com/netting-products/sports/hockey/safety.html
I have 2 that I used to cover the hay in my hay feeder (it’s fastened with rope and bull snaps to hay feeder so just goes over hay) rather than enclose the entire bales. They work great and have held up for several years. I have had the rope and web edges and prefer the rope overall. I have had 8-10 horses using them daily for lengthy periods.

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#9

I am a big fan. There is a discount code link in my signature for 20% off. I bought a roundbale net for my guy that was colicy every week or two for the last 6 months. He has not had an episode in 6 weeks now. I also got one for his stall. The roundbale one is in a pasture (with a ring also) with 4 horses and I’d consider them to be aggressive eaters. No damage at all.

#10

I bought my first round bale bale net used a slow feed net and it came pre-holy, I patched it and love it have had it for three years. I bought another one used and love it. bought 2 regular nets not slow feed love them use them in the stalls and horse trailer,. I also bought three slow feed half bale nets to use inthe trailer so that the hay isn’t all over the trailer love it as well. Just bought another slow feed round bale net. They are great for my mammoth donkey and mule as well as the other horses.
A friend uses two slow feed round bale nets for her horses who have learned to eat around the nets and are “net smart”. There’s a gal on facebook whos doing the half bale nets 3 for 80 and thats with free shipping.

#11

Thanks for the replies, guys! Sounds like my critter is remarkably destructive (or talented) for the most part. She tried to chew her way into a container of probiotics this other day, so she’s a bit of a chow hound :lol:

#12

I started with the small bale nets (1.75" openings) that I secured inside my hay feeders. My intention wasn’t to slow down rate of consumption but to eliminate waste. Even though my three are accustomed to 1.5"-1.75" holes in their hay nets in their stalls, they couldn’t or wouldn’t adjust to them in the outdoor feeders and weren’t consuming the amount of hay they should. I felt like they were frustrated with them, and I was worried about colic. I exchanged the small bale nets for the 1/2-bale nets that are available in the 2.5" “livestock” opening. Made all the difference. They eat freely and happily from the 2.5" holes. I’ve only had mine about a month, but they’ve not shown any signs of wear and tear. That said, my horses aren’t known for being particularly destructive.

HayChix, if you’re reading this, please make the small bale net in the 2.5" livestock opening!

#13

I thought I would update on the extra-tough 1.75" Hay Chix net… so far so good! Ms. Chubby Mare has been trying to break it for a week so far. No holes so far, but it’s not for lack of trying! She has a fun trick where she likes to grab the netting and toss her head as hard as she can to try to break it… I think we figured out how she destroyed the old one. I have to give her credit for cleverness.

Hopefully it makes it through winter!

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#14

Great news. We have some very aggressive hay eaters and just overall mouthy horses on the standard 1.75" nets and there has been zero damage since we got them in November.

#15

I’m glad yours are holding up with just the standard net! My mare made mincemeat of it, but she was intentionally destroying it for easier access to the hay.

The irony of it? She has a bottomless pit of appetite, but she’s actually a very dainty eater - takes reasonably sized bites and chews her food completely rather than inhaling it. She’s rough on the net only when she wants to destroy it.

#16

Well I am in a similar situation I guess. I bought a Hay Chix large round bale net in November and started using it the weekend after Thanksgiving. I look at it every day to check hay consumption and make sure there are no holes or other issues. Yesterday when I got home it had three brand new holes. :frowning: I emailed them and they replied really promptly and shipped some twine for patches (they will send you free twine within 90 days of purchase), so that’s good. But since this happened so quickly and I, unlike the OP, do not have particularly aggressive eaters I am pretty disappointed.

Their explanation to me was: “Holes can happen sometimes, often right when you start to use the net and the horses are frustrated with the change. … Also, try feeding a few free-choice flakes to reduce that stress and frustration of your horses. Keep us updated on how those holes mended. You may have to fix them a couple different times. Your horses will realize it is easier to eat around the net instead of taking the time to chew holes.”

I suppose that’s possible but these horses are used to eating in nets and the cheapo $15 Shires nets that I hang in their stalls last 1-2 years with no holes. They’ve also been stalled overnight due to ice etc so they are eating in the barn all night and should not be starving when they get out on the round bale in the morning.

Boo.

#17

This was my experience too. The even more insulting part is the net that got lots of holes almost instantly was a new Hay Chix to replace an old well used Hay Chix. My horses eat all of their hay in nets, some with even smaller holes than the Hay Chix net, without issue.
I am not saying they have never made a hole in a net before, but it is rare and I have some nets that are older than the original Hay Chix net I replaced (which I was happy with and felt that the holes it got at the end were because of several years of use outside in less than desirable conditions, since I only feed big bales in the winter).

#18

Hmph. Glad/sorry it’s not just me. Sounds like maybe quality has declined? I’m trying to decide if I should swap mine out for the extra-tough net or the large stock one. The extra-tough one costs $100 more and since I’m now a little skeptical of the quality of their products, I’m reluctant. The large stock one has 2.5" holes that should be easier for the horses to eat out of without needing to make holes, and only costs $3 more than the original. Since I’m worried more about containing waste than slowing consumption, I wonder if that might resolve the issue. Any thoughts?

#19

@Libby2563 You have the same thought I did. I was willing to think that batch of netting was not up to snuff and not that the overall quality went down.
I am glad to hear they are willing to replace it for you.

If you do not mind the larger holes then I would probably go that route. But maybe one of the people who is happy with them should comment on that.

#20

I wonder if there really was a bad batch of netting on the original. For what it’s worth, the extra-tough version has held up after almost two weeks without a single hole - and I’ve caught my mare trying to rip it multiple times. So it might be worth the $100.

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