Feeding Round Bales or Large Squares?

Dry airid parts of the world are an exception to this rule - ie. Airizona, but generally, you do not want a bale of hay to last more than 1 week due to mold and spoiling outside in the weather. That means the 800lb bale needs to be eaten and replaced in 7 days. 4 horses x 30lb hay day free choice = 120lb /day x 7 days = 840lb/week! Looks very doable!

Wow, I can't believe I never thought of just peeling off a layer of the round bale at a time. I had just been putting whole round bales in a feeder and leaving them out.

My heart is breaking over all that wasted hay... and the wasted time scraping up the wasted hay with the tractor to get it out of the field :(

You can find them. It is just not as common as in other areas.

This is a round bale feeder specific for horses. It lacks the bars across the top that tend to rub the horse's manes out.



This is the type most frequently used for cattle that *will* rub the horses manes out.

Those round bale feeders are nice. I did once have a friend that had a foal break it's neck in one. It got crowed by bigger horses and slammed in just the right way, just something to be aware of.

As for the round bales, one thing to think of though, you might want to add a botulism shot to your regimen.

Might want to rethink your theory - in MN the vast majority of round bales are stored outside. Some covered - some not. A person that knows how to stack (my husband, BIL, hay supplier) can do so in such a manner that we do not have issues with maintaining the quality of our hay.

Yes, I would question that assumption as well.

I have very well cured hay that I keep undercover before feeding - I've never had a problem with mold or spoilage after the hay's set out.

Perhaps the difference is if the hay is run through a hay conditioner before baling?

It takes my two big horses and a pony just about 2 weeks to go through a round bale. I leave it out ( thought about peeling it but that seems like a lot of trouble and I am a little on the lazy side) and make them clean up most of what is wasted on the ground before I put out a new one. 1 large horse quality round is $70. That is $35 a week. Squares are $6.50 and I go through a bale a day x 7 is $45 a week. So I save myself about $10 a week feeding rounds and this way they get as much hay as they want.

I have one stabled horse 24/7 and I feed only round bales as I get them off my dad one large bale lasts me about 6 weeks with 3-4 feeds per day
Very worthwile much better them small bales as you decide exactly how much to give and its not dependent on flake size very handy for weighing as well

Hay spoilage in rd bales is lessened with net wrap, multiple layers of twine, etc. Many times and in many climates, spoilage loss in the winter is not severe due to frozen conditions and "dry" snow.

You will not have a premium hay product - don't care what part of the world it is in - stored outside! The producers who want top prices put the hay in sheds! Putting the hay in a shed does not mean it is a premium product, it is just a better way to protect a premium product.

In any part of the world when you have conditions available for hay to mold - moisture and moderate temperatures - your hay does not need to be outside for more than a week! You can stack the hay in the hay mound any way you want to, but when you start feeding it, the outside protective layer of the hay is ruptured and the inside is exposed. You will cause trouble for yourself if you leave this bale in a feeder for more than 1 week.