The contraption is called a telehandler. So freaking cool. Maybe my most favourite bit of equipment that I will probably never operate.
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The building we use for hay was already on our property when we purchased our place; it’s worked for us for hay storage for decades, even if not exactly what we would have built if starting from scratch.
It’s easy to get a flatbed trailer right up to the doors, and quickly unload small squares (the two of us can unload and stack 100 small squares in about 45 minutes, including sweeping the trailer afterwards, and picking up any loose hay), but our hay shed is not suitable to drive into or use a forklift. Never been an issue, except this year with the bundled hay (we’ve been picking up hay out of the fields and transporting it/stacking it in our shed ourselves for several years previously).
Frankly, I’m not thrilled about the new way, as the two suppliers we’ve used have had bundles with the bales stood vertically on end – seven across, three deep. That means, when the surrounding banding is cut (metal banding in one case, heavy string in the other), the bales are relatively unstable, IMO, as compared to the traditional way for stacking hay, in which layers of horizontal bales are crossed at 90 degrees.
So, even if we had a building that allowed for bundles to be mechanically unloaded inside, as a small, older woman who is frequently doing chores on her own, I wouldn’t be comfortable with an in-use opened bundle of loose bales stood on their short ends stacked above my head. So I suppose that we will continue to deal with taking the bundles apart before filling the hay shed with them stacked crosswise in the traditional manner.
We can store half a years’ hay with our existing, conveniently located, building, so I don’t think we’ll be getting a new hay barn.
You would too be comfortable handing bundled hay, I do and am probably older and definitely smaller than you are.
I don’t have any trouble cutting the strings and pushing the first top bale off, then the next one, then start on the next row and so on.
We are on our second year of those and didn’t have any trouble at all with them.
Those bundles are really very stable and a better mousetrap when it comes to handling hay.
We would have to pay more by now if it was still being delivered and stacked one bale at the time, if they could even find help for that.
I guess it is more than I was thinking. We had a neighbor up North who put up really light rounds of grass that I bought to go with the alfalfa bales we put up. They didn’t last long probably weighed 500 pounds.
In my defense I have never fed just 2 horses alone, feed by “feel”(never have weighed, I just know the amount) so I go through a lot of hay. Sounds like you are well set as 30 pounds per day should get you through even a brutal winter.
I’m glad to know what it is called. I can now stop calling it a thingamabob! :lol:
I envy your easy keepers and grazing! Yeah, I also feed premium hay and have no waste. They really do eat that much :lol: :lol:
The bundles are more stable for hauling that’s for sure! When I’ve been able to get bundled smalls, I cut the bundle strings and stack the bales as I want, 7 across and 6 high
I prefer them stacked that way (strings horizontal and bales vertical) for safety reasons when they are stacked 3-4 high and it’s me climbing the stack. Stacked the other way, (strings vertical and bales horizontal), I’ve run into problems with poor stacking causing a very dangerous game of Jenga in which entire bundles roll down from 3 or 4 high. That’s a hell of thing to see, let me tell you!
I was very thankful that work mow got renovated this year allowing for more precise stacking and the bedding straw is all only 2 bundles high. Feed straw is actual large squares and stacked 3 high, but that gets removed mechanically so not my problem.
I much prefer bundles to loose squares over all, mainly because the bales need only be handled once and a few a day is way nicer than 5000+ over a few days + a few every day 
We don’t stack bundles more than two high, is all that fits in our old quonset barn.
Sigh!!! My tractor is not big enough to pick up bundles with the front end loader. So I have to cut the outer straps and carry and stack them by hand. I have thought about upgrading the tractor but I would have to make sure I had enough maneuver room with a bigger tractor. My hallway is 16 feet so I might but not sure I need to spend the money just to stack hay. Sure would be nice though with them stacked so neatly.
I do like hauling them though. Just strap them down and so much less worry about loosing a bale and causing an accident. Usually the bales tend to not be big loose bales either which makes them easier to handle.
Yeah, we do six to seven small bales across, and five to six high. That’s high enough for me!
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I don’t know if this has been suggested or not but lots of place have equipment that you could rent at least to unload the truck with. Or just put an ad on FB for help and pay a landscaper a couple hundred bucks to bring a machine and unload them for you.
I work in an 150+ year old bank barn. We can go 4 high. It’s insane. I love that building, but I’m sure glad they renovated to create more floor space so we don’t have the insanely stacked bundles this year.
Nice!
