Feed big rounds 1000 lb one bale last two horses 2 weeks or so.Lot easier then peeling it to feed twice a day. Yeah there’s waste but bobcat cleans it up in spring before grass starts growing. No ill effects on my pasture where bales were out all winter along with waste.
[QUOTE=judybigredpony;8944715]
You can buy a Bale Buddy?? Bag…its a breathable Bag made of tough tyvec type material you pull it over the bale and roll the bale upright…as the horses eat the elastic top keeps bag on bale and loose stuff stays in…After nearly 5 years we will finally be replacing some of our original ones…I use 10-11 rounds a month and keep at least 1 in every paddock…the big pastures get 2-3 depending on herd size (3-6)…We don t get bald dead patches…I chain drag the spots and mulch the dropped hay and manure with garden tractor…we move the bale locations every drop…The seed from hay can be beneficial to pasture and mulched stuff doesn t hurt it…Before saying No give it a chance…one key is don t buy junk crap hay…invest in hay that is clean weed n fox tail free and of some nutritional value…Horses will waste poor quality hay searching thru it…[/QUOTE]
I have a Bale Buddy that is looking for a new home, if anyone is interested…
[QUOTE=JB;8945818]
Sounds like not enough hay was put out, as opposed to being a square bale issue 
I definitely agree it’s almost always cheaper though - labor and material costs are down in getting them baled and stored. Decent squares around here are about 4x that of my rounds.[/QUOTE]
In part it wasn’t enough hay that was viable by morning. She was throwing out 1.5-2 bales per night for 3 horses. They would trample part of it into the mud/snow or it would blow around when it was windy. Our squares are 35-40 pounds. So part of the improvement is the round bale and part of it is the corral/pallet prevent it from getting trampled/wasted/blowing away.
The round bale works out cheaper plus it is less labor for BO and barn worker so less time too.
[QUOTE=kiwifruit;8944170]
thanks guys for the feedback. leaning towards no round bale. Too much waste.[/QUOTE]
I feed rounds by hand. If you have a place to keep an opened one under roof it is easy to un-roll ( un wrap) what you need when it is flat side down.
No waste and I transport for feeding by wheelbarrow. My biggest issue is pushing the wheelbarrow fully loaded ( heaping) in snow or a strong wind but we don’t have that too often.
It took me a while, but you CAN feed roundbales and have ZERO waste. I only have 3 horses and get the big 5 footers. Its wonderful because it takes them exactly 1 week to eat an entire bale if they are outside on it 24/7. They are also all thoroughbreds, and even with the net, they keep excellent weight on.
1.) You need to invest in a good feeder.
- I like the hay hut. In the winter, it keeps the rain and snow off the hay - keeping it dry and edible. No “gross” hay as it never gets mixed with mud or snow.
2.) You need to net it.
- The 2" nets arent really considered slow feeders, but do significantly contain the hay preventing them from using it as bedding! I use this for my thoroughbreds and their weight is excellent. You can get smaller nets as well. They are a struggle to put on at first, but once you get the hang of it its very easy…takes me about 2-3 minutes to get the net on by myself.
3.) You will have no waste, dry hay and your horses can eat 24/7.
Dont cheap out on a feeder without a roof, and dont skip the net…if you want no waste.
You still get the dirt spot where grass wont grow, but in the summer it rebounds back to a nice flat area - especially if there isnt much hay waste there!
Ok I’m back on the round bale wagon! The reason I want to get one is my older horse needs to eat all the time and I plan to be away for a few days over the holidays. Even though I have someone to care for them, I just want piece of mind that there is enough food for them since they are out 24/7. So I have a run in shed and my thoughts are this.
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Put bale in corner on top of wooden pallets and then take snow fence and wrap around bale and secure in the corner of the shed.
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Build a box around the bale with 2 by 4’s big enough to keep horses out but low enough they can put their head in to eat the hay.
I don’t want to invest in a ring or a net just yet since I’m not sure if they will even eat it! I give them a nice alfalfa mix and I have a feeling that this will be below their standards but willing to give the round bale a try! I bought the nicest one that my farmer has.
Thoughts on my plan?
Get the HayChix.com net anyway. Trust me, they figure it out within seconds and you will truly cut the waste since no hay is being pulled out in clumps, which is promptly peed and pooped on. They’re so easy to put on and pay for themselves within 2 rounds. My first one lasted 7 years and I’m only replacing cuz I went with smaller holes
Once you start feeding round bales you won’t go back to small trust me, invest in the bale barn at balebarn.com and be done with it. My horses have been using this for the past month and I can say not a single blade of hay is wasted, best money I have ever spent and you have piece of mind.
[QUOTE=kiwifruit;8974007]
Ok I’m back on the round bale wagon! The reason I want to get one is my older horse needs to eat all the time and I plan to be away for a few days over the holidays. Even though I have someone to care for them, I just want piece of mind that there is enough food for them since they are out 24/7. So I have a run in shed and my thoughts are this.
-
Put bale in corner on top of wooden pallets and then take snow fence and wrap around bale and secure in the corner of the shed.
-
Build a box around the bale with 2 by 4’s big enough to keep horses out but low enough they can put their head in to eat the hay.
I don’t want to invest in a ring or a net just yet since I’m not sure if they will even eat it! I give them a nice alfalfa mix and I have a feeling that this will be below their standards but willing to give the round bale a try! I bought the nicest one that my farmer has.
Thoughts on my plan?[/QUOTE]
Think the build a box with 2 x 4’s is a better plan then snow fence. Nets work real well too hardly any waste, here recently we are just putting bales out no nets. Sure makes life easier if they have out a round bale.
Botulism vaccine!!! Lost a horse after feeding excellent round bales that we make ourselves and make just like our squares after 15 years of making hay.
I use the haychix bag in home made feeders and have no waste, but also have very good hay. Some people don’t feed as good round bales and I don’t blanket their horses for wasting the hay.
I love rounds. I don’t have a tractor so I can’t feed large squares, but rounds my husband I can roll out ourselves without too much trouble.
I’ve been feeding rounds on and off for about 8 years and they’ve been the best thing for keeping weight on my hard keeping thoroughbred. He doesn’t like to eat non stop and because I work, I can’t guarantee he’ll eat enough if I put out hay (he’ll eat until he decides he’d rather stare into space or watch the birds or the trees or the wind).
Depending on the size of the round, we usually get about 10 days to 2 weeks out of a round in the heart of the winter, longer in the summer for 2 horses and a mini. This year we’ve my hay guys large rounds which we haven’t gotten as often (his smaller baler is broken) and we’ve been getting 2.5 -3 weeks, but it hasn’t been that cold yet (until the last couple of days) and we’ve been supplementing more with hay cubes to make sure we get enough fluids in everyone.
We feed our on top of a pallet out of a hay ring and wrap with a 2" net. In an effort to save money, I purchased 15’ x 15’ of 2" netting that we wrap around the round bale. It’s more time consuming that an round bale net but I didn’t want to spend $200 on a round bale net. It’s actually worked really, really well though after 3.5 years the net has seen better days. I’m hoping I can get through this winter before replacing it, but… I’m not sure if I’ll replace it with more netting or with with an actual round bale net.
Overall, I love rounds. I still buy squares to supplement between rounds, but the horses are so much happier with the round bales. Very little waste. Some bales we have no waste, others maybe 20lbs at most. One of these days I want to build a nice covered feeder, but our set up is otherwise working. I’m just not willing to pay $800 for the hay hut (especially when I don’t have enough waste as it is).
So an update. Got a nice round bale, drove it to run in shed, placed on two pallets and then took some old lacrosse netting (my maintenance guy works for a local school district) and we snugly placed netting around bale. So yo see where this is going… Horses love bale and start to eat. Things looking pretty good! Pat myself on back for not buying an expensive net and saving some $$$. Less than 12 hours later walk out to run in shed to see netting thrown in a heap and the bale torn apart. Grrrr. Spent much of the morning cleaning up dirty hay and trying to salvage what is left of bale. Later this am placed an order for Haychix netting. What was I thinking just tucking the netting around the side of the bale??? Lesson learned. Good news is that they like the hay!
I used sport netting for one of my round bales- and it worked a treat! I used heavy nylon rope to weave into it, to make a way to tighten it up, used my old knotting techniques, et voila! Still holding up.
I used wood pallets to ring my bale when I free fed. Tied them together securely around the bale. Horses could eat but not get into the bale. As the bale got smaller I just took away a pallet. Cost me nothing but time.
When I have used a round bale it was put on end and the covering cut off about 2 feet down. They eat it like an ice cream cone. Wait till they clean it up before putting the next one out. NO waste. They don’t go to the bathroom in it and no issues with grass growing in the spring. I would never use a feeder. Too many injuries possible, mane rubbing and an unneeded expense
Once you feel that HayChix net, you’ll understand. And the new way of closing the net is SOOO much easier than their original. 
we use a horse-style feeder. Set a pallet on a high spot in the pasture. Spear a bale, take it to pallet, throw Hay-Chix net over it, cut and remove netting, then snug up hay chix net. Set on pallet on the bale’s side, then set feeder around it. I would never put a netted bale out with shod horses w/o a ring feeder- they could paw at the bale and hook a shoe heel in the netting. :no:
