(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Using hay hooks

3

37chief

Well-known Member
Location
California
Just about all the pictures I see here dealing with hay bales I hardly never see hay hooks used. When Dad made small bales they were wire tied, and weighed around 95 pounds. Hay hooks were always used. Even now with daughters house hay and cord tied it hurts my hands moving a bale they probably weigh around 70-80 pounds. I head for the hooks. Stan
 
I use hay hooks all the time with small bales. Grab one by the string, the second with the hook. Makes pulling them out of the stack easier too. You just don't want to run one over with a rubber tire....
 
Also a lot of kids and people on that wagon probably have no idea what a hay hook is and have no idea how to use it
 
We've never used hooks. I did try them once back in college when our PASS club helped a rancher haul some straw. Didn't see the appeal of them. Guess it's something you have to grow up with.
 
I did it one time that I can remember, we used the long flax straw hooks my uncles liberated from Olin only to pull them off the chute otherwise stacked them with the strings and we made heavy bales, fingers got knots on them and didn't bother, 5 or 6 high if alone on the rack, more if there were two stackers
 
I use one. We sue wire tie and the wire is hard on your fingers, but the reason I use one is to pick the end of the bale up, hold it with the other hand, then use the hook on the far end to lift and toss the bale. Also helps when climbing a stack of bales, like a rock climber.

Had two cousins get in a fight on top of a hay wagon swinging hay hooks at each other over a girl. I jumped off five bales high to avoid getting hooked by mistake. A well used hay hook gets very sharp but they don't need to be sharp to hook the hay.
 
We had 3-4 hooks on our hay wagon all the time. Most guys used them, I did every time. Once Dad had a hired crew, town kids, started out using the hooks, Dad noticed they were lifting bales by the string, but the hooks were gone. They tried the hooks, couldn't get the hang and threw them down. Dad shut the tractor off, said, Go find them. They did.
 
Grew up with hay hooks, on AC RotoBaler bales...only way to handle them. Started farming on my own...JD 14T, then a NH 268 with thrower...unloading wagons, always by the strings. Didn"t need bale hooks.
 
The wife and I just finished putting 162 bales in the barn this evening. We don't touch a bale without hooks. Steve
 
I always use hooks, but I curse the man who invented the T-bar style hook. Maybe the people who don't use hooks have only known the t-bar style, Instant blister between your fingers from it rubbing.
We bought a good pair of flat steel D-ring style hooks with leather gauntlets 30 years ago and I use them every time I have to move more than 5 bales.
 
Only place we, from the late 1940's, used the hooks was on the wagon to pull them up on the wagon. Never used them for unloading. Used leather gloves rather than bare hands when baling. Wood handled bar style hooks. I have one in the little horse barn to pull the bales off the loader bucket. We never made 70 pound dry hay bales.
 
I only have to put up about 130 40-50# bales a year. I load them on the wagon with a 3 tined fork and then unload them and carry them up the stairs into the loft with a pair of hay hooks. I like hooks a lot, though I did not grow up with them.
Zach
 
You reminded me, back when I was young I wore out the right leg on my jeans using my leg to help stack bales. Never handled wire tie, whose would be tough on hands especially at 95 pounds.
 
Always used them i like the t bar style better control.Did slip once and thumb hasn't been the same since. I wouldn't even try and unload a throw box without them all you had to do is stab them toss in the elevator theres a trick to making them unhook .Back in the day i think my record was seven minutes to unload a wagon small wonder everything hurts now.
 
Nancy has a pair that she uses to move small 4x4 round bales.

I have a pair in the KRONE 260 baler just in case of a "jam".
 
I used them and still do. Had a pair for moving round bales when I did that and have a pretty red pair (TSC) that I use for pulling on my boots. Work great.
 


I did without a hook for years. Since getting my ancient NH 68 up to snuff and getting the bale basket, my old loose bales are now bricks that you can't easily grab the strings on. Between that and arthritis in my hands, I've started using a hook. Much more efficient way to mow hay away.

And whoever mentioned the "Tee" style hooks- I agree 100%. That's what my hook is, while my boy uses a "Dee" style. I'm getting a D type for myself this year!
 
Used the T hooks if we were pulling a wagon behind the baler. They were great for pulling a bale towards you coming off the baler. But growing up in WV, there weren't many fields flat enough to use a wagon behind the baler.
 
I keep a hay hook on my round baler to help clean out the once a season "choke". I painted it white so I can hopefully find it after the scuffle. I can't imagine much worse than a lost hay hook in a hay field.
 
I've got the pair my dad used putting wire-tied eastern Washington alfalfa into the barn when we had the dairy in the '50's. I just have them for nostalgia's sake, as we never use them with the twine small squares now. Although I hadn't thought about using one to pull bales off the top of the stack.
 
I handle about a 1,000 bales of straw a year and still use one. I really like the extra long red one from TSC.
 
Yep, got a pair of the long ones from TSC hanging in the barn and a small one on the tractor. If I have to handle a small square bale, I'll have a hook. I can still hear the old man barking at me to "quit pullin' on them d@mn strings, boy!"

Mac
 
In all the years I made hay, I never seen anyone use a hook on square bales. Small rounds they are a necessity.
 
Never touch the string or wire with my hands.....hay hook & knee does all the work. It is a technique that once you get used to it, you won't be w/o it.
 
Theres been a few hay hooks on this farm longer than Ive been around but I don't recall ever using them when we handled all small square bales. I did try one out for a while but never found it much advantage. At least not enough that I remembered to use it again. I always wore gloves so the twine did not hurt my hands as much. Or more likely leather mitts as they were loose fit and easier to pull off and dump the chaff out of.
I don't make many square bales anymore as I wore out my knee joint years ago stacking bales. Big rounds handle so much easier on the front end loader spear.
 
We always used a hook to snag bales off the chute behind the baler, I always used one hook in the mow, the bales would be coming so fast that it made it easier for me,,same with gloves, we always used gloves,, a new kid would start out saying "I don't need gloves" the next day he would want a pair..
 
We use gloves, and knee. One long hay hook to grab bales off baler chute. Otherwise they ate more trouble than they're worth.
Exception, another guy bales our straw with wire tie baler. Those bales are difficult to handle if not using hooks.
 
. Yes for sure jddrawbar. We always baled in wire and hooks were the only way to go. Oh yes and your knee. It got easier after the old man got rid of the old JD 3 wire pick up baler, those bales were heavy then we got a new JD 116 W automatic tie wire baler and it wasn't much better. I still have my hooks and my old Star Line milk stool right here in the living room where I can see them.
 
Had a neighbor who moved here from the city who thought the first time he worked the wagon that he needed one. Dad was on the wagon with him. He jammed it in a bale coming off the chute and gave it a big yank. It slipped out and darned near hit Dad in the face. He put it away and didn't use it again.

I carry one in the twine box on the round baler and use it to pull out slugs if I get something jammed in the feed throat. That's about all they're good for.
 
Use one every time. Just one in right hand. I have a few different styles, but only one favorite. It has a wooden tee handle and is thin, tapered nice, and is sharp. We bale with flat wagons and I pull the bales from the chute with it. Love mine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Hay Preserver Application Rots Sheet Metal?
Replies
5
Views
886
Bill VA
B
P
RIP
2 3
Replies
41
Views
3K
dcarp
dcarp
R
Early morning baling
Replies
13
Views
1K
Texasmark
T
D
Vermeer 504 Bale Restrictors - Hay DR or KEH?
Replies
3
Views
927
DanielW
D
J
Soybeans, silage corn and 1st crop hay done this week.
Replies
7
Views
573
Philip d
P
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top