Hay Manager round bale feeder

RalphWD45 · Nov 30, 2018

On face book I ran into a post from American Cattlemen, and it featured a round bale feeder, that was supposed to be 99% efficient. At $65.00 a bale, it really burns me, to see the cows dragging large chunks of hay out of my feeder, eating just the mouthful, and letting the majority fall to the ground, to be stomped and pooped on, and later using it for a bed. I googled Hay Manager, and watched their video, but don't know If I beleve their claims. They want a grand for the model that I need, and will order one if they really are efecient. Do any of you growers have the Hay Manager? I sure would like to hear from a user. I took the loader, and cleaned the ground up, around my feeder today, and pushed it all in a pile for the spreader, and it looks like 2 full bales in that pile. That is $130.00 wasted, and we are just getting started. It is a long way to April!

SVcummins · Nov 30, 2018

This is what I use a three point hitch model . You get handy on the hydraulics and you can drop a flake small enough for 4 or 5 cows to eat and then drive and drop another flake .
Untitled URL Link

retired farmer · Nov 30, 2018

Save your money and look up Hutchison HW Brand web site and go to cattle feeders. We use their model WBF-4 feeders and have excellent results with them. They come in four sections that fasten together and collapse as the hay is eaten. Cows can't tear them up either. Seems like the last one we bought was a little over three hundred dollars. Their phone number is 1-800-525-0121.

Bruce from Can. · Nov 30, 2018

Always trade offs in life. You let the cows run loose, so you have no stables to clean out, and no stabling to provide. Saves a lot of work and money to let the cows run loose, but they do waste some hay. My cows waste almost no hay, as they are fed in tie stalls, and the valuable manure fertilizer is piled and spread were needed to grow next years crop. Lots of work, very little waste. I fully understand why you would not want to tie cows, too much work!!! But the labor saving comes at a cost, wasted feed, less manure to apply. If I was paying $65.00 per bale, I sure would be right with you looking fora better way to feed. I have hay to sell, and this year in my area, I cannot even get $25.00 a bale. I have sold haylage bales for as much as $100.00 to dairy farmers, and tons of hay to beef farmers for $40.00 a bale. This year, no market at all.

dzc3 · Nov 30, 2018

SV has it right.....works good unless the ground is real muddy. If it snows frequently, you can feed over the same spot and build up the manure without hauling.

Stoneman44 · Nov 30, 2018

In your opinion, what advantage does this implement have over the common roller? From the feeding method used in the video, I really don't see one.

Do you do something differently?

Traditional Farmer · Nov 30, 2018

I feed all my hay out in the fields,improves the land,plus no manure hauling,cows beating each other up,no rings for cows to get hung up in etc etc.Having to bale a little extra hay is a small price to pay and any hay not eaten goes in the ground to make fertilizer for next years grazing.

tomstractorsandtoys · Nov 30, 2018

I have 30 cows and have been feeling the same way about wasted hay. Right now I am feeding oats that were baled this fall. It is short and the cows are pulling way to much out of the feeder. Thanks for the link you provided as something like that is what I have been thinking about. Have you got any prices yet? I was thinking about buying steel and building something here in the shop as we have a wire feed welder. I was thinking of making it square as that would be easier to build. My bales are 4x4 and the ones pictured are all feeding bigger bales. Thanks Tom

rrlund · Nov 30, 2018

I never heard of one,but I have some feeders here that are totally counterintuitive. I have three that are made of well pipe and are square. There's just a pipe across the middle on each of the four sides and three vertical out from there to top and bottom. You can flip them over and they look the same no matter which side is up. The only waste in those is just what's bad in the bale that they won't eat anyway. They don't pull anything out. When I clean up,there's nothing around them but manure. I don't know if it's the square corners and the fact that some of them have to reach a ways or what.

DoubleR · Nov 30, 2018

I buy all my hay too but usually only have about ten steers at a time and are on full grain. I have a ten foot door with a half of a hay ring across it. Hay on one side cattle on the other side. I hand feed the hay and peel it off the big rounds or small square bales which ever I got the best deal on at the time. Then place it in font of the ring where they can get at it. Although right now , I have a dislocated shoulder so I just set a big round bale up to it where they can reach it.

Would be too much work with allot of cattle but works good for my small cattle feeding operation. I have very little waste.

RalphWD45 · Nov 30, 2018

Thanks! I will definitely look into that Hutchenson feeder!

RalphWD45 · Nov 30, 2018

The model I want costs $1000. and looks like two hay rings stacked on top of each other. apparently the big bale is suspended on chain basket, with steel rods, and any extra hay pulled out, falls down into the lower ring, and eaten down below.

ss55 · Nov 30, 2018

90 Percent efficient would be a big stretch for any hay feeder, including hand feeding small square bale slices in a manger. 99 Percent efficient round bale feeder sounds like a ridiculously high claim to me.

OregonAaron · Nov 30, 2018

This article was helpful when I built my bale feeder.
https://www.sites.ext.vt.edu/newsletter-archive/livestock/aps-03_02/aps-195.html

JD Seller · Nov 30, 2018

Unless the bale feeder is in mud make them cleanup after themselves. I do not put bales out until the cows eat the majority of the hay. They will clean up if you make them. I also do not put too many feeders out for the cows. I have four rings out for 100 brood cows. They soon learn to eat and not mess around the feeders. The next cow will make them move on.

I have a creep area for calves. That keeps them out of the hay feeders.

chevytaHOE5674 · Nov 30, 2018

I have 3 of them and I would back their claims of 90% utilization. They pull very little hay outside of the bottom skirt. They are heavy and built to last compared to cheap "TSC" style bale rings. I used to use them exclusively but as my cattle numbers increased unrolling hay is more beneficial now (cows spread out, no competition, no manure to manage, etc). I still use one for my replacement heifer herd, and use the others if I plan on being away and unable to unroll daily.

If I had a small herd which I kept in a winter yard I would fork over the money for another hay manager in a heart beat. All 3 of mine paid for themselves in the first couple years I used them.

Hay Manager round bale feeder

RalphWD45

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SVcummins

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retired farmer

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Bruce from Can.

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dzc3

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Stoneman44

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Traditional Farmer

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tomstractorsandtoys

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rrlund

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DoubleR

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RalphWD45

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RalphWD45

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ss55

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OregonAaron

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JD Seller

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chevytaHOE5674

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