How Long Should a Round Bale Last?

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Hey everyone!

I am going to be free feeding my horses this winter and I have 5' round bales. I am trying to figure out how long a round bale will last them so I can calculate how long my current supply will last. 

A while back, when I didn't have all my gender paddocks set up, I had 2 large horses, 3 stallions and 2 mares on a single bale and it lasted a little over a week with all of them eating 24/7. 

Now I have 4 paddocks....one is for my 4 boys (33.5" & Under) , one is for my 4 girls (33.5" & Under), one is for my Quarter Horse (15.2hh) and there is one empty one which is for weanlings and no one lives there right now. I will be putting a round bale in with the boys, one in with the girls and one for my Quarter Horse. They will have access to it 24/7 and will be supplemented with grain. 

So I guess I need to get to my main question: If I were to put a round bale out with 4 minis who are 33.5" and under, how long should it last?

 

[muffntuf]

Depends really. I have 10 pony mares and one miniature mare in on pasture. I use 600 lb. bales, two are placed out at one time, so that is 1200 lbs. give or take with some of the waste that goes on. If you figure out how much they eat now lb. per day, you can get a grasp on how long it should last.

Those two bales I put out for my mares are not accessed 24 hours day, but rather the longest day due to the shortness of light - is maybe 10 hours. They get grained 2x's a day and then at night they get 1 % of their body weight in hay (unless extremely cold).

So the bottom line, the bales (1200 lbs.) last about 12-13 days.

 

[Becky]

I used to have roundbales in my dry lots. 4 horses per lot would eat one in about 4 weeks.

If I bring 3 round bales into my pasture (very little pasture grass in the winter), I can run 10 or so horses out on them for 8 - 10 hours per day and they last about 4 months.

 

[palsminihorses]

We are using some 4.5 X 5 foot bales of mixed grass with a little alfalfa in them. One bale only lasted us two weeks for four bred mares and a stallion that was out with them for a few hours each day. They had access to it 24/7. Yep, they're all real 'porkers!' The same size bale has lasted our five weanlings over a month, but they go out to a large field during the day.

There's a lot of difference in the bales, like how tightly they're baled, etc.

Pam C.

 

[PaintedMeadows]

Do you know the weight of your bales? Mine are about 1600lbs and that lasts my 6 minis about 15 days. They are on it 24/7 and don't get any grain or extra feed. When we get our really cold snaps (around -35c to -45c) they will go through it in about 10 days. There is quite a bit of waste because we are always getting snow which lands on the hay and they don't dig for it. They do like so sleep on it and don't use their run in shelter. I hope that helps some.

 

[Mominis]

Round bales last as long as it takes for me to roll them out of the pasture. The hay quality, suceptibility of the hay to mold, and the dangerous condition of the ground around them after a good rain or snow just turn me off. Ever consider just throwing flakes in different and ever changing locations around the pasture? It's easiest if you have a Gator or a Mule to drive around on and toss flakes off in different spots, but it's good exercise to walk them out there too.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Ever consider just throwing flakes in different and ever changing locations around the pasture?

During the fall/winter/spring when it is pretty cold around here (50 degrees and under) I have a very hard time doing chores outside due to badly arthritic knees, even at the age of 20 due to multiple injuries to my knees. Therefore, I prefer to spend as little time outside as possible, however I still go outside twice per day to fill up buckets and do other chores that need to be done with the horses. During cold times, all I do is feed, water and turn out/bring in horses from the pasture (very little grass in winter). My fiance does any of the heavy lifting and cleaning of stalls due to me not being able to handle doing such things in cold weather. During the WARMER months, I am fine and can do everything normal, but the cold hits me pretty hard and limits what I can do. That's why I am wanting to put out bales this year during the cold to limit my workload as well as my fiances. Plus I do have some hard keepers and no one that I have has ever been an overly "easy keeper".

I used to have roundbales in my dry lots. 4 horses per lot would eat one in about 4 weeks.

This sounds exactly like my situation. I keep all my horses on dry lots (makes my life easier) and I plan on trying to let my pastures rest during the cold months, as with it being wet a majority of the time, I want to keep hooves off of the land to prevent anyone from tearing up the ground.

The hay quality, suceptibility of the hay to mold, and the dangerous condition of the ground around them after a good rain or snow just turn me off.

I plan on putting each one on a pallets to keep them from sitting directly off the ground, plus we wil have all the bales under atleast one tree to block some of the weather. In addition, we get snow about once per year, if we're lucky and we only get moderate-heavy rain every once in a while so we don't usually have "bad" weather during the winter - just a LOT of cold and wind!

******************************************

I appreciate everyone's responses and I always look forward to hearing ideas from everyone. Constructive criticism is always good and much needed, no matter who you are!

Thanks so very much,

Katie

 

[Ashley]

It always suprises me how short of a time round bales last for you guys with minis/ponies. I have 3 big guys (1000-1500) a pony, and 2 minis and mine last me 2 weeks. They are about 800-1000 pound bales depending ont he bale.

 

[Tiny Hooves]

It does really depend how many horse's you have eating out of it. My bales weigh around 1600lbs and I have 8 mini's eating out of it, and so far they have been lasting about 4 weeks. When I have just 6 of the mini's and my quarter horse eating together they last only between 2-3 weeks. All of my kids are on grain morning and night also so you could they are very healthy. But again it all depends on how many horse's are eating out of it and how big your bales are. Tiny Hooves

)))

 

[Relic]

This was very interesting reading for me...we have 21 mares eating of a 1200 lb bale 24/7 and they usually polish it of in 6 days...

 

[MiLo Minis]

The hay quality, suceptibility of the hay to mold, and the dangerous condition of the ground around them after a good rain or snow just turn me off.

[/b]
I plan on putting each one on a pallets to keep them from sitting directly off the ground, plus we wil have all the bales under atleast one tree to block some of the weather. In addition, we get snow about once per year, if we're lucky and we only get moderate-heavy rain every once in a while so we don't usually have "bad" weather during the winter - just a LOT of cold and wind!

I don't think I would be putting pallets under them. Once the hay is eaten down those pallets could become dangerous for little legs and hooves. That won't keep them from molding anyway. The wood will start to rot and there are all kinds of nails in pallets - I really think that is a BAD idea. Even if you put them in a bale feeder the horses can get in there.

 

[ropenride]

Our bales run around 1400#, but how fast they eat depends a lot on the weather and the quality of the hay. If your "cold weather" is only in the 40's and 50's your bales should last a bit longer than here where our cold is below 20°. Better quality bales seem to last longer as well. I've found that feeding a little extra beet pulp slows down round bale consumption also. The 12 minis got thru a bale in about 3-3 1/2 weeks, 5 bigs in one pen take about 6 days and 9 bigs in another pen take 4 days. I know I sure wouldn't trade my 24/7 round bales for anything during the winter! Chores just go so much easier. Good luck feeding them this year!

 

[Bess Kelly]

Rounds are a real challenge for me as I have no equipment to move it. And, they stand around it like the "mother lode" might get away

I use square bales. As another has mentioned, I often place part of it in one area, part in another far side of field.....at least they have to walk a little to get to the next belly buster

It does seem to slow them down a bit as they get full and then stand around for a while before looking for something else. Generally I do this if I know I need to leave early and not want to "have" to go feed/hay and if it's really cold that night.

Mine are fed BP each day with their pellets. This helps me to keep hay use down just a tad. Of course, we all hate the colder temps but, don't have the issues you do.

Have you tried heat wraps on your legs to see if that helps you? Don't mean that you need to change your feeding

I'm asking not for that but, just in general -- heat seems to help many with some types of arthritis.

 

[Gypsygal]

My mares will consume one in about 5-6 days (20 mares) - 5' bale. My two boys are still working on the one we put out the first week in October. We monitor for mold but generally do not have any problems with that.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Have you tried heat wraps on your legs to see if that helps you? Don't mean that you need to change your feeding I'm asking not for that but, just in general -- heat seems to help many with some types of arthritis.

You know, I have never thought about that! Do you know where I could possibly get any? I feel horrible that I can't enjoy my minis in the colder months and this may help me be more active with them!

THANKS SO MUCH GUYS!

I really appreciate all of your input! I have put three bales out (one in each paddock) and we'll see how long it lasts and I will report back here to let you know from my experience! 

 

[chandab]

Have you tried heat wraps on your legs to see if that helps you? Don't mean that you need to change your feeding I'm asking not for that but, just in general -- heat seems to help many with some types of arthritis.

You know, I have never thought about that! Do you know where I could possibly get any? I feel horrible that I can't enjoy my minis in the colder months and this may help me be more active with them!

What about leg warmers like dancers where when warming up? Just another idea, and they might not be too hard to find.

I use large round bales, and just had some large squares delivered teh other day. Our homegrown large rounds are about 1100#, they last about 10-14 days for the 3 saddle horses that share one depending on the temps and how much the like the bale; sometimes I put one in the feeder for the minis (5 in the pen) and it lasts them about 2-3 weeks, sometimes longer. The new squares are different for me, they come off in flakes like the little squares, but they are huge flakes, at least 4x bigger than the small squares; so, its going to take me awhile to figure out just how much to feed them, but I bought it to use pretty much as 24/7 hay, so I won't go to crazy figuring how much.