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Do you use your "tractor" to put out hay?

T

Texasmark1

Well-known Member
Weather is getting bad...for us down here, walk in the park for a lot of you guys up North but "we have to do what we have to do". Decided to make it a little easier.

Here I am ready to go. Got the Gin Pole mounted on the front hay spike: Piece of 2 7/8" drill pipe with a hook on one end an a pin to hold it on the hay spike. Bale of 5x4 hay on the 3 pt spike.
mvphoto1473.jpg

Underside of cover I made for my bales to keep the weather off them and an assistant in moving the hay ring when delivering a new bale so I can stay in the cab where it's warm. Made from a couple of spare rings, some 1" square tubing and corrugated sheet iron wired on top of a regular 8' dia hay hoop.
mvphoto1474.jpg

Picking up the ring
mvphoto1475.jpg

Setting it down on the new bale
mvphoto1476.jpg

Height shot showing plenty of height capability even if It were a 5x6 bale.
mvphoto1477.jpg


This helps keep the hay fresher, access when you have freezing rain and snow and if you have a cattle guard (which I don't) rather than a gate and don't cut the strings (which I do) you could accomplish the whole feeding process without ever leaving the cab.

Mark
 
I always used the loader bucket to move hay feeder rings. Each front corner I cut out a little notch on the angled front, just above the cutting edge, so I could hook the top ring with the bucket to move it, and drop it over the bale. Notch was also handy to carry long pipe, posts, etc. in the bucket. Didn"t slide off the front.
 
Nothing fancy here like that. I drop a bale in the
snow, manually set a ring (hay feeder) around it if
I can and leave. Trust me, the bale doesn't need
to be covered. They eat snow and freezing rain too.
Oh, and no fancy tractors with cabs here either.
-10* this morning with a -30* windchill.

Casey in SD
 
My bale rings stay in place for a year. I drop a bale in and let them eat. It creates a pack of old hay to keep the bale off the ground and gives the cows somewhere to lay. I guess I do pull up the bale ring every so often so it isn't buried.

Hoping tomorrow to clean up around my one bale ring that is on concrete before it freezes tight for the season. The one on concrete gets cleaned maybe 2-3 times a year.
 
I also use a front end loader both to put out the bales and move the ring. Bale spear on it, drop bale in new spot each time, pick up the ring with the spear, remove the strings on the new bale and then drop the ring over the bale and leave.
 
I said I did in my text. I wait until I get the ring in place because otherwise the bull thinks it's a play toy and scatters it all over the place.

This way I cut the strings on one side while he and the rest come to the other side. We then swap sides, I remove them and they go about their business.

Mark
 
Good Golly miss-molly that’s a fancy rig for feeding cows.

I like your idea of protecting your hay.

With the high cost of hay anything you can do to maintain quality is a plus.

I started rapping hay this year for the first time in hopes to maintain quality

Thanks for sharing
 
The commercial guys aross the street don't either. After 30 years of not doing it, it's everywhere. Wouldn't be a bit surprised that they lost a cow/calf or two or so as a result. One thing for sure. You can't cut the weeds and sagebrush that needs cutting.

Course they do absolutely nothing to the place. Ought to see the fences. Been leasing it for 35 years that I know of and who knows how long before that. Seldom do you see any salt and when you do it's white. No minerals, no mineral tub, no protein. Don't know how the cows survive and drop a calf every year or so.

But the land lady lives in upstate NY and thinks these guys leasing the place are "the best tennants". Yeah right. They are "the best" because they lease it every year and she doesn't have to worry about finding another. For this place and her being up there it would really be a chore.

Mark
 
Here are some pictures of me putting out hay. I cut all the strings off. I feed the sheep grain in another corral, open the gate, and they run in to get the grain. Then I close that gate, and drive my tractor around without fear of running over them.
a137365.jpg
 
I remove all the string; I've pulled several long ones out of cows mouths before. It could cause them health problems if it balled up in the intestines.
 
Same here in Sask. I don't even have my front end loader to use anymore since I am waiting on head gasket repairs for the tractor. So now I'm using a 60 year old tractor with spike on the three point to drop the bale . Then I have to flip the round metal feeder over top of the bale. Twines are usually stuck and frozen on so I leave them til the next day and try to gather up what twine I can after the cattle have broken the bale up some.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loTdXSspE20
 
Never cut and removed any strings. Never had a problem. Used to feed at least 1000 5 x 6 bales per year, not that many any more. Getting old!!!!
 
That is a nice hay feeding outfit. I have never used a tractor to feed with except one year it was so muddy I just gave up on the truck. I have used a 4X4 truck to feed with since 1970. I used a spear on the back and an electric winch until I bought a DewEzze unroler so I unroll most of my hay. $1500 truck+ $1500 unroller 30 years still going strong.
 
It would make me nuts not to get rid of the strings. There's nothing I hate more than string in a mower. Oh yeah, it's things that haven't been mowed up neat.
 
I kinda think not removing the strings is a very lazy careless way similar to not shaving. And also the sign of a poor caretaker. Anyone around here that does that also has a very trashy looking place. All goes together.No equipment put away and stuff sitting everywhere.
 
I always feed with a tractor but I do have an old tumble bug that I can pull behind my pickup just in case I can't get a tractor started. I use a front end bale spike to move the hay ring. My cattle pretty well clean up a bale quick enough that I don't worry about covering the ring. I also cut the strings, If you ever got into a ball of old string with a disc mower you would know why. I bale a few bales every year with grass string that I don't cut off bull all the plastic string and net wrap comes off.
 
set bales in a row maybe 10 or 15 ft in between electric
fence in front as i move down row move electric to back of
bales and move feeder dont have to start tractor maybe
once a month am now still strip grazing yess making hay in
dec
 
That's what it was: Sharing. I get ideas from others sharing with us and I thought I would share something that I thought might be of use to other seniors like myself. Certainly works for me. But again, I retired and down scaled to a few cows and do my own hay and keep it simple. Keeps you from behind the TV, not the computer and YDT, Grin and helps keep the old ticker ticking.

Mark
 
I retired from a fortune 500 company where I spent 36 years as a dedicated employee. The building and tractor and a few more things I bought after retiring with money I saved. I swore I would do better than the open station, worn out, tractors I had over the previous 30 years when I couldn't afford to pay attention. Besides, being a senior citizen sort of demanded some protection. However, I did keep a Ford 2000D and 3000D open stations as utilities which are not worn out.

Mark
 
I use a 1206 IH to feed with. Snow blower on the back. Has a cab, no heat yet, that's getting fixed soon. I just put the bales on the ground. Sure there is some waste as such but the cows make a nice manure pack that helps keep them warm. Plus it provides something to put back on the fields.

I spent 3 1/2 hours today with temps ranging from just below zero to about 3 above clearing snow. My place, 6 miles away my MIL's place, then another mile to a BIL who has heart problems, then back past my place to help out a disabled friend. I was just a tad bit cold when I finally parked the 1206. The torpedo heater is getting set out tomorrow with some tarps so I can drain the cooling system and get the heater hooked up that I just got the rest of the needed parts for. Also gotta get a new block heater. Old one didn't work too well today. Last year, -15, plug it in for about 4 hours and it was running. Today at -3 I had to boost it and use either.

Rick
 
Seems I pulled long strands out of cows just while taking the twine off the bale! Some times made me look out the back of them to see if if it wasn't coming back in as I pulled it out! LOL Tom
 
I hate it. It is a custom fit version that never fit right and ripped out within a couple years. I wanted the canvas but it was discontinued so all I could get was vinyl. When not feeding the tractor sits in a shed so its not out in the weather anymore than necessary but cold and vinyl don't get along very well. It does help the tractor warm up and direct heat from the engine to the operator so it does help a lot but sure can't replace a cab. The spike is on the three point.
 
Thanks for the reply guess I won't spend almost 300 on one then I might just try to rig my own up out of some tarps my equipment has to sit out all year
 
(quoted from post at 17:10:31 12/05/13) I kinda think not removing the strings is a very lazy careless way similar to not shaving. And also the sign of a poor caretaker. Anyone around here that does that also has a very trashy looking place. All goes together.No equipment put away and stuff sitting everywhere.
Click to expand...

Well, personally the ONLY reason I shave is for the Mrs. But I pull all my strings. I've read about people leaving twine on a bale. Maybe if it was sisal it would be okay, but not plastic. That's just beyond lazy. Even going through pulling all the twine I can I tend to miss some. I find it later, years and years later sometimes.

As far as the rest, up here in The Capital of Abject Poverty it's pretty rare to find anyone with all their equipment in a shed. It's not that it wouldn't be nice, it's just expensive and it's often tough finding a fairly level spot in a good location that isn't on cap rock. It's not sloth, it's just reality.
 
(quoted from post at 01:10:31 12/06/13) I kinda think not removing the strings is a very lazy careless way similar to not shaving. And also the sign of a poor caretaker. Anyone around here that does that also has a very trashy looking place. All goes together.No equipment put away and stuff sitting everywhere.
Click to expand...

Guess we're a real oddball outfit here then. I never pulled twine from round bales until I went to plastic a couple years ago, never had a problem with sisal for decades before that - must have smarter cows around here, lol...

Equipment gets put away too...

And no trash to be seen...

Ok, I don't [u:cbb4c761f3]always[/u:cbb4c761f3] shave every day on the weekends, you got me there, he he...
 
(quoted from post at 17:10:31 12/05/13) I kinda think not removing the strings is a very lazy careless way similar to not shaving. And also the sign of a poor caretaker. Anyone around here that does that also has a very trashy looking place. All goes together.No equipment put away and stuff sitting everywhere.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily true. My old, well maintained equipment is all stored in a good shed out of the weather. Grass is well cut around the yard and not much old junky stuff laying around compared to some. I give it my best effort to get those frozen twines off the hay bales but when the cattle are milling around me trying to eat , I am pulling and cutting for all I can do and the twine breaks off in my nearly frozen hands, eventually I just say "bleep it" I'll come back tomorrow and clean up the twine. So far it works for me.
 
I may be just too lazy to cut strings but if you work at a factory 12 hours daily and come home at night to feed 40 animals I would like to see how many people will stand out in the mud and freezing weather to cut off twine.
 
Always remove the strings, but our bales are either inside or tarped. If your bales aren't water logged the sting won't freeze on them. As far as being in the mud and snow and among the cattle? You can remove the stings BEFORE you even go into the feeder area. The bale won't fall apart the instant the strings come out. I usually unroll the twine, just end up with two long strings that way and less chance of the cows eating the plastic.
 
(quoted from post at 13:09:31 12/06/13) I may be just too lazy to cut strings but if you work at a factory 12 hours daily and come home at night to feed 40 animals I would like to see how many people will stand out in the mud and freezing weather to cut off twine.
Click to expand...

I did it for years.
 
(quoted from post at 13:24:56 12/06/13) Always remove the strings, but our bales are either inside or tarped. If your bales aren't water logged the sting won't freeze on them. As far as being in the mud and snow and among the cattle? You can remove the stings BEFORE you even go into the feeder area. The bale won't fall apart the instant the strings come out. I usually unroll the twine, just end up with two long strings that way and less chance of the cows eating the plastic.
Click to expand...

One of my dreams is to one day have covered storage for 300 or so rounds. That would make life soooooo much easier. Save a lot of waste too. All thats stopping me is money.
 
(quoted from post at 16:55:44 12/06/13) One of my dreams is to one day have covered storage for 300 or so rounds. That would make life soooooo much easier. Save a lot of waste too. All thats stopping me is money.
Click to expand...

Get yourself some used billboard tarps. Sure they cost a few bucks but the money you save in wasted hay will more than makeup for the cost of the tarps. I bit the bullet on some tarps a few years back and suddenly my hay consumption went down so I was able to add more animals and sell more hay, paid for the tarps in one single season. Best move I ever made.

Also no fighting frozen twine and half rotted bales of hay when its -20* and 6 feet of snow on the ground.
 
Nothing wrong with it if you want to do it. I do not have plastic string on my place and never had any problem with the sisal so I do not worry about it.
 

I can only get about 60 inside. The rest are tarped except a few that get fed out in the fall.

I found some 23x48 hay stack tarps that will cover 66 4x4 bales, $250 each. They work great!

Sounds like for about $1250 you can cover 300 bales, tarps good for many years
 
(quoted from post at 11:59:23 12/10/13) I think they waste more hay when you cut the strings
I leave em on and then gather em up after the bale is gone
Click to expand...

Do you use a feeder or just set them out?
 
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