I have used a round bale hay net with my round bales for years. I put the net over the bale then put it in the round feeder. I tie up the net on top of the bale and has worked well for me.
The two thing that didn’t work was sometimes the bale was bigger than the net, the other issue is over the years the net has gotten holes in it. I mend the holes regularly but now it is quite full of mends.
So, I decided to buy a bigger and better net this year. I got one of the condom styles.
My directions were missing, so HINT, do not try to unfold out in the field when its cold. The hose thingy the net is attached to does not unwind well in the cold!
This puppy is big, the first bale was in the feeder and I just threw the net over the bale and part of the feeder. I didn’t like this as as the bale was eaten down there was a gap and my creative horse was figuring she could fit in that gap and get closer to her precious feed. An accident waiting to happen for sure.
The next bale I tried just throwing the net over without the feeder, problem one, they seem to be able to eat much faster without the feeder maintaining some distance, and now that they can get to close they are eating the top and one side so now they are laying on half of it. I am concerned that my weanling will get her feet caught in the net now that she can walk on it. You know, if it can possibly happen a horse will find a way.
The net is still preventing waste, as long as they don’t start pooping on it.
Has anyone else used this style of round bale net? How do you manage it? TIA
What is a condom style hay net?
I have no idea what type of net you are referring to. I have used Hay Chix round bale nets. They are not difficult to put on.
For the Hay Chix net that’s bigger than the bale, when the bale is on it’s roll-able side, as it rolls slowly, PULLLLL back on the cinch rope & netting to tighten all the excess net. Stop the roll. Then do one final BIG pull to close the hole completely.
Now, begin to twist the net, walking closer to the bale as you go. Pull and twist tightly onto itself – like a giant Hair Bun. Then use all the excess rope to twist tightly around the Bun, going round and round until you reach the hoggle. Tight it together and tuck the ends in.
Flip the bale onto the flat side or into your feeder.
Great explanation Choco mare, My old hay net was similar with a rope that pulled close. Never had a problem tying it up 
Do you prefer using the net in a feeder or without?
My new system is without, sorta. I invested in the 8’ X 32" Century Round Bale Feeder ring. I removed the rope from the Chix Net and “sewed” the perimeter to bottom rung of the CRB Feeder ring with 550 Paracord.
Now that I have a tractor and a husband, we keep the rounds on super heavy duty plastic pallets in the barn and leave one pallet out in the giant run-in. We use the front-end loader tines to pickup the pallet with the bale on it, place that on top of the pallet in the run-in, remove the wrap netting and then flip over the CRB Feeder Ring. We pull the excess net down evenly and then turn the whole CRB Feeder Ring till tight.
Keeps it off the dirt and the equines are happy 
Sounds amazing!
So branching out a bit from the original topic, I am wondering about making some type of platform to sit the feeder on.
The purpose would be to save all the bits that get lost in the snow and mud. I wouldn’t want to extend the platform for the horses to stand on as wood is very slippery.
Does this sound like a good idea, yea or nay? Other thoughts anyone?
My barn has switched to the “bale condoms” and BO is singing their praises. For the easy keepers (ie fatties), he has a small hole condom net in a hay hut. It slows them down a bit, and they certainly can’t lie down or walk on the net! No wastage at all. I have just resigned myself to my easy keeper spending the entire winter just eating. She walks to the barn for breakfast and then back to the hay! No cavorting in the snow for her, might burn off some calories…
Nay, unless you’re at risk of having the net freeze to the ground. Much of what’s left at the bottom is dust and dirt that is shaken off the hay as it’s pulled through the net and it shouldn’t be eaten anyway.
The first place I had nets on round bales the netted bale was placed in tombstone feeders to keep the shod horses from catching shoes in the net. At the end of the first winter the feeder was moved and there was a solid packed 6" of dust, dirt and chaff where the feeder had been.
The first time I had a netted round with no feeder my horses managed to spread out the last part of the bale into a thick mat in the net, which subsequently froze to the ground. I built a bale fence to stop the spread. After the net froze to the ground again the BO dropped a pallet to keep it off the ground (inside the bale fence). In this case it was only two horses who ate through the bale in about ten days. More horses on the bale would eat more and sleep, stand, lie, poop, etc on the spreading bale far less.
I try to pull the net off when there’s about half or a full day’s worth of hay left and let them pick through the last bit. They clean up the decent hay and are ready for the next bale.
My “bale fence” is four 5’ sections about 2’ tall that are assembled around the netted bale once it is in place. I remove them from the paddock when I dump the net.
Good point about the dust and yucky stuff. Any chance you have a picture of your bale fence? Thank you.
Hopefully that works. There are screw eyes on the inside of the uprights at each end of each section and I tie the sections together. I tried double ended snaps but they’re too rigid and break.
I have four 5’ sections and two 2’ sections that can be used on larger bales if needed. If I was doing it again I would just do four 6’ sections.
Thank you, this is great!
I put the round bale on a plastic pallet. I drilled eye bolts into the pallet to clip the net to it. That keeps the hay out of the snow and water. I’ve been doing this for 10 years with no problems. Not sure if the horses ever step on the pallets, though. No sign of wear on the pallets.
Do you use this without a feeder? Wondering if the horses lift up the bottom ring to get at the hay?
I also wondered if the horses would lift the bottom but so far they haven’t. Unless the hoop part was already partly lifted by a snow clump or something I don’t think they would be inclined to try. They are already well conditioned to a net and eating from the top down.
The horses do seem to sleep on the hay as it gets eaten down but that doesn’t seem to hurt anything. No poop on the hay either.
Where did you get a plastic pallet?
I got them about 20 years ago from a paper mill that was closing but I see them around big box stores occasionally. A quick google turns up a few places that sell them.
When the “bale condom” was used without a hay hut at our barn, a very bright pony did lift it when the hay was really low, but it wasn’t a regular thing!
