Feeding Round Bales

[minih]

I am wanting to see pictures of how you feed your round bales where you have an enclosure around them where the mini's have to reach thru to eat it. If you have one where there is a cover over the round bales even better. Thanks!

 

[midnight star stables]

E-mail Marty

She has a neat way!

 

[chandab]

We picked up a typical pipe round bale feeder at an auction; actually 2, they are for sheep and work great for the minis. Just the right size. I don't have a cover or anything, but so far, no problems here, but then this is typically a pretty dry area.

 

[Leeana]

We put one in each of the run ins out in the pasture, and then take a roundpen pannel and put infront of that so we can open and close it. I have no photo, but we put the roundball in the corner of the run in and then position the pannel infront of it so it makes like a traingle (i am trying to paint a picture here since i have no photos). It works though, we open them all day and then shut them around night 7-8pm or so.

 

[Marty]

Hi Miss Terri!

Not a huge fan of round bales but this past winter they really saved my poor miserable freezing off butt.I put mine upon a pallet, then enclose it with a piece of field fencing. What a time saver too! I just use a couple of any kind of clips to hold the fencing together. As they pull the hay out, I rip off hay from the top every couple of days and keep shoving it down to the sides which fills in the holes again. I have had very little waste and mess like this.

I"ve also just sometimes used a few bungies wrapped around the round bales too. It works well at first until they get about half of the hay eaten and then it just collapses, so the first way is the best way I have found.

I also found a winter use for their summer swimming pools....... which keeps the night mist and morning dew off of them. I know it looks dumb but it works good!

But when I know we are going to have rain or snow coming in that will saturate the round bale, that's when I wrap it all up in a tarp to protect it. Easily secured with a tarp and bag of bungies from the Dollar Store. Have a GREAT show season!

 

[wildoak]

Had to laugh at the round bale with a hat on LOL, great idea! I tarp mine to the bale ring when I cover them but the pool looks much easier.

Jan

 

[minih]

Thanks all, especially you Marty! Love the pics, Jay looked and said he has come up with an idea.

We will have to wait and see what happens.

 

[Laura]

I use regular round bale (solid bottom) feeders. They are all inside large portable panel paddocks inside our chicken house. The stallions and dry lotted mares have large paddocks with access into each indoor pen/paddock. Even Jammer has his own round bale. Steve laughs when he puts it in "Well that's his bale for the year"

We do put them up on a pallet, even inside. In the past, I have used bungee cords to cover round bales with tarps. Our pasture horses have the same type of round bale feeder, but in the large run in areas of our hay barn. Since they only want to eat hay when it's cold & nasty, their bale may sit for a month or two or be eaten in a few days...silly things

 

[minih]

One thing bothers from the above posts, I do not like using bungy cords around the horses. I have seen pictures where they come loose and get hung on their noses or other places. Just seems dangerous, has anyone not had problems using them around their mini's?