How to Move Large Square Bales?

[SCM1959]

My hay supplier has run out of round bales and now has the huge, large squares. I don’t have a fork for our tractor and what we usually do is just roll the round bale off of the truck bed into our storage shed. Is there a way for me to get the huge square bale off of the truck bed with just two men and no machine assist? Or do I have to buy the small squares which will be a lot more money?

I have been spoiled by his lovely round bales at only $45 each – they last about 6 weeks – vs. having to buy 30 squares $6 each for the same time period.

Thanks for any ideas.

SCM1959

[Bluey]

What kind of tractor do you have?
Does it has a bucket and is it a large tractor enough to handle big bales?

If all you need is forks, you can buy some that snap on to the bucket edge and will handle big bales fine.

We made our own when we started baling big round bales, before they had those forks standard for tractors.
We welded two large pipes with pointy ends to a cross bar and chained them on the bucket.

You can buy them today from places like Northern Tools:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200586894_200586894?cm_mmc=Google-pla--Farm%20%2B%20Acreage--Bucket%20Accessories-_-31090&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=31090&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=31090&gclid=CjwKEAiAxNilBRD88r2azcqB2zsSJABy2B96U8OVSdoDMwQlIGeSHi0tUAFLwHuEWbgiSsCf1yPCXxoCIKXw_wcB

Just be sure your tractor can handle big bales, they are very heavy on the end of the tractor.

We have at times put a chain around a bale and drug it off a truck bed or along the ground, then push it in place.
Don’t know if that is something you can or want to try.

[Manni01]

I have large bales and no fork… I get them delivered in front of my barn (they wrap ropes around the bales, tie them around one of my big trees and pull back until the bale is close to come down… Then they move the truck to my entrance and push them down… I then push the bales with my loader to their location…
Very easy

[moving_to_dc]

You can pull them off the back like others have stated. Just be aware that you can damage your tailgate in the process. Before we had a tractor, and we fed mid-squares, we would take the tailgate off the truck before going to pick one up. It was simple to take off, and ensured that it never got damaged.

And if you use rope - use HEAVY rope that won’t break, and be SURE that you have not tied knots in it that will tighten under pressure. We preferred chains for that reason - as soon as the chain went slack, it released. Not so much for the ropes…

[sherian]

you can also buy pallet forks that chain onto the front end loader of your tractor - so many uses and usually not expensive so may be worth the investment if your tractor is up to weight

[SCM1959]

Thank you for all the replies. We are not in the financial position to buy any expensive extras for the tractor, but the pallet forks that attach to the FEL might be possible.

For now, since I need hay this week, I am probably going to have to pay for some small squares. Ugh. Maybe we can find the pallet forks. I quickly googled for prices and I will spend as much for the hay in squares as I would for a set of these forks. I will show the figures to my husband … he is the tractor man, so he needs to be on board with this, both $$ wise and tractor-wise.

SCM1959

[jawa]

You can counter the weight of the large square bale by having the bush hop or box blade hooked up to the back of your tractor and set fairly low. Also don’t travel very far or very fast with the square bale carried high with the bucket.

[Against_All_Odds1]

If one bale lasts 6 weeks could you just got pick one up at a time in a pick up and dump it in the field as you pick it up?

[SCM1959]

[QUOTE=AgainstAllOdds;7957705]
If one bale lasts 6 weeks could you just got pick one up at a time in a pick up and dump it in the field as you pick it up?[/QUOTE]

That is what I do … but unfortunately, my hay supplier is out of round bales. Picking up a huge square bale in my truck is easy of course … it is getting the huge square OUT of the truck without hay spears that is the problem.

I wound up getting 6 small squares from our feed store to tide me over until I can find a round bale somewhere. $48 for 6 small squares which will last maybe 10 days vs. $45 for a round bale that lasts 42 days. Ouch!

SCM1959

[sascha]

Open the big square and fork it off out of the truck a flake at a time.

That assumes that it’s a 4 string bale and not a 5 or 6 string bale. I know a 6 string bale of straw weighs in around 1600lbs. A similarly sized bale of hay would be even heavier. Not something you’d necessarily want in the back of an average pick up.

[gumtree]

The OP didn’t say what kind/size tractor they have to work with. IMO unless it is a pretty good size attaching forks to the bucket may not be a good idea. The will “extend” the load considerably from the tractor’s center of balance. It would be better to buy forks that replace the bucket. A counter balance bucket should be hung off the back of the tractor and filled with heavy stone or even better concrete depending on its size. Or a heavy piece of equipment. Something heavier than a box blade.

I assume we are dealing with mid-size bales, 600-800 lbs. I have a “high end” JD "utility tractor, the FEL is rated just under 2.5 tons and lifts about 12’ from grade. I strap the bales to my bucket, lift and move. I use chains, the logging type. But they can “pull through” the bale. Even better are the wide “truckers” load straps. 5 ton breaking strength with ratchet handles. Lay the straps out on the ground and “roll” the bale over them into place and strap tight. Around $15-20 each at Home Depot or the like.

When they are dropped out side my barn loft (Bank Barn) I push/slide them in. Then “roll” them up on top of each other to stack 3 high. But I have gotten pretty good over the years operating my FEL.

[RA12]

I haven’t read the other commenters, but I buy very LARGE 3-string bales. I get it loaded in the back of my trailer, and in the back of my truck bed. Then I get home and unload it all by myself, most of the time. It’s a work out for sure, but I literally have to break most of the bales up, but them in my wheelbarrow and take them where they are stacked by the flake/pat. I will pick up about 15 bales at a time. It takes a while but the job gets done. :o

[Shammy_Davis]

Before retirement, I managed a barn that the riding director decided to use large square bales. It was labor intensive and we had a great deal of waste. What we did was lift the bale on to a hay trailer, pulled the trailer by tractor to the feeding area, cut the twine, and then pulled the leaves off the rear in the amounts needed. We normally got three feedings out of bale per pasture inhabited by 5 to 6 horses.

JMHO but compact and subcompact tractors can’t handle the large square bales (from 900 to 1500 lbs) not because of power and lift capacity but because of awkward center of gravity the bale presents. Smaller tractors are just unstable enough without trying to figure how to evenly lift a large square bale.

The trailer method works and any trailer that handles up to 2 tons will do. IMO, the lower to the ground the better because just lifting a bale is not a problem for the compact tractor, it moving the bale where safety is at issue.

[tangledweb]

If your tractor will lift it, I’d skip forks and get a bale spike for the loader. That way you can move the rounds that you normally get with it too.

You can move round bales with forks but a bale spear is easier.

[Jeannette_formerly_ponygyrl]

Before I got my pallet forks I moved large bales sometimes (very carefully) suspended from my FEL bucket by webbing. Put the webbing across your truck bed so the straps go underneath the bales and you should be good to go when you get home, especially since it sounds like it is pretty much just the sliding the bale out of the truck which is the issue, yes?
But the pallet forks are well worth it! A couple times I have bought giant squares which weren’t very tightly baled, and the one time I was using a bale spear was a nightmare - the bales just sank /the spear sliced upwards, and we ended up breaking a lot of strings.

[eponacelt]

We buy large (5 string) bales in the winter and don’t have a way to move them. What I do is get my hay guy to put it into my truck. When I get home, we back the truck up to the shed row where I store the hay. We put a heavy duty ratchet tie down around the round bale and attach another ratchet tie down to the FEL of our 30hp Kubota.

Once we’re attached, I back the tractor up to drag the hay bale out of the bed of the truck and onto the waiting pallets where I store it. My tractor is definitely not capable of lifting these bales, but is sufficient for dragging a few feet. I then leave the ratchet tie down around the bale, and cut the strings. I can then pull a few flakes off at a time without the whole bale deconstructing from lack of strings.

I get the large squares because they are better hay than round bales, and I can feed it out a few flakes at a time rather than my horses gorging themselves on a round bale. But my horses are fat and too many calories is a concern even int he winter!

[Nancy1]

We are using 3 x 3 x 8 foot bales. Our tractor can lift them but we feed them by the flake. You could set them outside the pen, tarp them and feed by the individual flakes.

[SCM1959]

Well, duh on me. I didn’t even think of cutting the strings and pulling it off the truck bed that way. How silly I am.

I have a huge truck … an F350 longbed dually crewcab … and it is one of the older ones with the engines that men drool over whenever they see me at the gas station. I am sure the truck can handle the load.

Another problem I have is that our feed shed/hay lean-to is situated in a stupid place too close to the pasture fence and I can only get the truck “close” to the side of the building and not in a direct line to the hay lean-to. We can get the tractor sort of closer, but it is a big tractor and I can’t even imagine how much longer it would be with a huge bale of hay stuck on the front. I would be afraid we would somehow pull our fencing down.

My husband is unwilling to buy a hay spear or pallet forks for a job we usually don’t have to do. I don’t know how to attach the things to the tractor, so without his cooperation, I can’t get the spear or the fork.

So! I am going to call my hay man tomorrow and tell him I do want one of those large square bales. I can easily pull it off a few flakes at a time to store it in the lean-to. Jeez. Sometimes the simplest answers are the hardest to figure out.

Thank you COTH!

SCM1959

[FLeventer]

We pushed our 1000 pound alfalfa bale out of my truck with a winch attached to the tree where we deposit it under. Take the tailgate off the truck and no issues. I do it alone, so it can be done.

[Jeannette_formerly_ponygyrl]

My pallet forks were about $150 from Northern Tool, and they are the easiest thing in the world to attach to a tractor bucket. There is a lip which fits easily around the bottom edge of the bucket, then a large handle attached to a giant clamp - turn the handle one way it tightens on the bucket, other way and it loosens. If you need more leverage, use an short piece of pipe slipped over the handle to make the first couple turns. Just saying.

Sounds like it might not be the solution for you now, but wanted to put it out there for others reading along. Giant squares can be so much more economical, but  perhaps a bit intimidating if you haven't dealt with them before.