I am about to order some round bale hay nets. I have the hay huts, but the horses still go through hay like there’s no tomorrow, and some gets wasted on the ground. I’m lucky to get a week for my round bales with two horses. Of course the Hay Chix nets look great, but they cost a lot more than some of the others. Are they that much better? Anyone use a good off-brand that has lasted?
Thanks. I looked at old threads, but most were pretty old.
I had a very bad customer service experience with Hay Chix so I will not use them anymore.
I have had good luck with the brand with the yellow cord. Now to go look that up.
< time away that you did not realize was happening >
Texas haynet.
You can buy them at Runnings, so if you have a local runnings you can go look at one. (And they fit in the bucket during bucket sales so you get a nice discount.)
https://www.runnings.com/round-bale-net-1-75-holes-22820019.html
Awesome, thank you, I’ll check these out. Unfortunately no Runnings here. (First I’ve heard that name!) 
I’ve been a Hay Chix customer since they were Cinch Chix. Have never had an issue.
Their round bale nets have saved me hundreds of $$$$ over the years. Super tough, small hole. They pay for themselves within 2 rounds, since you’ll have less than 1% waste.
I don’t know what they make Hay Chix out of, but they’re practically indestructible. Including the time SO somehow got the netting stuck on the tail hitch and drove off, with the round bale inside the net…
Another vote for Hay Chix here. I am sorry to hear of the negative experience, always disappointing to find out a brand you like has bad service. Mine is three years old and has been in continuous use.
I also waffled on whether to buy them for years because they’re expensive. I spent about the same in time & materials to constantly fix and/or replace knock off or handmade versions. Wish I bought the Hay Chix sooner. You won’t regret it. Combined with the Hay Hut (which I also have), there’s nearly zero waste.
Just a lot of poop. 
I have had the same Hay Chix net for 2 years. It has been in continuous use the entire time. I use it in combination with a ring feeder to keep it from being trampled on and shoes away from the net. It takes my 6 horses a week to go through a 900# round in a mild climate. The easy keepers are pulled of and put in a dry lot about half the day.
The met material is high grade material and very UV resistant. Other nets I have tried had a holes in them within two months.
This is not my experience and I am glad that others are not having the same experience I have had.
I too have been buying Hay Chix nets since they were the Cinch Chix.
I like their “Goldilocks” 5’ net because as the name implies it’s just the right size for the rounds I get. 
I will note that a few years ago I bought one of their standard 6’ nets (there was a gap in time when they didn’t offer the Goldilocks) and it sucked - it started getting holes within a couple of months of use. I noticed that the net was a thinner/lighter weight than my other ones and was worried they had decided to start skimping on their materials.
Last year I bought one of their slow feed Goldilocks and thankfully it’s been just fine.
So they might have had a few off years but hopefully things are all good again.
Okay, another question when looking at Hay Chix nets. They offer the 5’ with 1.75" holes, 1.75" holes - heavy duty, then 1.25" slow feed and 1" slow feed. Ugh. Too many decisions. Of course, the small the hole, the bigger the dollar. Those that have used these, which did you get?
I too did not have the indestructible experience - in fact mine had holes (several including one HUGE one) within a few months after being used by two easy going mares (not the type to really yank on nets or chew aggressively on anything). I was/ am pretty upset considering all the rave reviews and how expensive it was.
I’ve had much better experience with Hay Burners nets - now THOSE are truly indestructible.
Whodathunk this would be such an ordeal deciding? 
Thanks for the tip! I will check these out as well.
This is what happened to me too.
It was my second net from them. The first one I had for a couple of years and it had what I felt was a reasonable amount of holes, but I wanted a new one.
I ordered, got it. Put it out and literally was immediately patching holes.
Everyday, more holes.
When I contacted Hay Chix I was told that it must be my horses destroying it, not their net being faulty.
I explained that it was not my first net from them and these horses eat out of small hole hay nets in their stalls (smaller holes) with no issue, that I felt this net must be defective material, not their fault, but the fault of who they bought the netting from, but it did not seem right that my brand new net was full of patches already.
They demanded I send photo of the holes. Not sure what that shows, but I sent photos and they just continued to insist it was my horses fault.
That is the only net I have ever had that much trouble with, ever. (18 years of feeding in nets.) But after that experience I was certainly not going to buy another from them.
Definitely Hay Chix. I haven’t had any customer service issues, but haven’t contacted them either. Even their non-heavy duty nets last longer than other brands.
I tried a GutzBusta or whatever they’re called. Terrible thing to deal with. It’s not held up well and the material is weird to deal with. I feed round bales that are quite large. So I have to throw the net over and for some reason, this one is just crinkly and light weight and just a royal pain to deal with. Won’t ever buy one again. Probably won’t try anything other than Hay Chix again. And here I was trying to save a few dollar. It’s not worth the try.
I’ll definitely give slowfeednets’ round bale hay nets a look,their nets are good and reasonably priced. I’ll also check out nettingexpert hay net; it’s great that they offer customization.You can reach out to them for more info. Perhaps there are other better options, if you have any other recommendations, please let me know. Thanks for your help!
maybe you can try haylohaynets
I use a nylon baseball backstop net over my round bales. I tie it to the round bale feeder and it works fine to reduce waste.
I’m a big fan of bale buddy nets. Have been using the same two for almost 7 years. When they get chewed through, I just patch the holes with zip ties. I really like that they don’t have drawstrings and I like the dog bone closure system that they use. I also have several bale buddy small nets.
I have round bale nets from Hay Chix that are over ten years old. I bought a roll of the twine that they make them with, and when I find a hole, I can fix it right up. They really are awesome.
I use this, been installed in my hut for 3+ years now and while I love it, the person who REALLY loves it is the hay delivery guys, because it’s so damn easy
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I love Hay Burners. I ordered different brands and gave them all away. LOVE my Hay Burners. Their nets are very durable, soft and knotless. You want a soft net with no knots because lip soreness or damage is terrible for your horses. And figure if they are eating from the nets 20 hrs a day that is a very long time to have that rubbing in their lips.
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