Round bale feeders

Sparktrician · Feb 12, 2018

Sooooo.....all of us with cattle have dealt with those cheap flimbsy ring feeders that you get a year or less out of then they are
in pieces....literally.

I have a idea of a robustly constructed round bale feeder that would last 'forever', unless you run over it with a dozer....

Doing a little market research here....what would a feeder constructed as such be worth to you? With the construction I have in
mind, Id offer a 'lifetime guarantee' on them, of course disclaimers like running over with equipment would apply....

Traditional Farmer · Feb 12, 2018

I don't want a feeder of any kind in a field with my cattle,I just go to a clean place every time I feed hay and unroll the bale.What hay is wasted is no big deal to me as it goes in the ground and becomes fertilizer.Anything like a feeder cows will find a way to get hung up in,get hurt in etc etc.

rusty6 · Feb 12, 2018

I'm always surprised when people complain about problems with their round bale feeders. I have two. One I bought from a local welding shop and another second hand from another farmer who had used it for years. Welded from one inch square tubing. I think I might have had to re-weld one spot over the ten years or so I've used them but I expect them to last me as long as I am farming.

TBA · Feb 12, 2018

I unroll all my hay

Bruce from Can. · Feb 12, 2018

Turn 50-60 head out on 3-4 feeders , every day, and see what happens to them. Hungry cows and heifers, or I should say greedy cows and heifers, take a toll on bale rings.

544hydro · Feb 12, 2018

I'm in the no feeder group.

Ranchingelec · Feb 12, 2018

2-3/8 drill stem for the cow feeders and 3-1/2 drill pipe for the bulls. Built for life time of use then sell to the next rancher for the next life time. Only thing they are heavy and you need the tractor to lift them. Do NOT let the feeders build up in the poo. That is when they get wrecked. Especially In this northen country when everything get froze down this time of year. Feeders also last longer if you put the feeder over the bale not the bale dumped into the feeder.

Ranch

4520BW · Feb 12, 2018

We make ours out of stainless tubing, not had one get destroyed yet. If u look thru the mules ears you will see one,not a very good pic. Also make our gates out of the same material.

PJH · Feb 12, 2018

We had a local guy who built round bale feeders out of solid rod (maybe pump sucker rod?) He made two varieties - you could choose between 5/8" rod or 3/4" rod. I have two of the 3/4" size and one of the 5/8" size. They were expensive at the time - I can't remember the price, but I want to say around $250 each, which was probably $100 to $150 higher than the best farm store feeders were selling at the time. I've owned them for 15 - 18 years, and they look the same as the day I bought them. I move them with the bale spear on the loader, but they are not too heavy to flip over a bale by hand. They were a little harder to get home because they are one-piece construction. You really needed a flatbed or a trailer or an old pickup already scratched to haul them in.

He had a home made roller to make the circles. He had three wheels - two sprocketed/chained together and driven by a hydraulic motor. There was a hydraulic jack involved to control the diameter of the radius. The wheels were common little wheels like you'd see on the front of a lawnmower - the kind that the two halves bolt together - no tires, of course. It was a slick operation, and he had lots of business. He took orders, and called you about a month after you made your order to let you know yours were done. I wish I had bought a couple more - it seems like I could always use "one more feeder".

Good luck with your endeavor - I've dreamed of doing the same thing, but there's always something else that demands my attention first.

JMS/.MN · Feb 12, 2018

Our local welder has a setup like PJH dos- but rolls them out of pipe...very substantial product compared to the thin wall TSC junk. Not everyone has fields to unroll bales to feed in- yards are the only option, and these feeders work well for that. Other local vendors make wheeled feeders of similar quality.

cjunrau · Feb 12, 2018

I welded up some with 2 78 oil field pipe. they are .5 ft wide and 10 ft long Fit 2 bales. will last forever (almost) no bull or tractor has ever bust them yet.
Trick with feeding with bale feeders is to NEVER feed 2 bales with out moving the feeder. if it freezes down the cows will bend it easier and the tractor for sure.
Also if the cows get hungry they push way more. So the guy with 1 feeder for every 10 cows will last a long time.

rusty6 · Feb 12, 2018

(quoted from post at 08:35:57 02/12/18)
Also if the cows get hungry they push way more. So the guy with 1 feeder for every 10 cows will last a long time.

That is probably a factor why I have no problems with mine. Small herd and the feeders are never right empty. There is some waste even with the feeders as they pull hay out and drop it on the ground but not nearly as much as just dropping a bale on the ground. They love to push a bale around and walk on the hay as much as possible so I'd guess half the hay would be wasted without the feeders.

Doug-Iowa · Feb 12, 2018

I have two bale rings I got at a farm sale. They were Apache brand and about a year old I was told at the time, and I think I got them for $100 each which was a steal. They have heavy wall 1 1/2" OD top and bottom tubes and I have used them for horses for about 6 years. They are as good now as when I bought them, but maybe my use is much less severe than cattle. I do pick a new spot for every bale so the area around the feeder is not as muddy, maybe keeps the bottom tube from rusting as bad. Up until this year I picked them up by sticking the corner of the bucket under the top ring, and about half the time it would slip off and fall back against the side of the loader. On my old tractor that didn't worry me but on the new one I decided I needed a better option to avoid breaking one of the glass cab doors. I put a hook in the center of the bucket and pick them up that way now. Prior to these feeders I had the cheap TSC brand and they fell apart in a couple years.

LarryH · Feb 12, 2018

I use plastic ones from century feeders in ok have a 7 yr warranty

rrlund · Feb 12, 2018

I have three that a guy here builds out of well pipe. Haven't so much as had a weld crack yet. I give $285 for them. I need two more to complete what I use. When the factory made junk breaks,I replace it with one of his. You really can't even buy a medium duty store bought for that,and they won't last more than one winter,tops with full grown cows pushing on them..

That guy and one of his hired help have both told me the story of him going out one afternoon when he wasn't in a good mood and ramming one that was froze down,with a log skidder and all it did was pop out of the ground.

old · Feb 12, 2018

I've thought about building one but have not figured out how to take the 1 inch round stock I have and making a circle out of a couple of 20 pieces I have. If I could figure that out I would build one

cjunrau · Feb 12, 2018

I used the tractor once to make 1 inch sucker rod in a hoop. Tie the end against the centre of the rear tire. slowly back over the rod and the end pulls up the front and around the tire. Go slow and make sure it stays in the middle, stop when the end is right under the tire, slowly go forwards and un hook when pressure is released. bigger the tire the bigger the hoop.

old · Feb 12, 2018

It should read 20 foot long pieces not 20 pieces

JMS/.MN · Feb 12, 2018

Chain it to a tractor wheel...drive slowly. Helper would be advisable! "37 steel wheeled would work great, easy to attach to wheel.

JMS/.MN · Feb 12, 2018

I just torched a small chunk out of each corner of the bucket side edge...lets me hook a ring with either end of the bucket and move them. Also a handy notch to keep long pipe, boards, anything else from sliding off the sides of the bucket when transporting them.

old · Feb 12, 2018

37 steel wheeled??? Only steel wheeled machine I have is a 1935 JD-B and the wheel on it are very narrow so would be hard to keep the piece of round stock center on a 4 inch wide steel wheel

rrlund · Feb 12, 2018

These ones I buy are 5'6" by 6'6". Hold one bale. They're so simple that they'll make you feel foolish even paying $285 for one,but they are unbelievably solid.

1370pwr in ne · Feb 12, 2018

I have had really good luck with the plastic one too. I have one in with 5 adult hereford bulls all winter and so far it's holding together great. Light weight so it's easy to lift and move too.

JMOR · Feb 12, 2018

(quoted from post at 10:25:31 02/12/18) I don't want a feeder of any kind in a field with my cattle,I just go to a clean place every time I feed hay and unroll the bale.What hay is wasted is no big deal to me as it goes in the ground and becomes fertilizer.Anything like a feeder cows will find a way to get hung up in,get hurt in etc etc.

ou are onto something there!

centash · Feb 12, 2018

Agreed.....mine is 10 years old, fed 30 to 40 head year round, gets flipped over with the loader to clean out leftovers and has had no repairs.....maybe Bruce's Jerseys are a bit short of iron in their diet.....lol!
Ben

hrRoss · Feb 12, 2018

I have a round bale feeder made out of plastic entirely. flat plastic around the bottom, plastic boards upright around outside, plastic board bent around the top,probably 10-15 yrs old, don't see any problems yet, used with small heifers, 6-800lbs. bigger bred heifers I use 6 scheshow feeder panels hooked together, 2 on each side,1 on each end, 10ft long each, heavy duty, last about 10yrs. can feed 3 1500lb round bales at a time, so last about week. steel panels, slant bar

2x4 · Feb 13, 2018

build a corral of good fence posts the size you need & chain one end to a post. Hook the other end to your tractor & drive around the corral til the ends meet. Done this with a dozer.

Round bale feeders

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