round bales

[dixie_belle]

I have never fed round bales before but I may have the option to purchase some really nice round bales of alfalfa hay. So here is my question: should I get some? I can put it in the run in shed this winter, keep it off the ground and out of the rain/snow and they could eat, free choice. Is alfalfa too rich for them? It sure would be convenient but not if it is bad for them. I've always used the square bales in the past and measured how much I give them. I have never just put mass quantities out there for them. But this hay is beautiful and it's alfalfa with no weeds. I'm in love with this hay!! And with four little guys, one round bale would last a long time, wouldn't it?? What would you do?

Shelley

 

[Marty]

I have nothing against round bales as long as the hay itself is nice grassy clean palatable for mini mouths, not round bales intended for cows. I have used round bales in the dead of winter with no problem. However, although I love alfalfa hay, I do not believe in using too much of it, especially in providing a round bale of alfalfa free choice would be a no here in my opinion. When I have alfalfa hay, usually I only buy it for winter, I am not generous with it. I mix it with their grass hay.

http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/alfalfa.shtml

 

[cretahillsgal]

Personally, I would not free-choice feed alfalfa. I think it is too rich. I DO however, feed grass round bales year round. And supplement with alfalfa.

Maybe you could fence it off and just allow them access to the round bale for limited periods of time?

 

[minie812]

We feed round bales from our own pasture during the winter free choice. We move one into the barn when it is bad out and I rake off some for the stallions in their pen

 

[maranatha minis]

I use regular grass hay round bales, but we DON'T put it in with the horses!!! I have known to many people who have had them fall over and kill the horses feeding on them. I tear off what i need, put in the wagon to the tractor and spread it out around the paddocks. here i can get good grass hay a lot cheaper by the round bale. 20 square bales per round bale. hope this helps.

 

[shannonw]

We have a round bale of grass hay out for the horses and it makes such a mess as they don't eat it fast enough( of course we only have two minis so that could be part of it). No way could we put out a bale of alfalfa though. Our horses would eat that all day long and make themselves sick. We opted to go with square bales of timothy hay that way we could control their intake. We have thought about getting a round bale of the timothy hay though and putting it in the barn and flaking off some for them but the savings compared to the mess is just not worth it (maybe $10 saved).

 

[wildoak]

Free choice alfalfa is not a good idea for horses. Great for smaller quantities and mixing with grass hay, but unless you can fence it off or just pull off of it to feed you may put your horses at risk.

Can't imagine a round bale of alfalfa lol, we pay so much just for the squares!

Jan

 

[minie812]

I use regular grass hay round bales, but we DON'T put it in with the horses!!! I have known to many people who have had them fall over and kill the horses feeding on them. I tear off what i need, put in the wagon to the tractor and spread it out around the paddocks. here i can get good grass hay a lot cheaper by the round bale. 20 square bales per round bale. hope this helps.

S"CUSE ME...I DID forget to add that we put the round bale in the barn but it is contained in a round bale feeder so the minis do not get hurt and it will not roll on them

 

[wildoak]

I do feed round bales (coastal) to my big horses and to the broodmares. Not my first choice, as the quality of the hay doesn't hold up as well but so much less labor intensive. I usually feed them in a round bale ring but the only times I've seen a bale fall over were when it was eaten down to a skinny middle section - would probably have injured a foal but not likely a mature horse.

jan

 

[disneyhorse]

We don't have round bales here, so I can't answer to that... but as to free-feeding alfalfa that's a big NO!

Here in California, we feed a LOT of alfalfa to horses, it's one of the cheapest hays and you feed so little of it. It's considered somewhat too rich for a lot of horses, especially ponies and minis! I feed small amounts of alfalfa along with large amounts of grass hay (Bermuda, timothy, and orchard).

Perhaps you can buy it, keep it somewhere, and pull off sections to feed your little ones?

Andrea

 

[mizbeth]

Hi

I have found the round bales (at least here in my part of Texas) are not cost effective to feed. My horses will latch hold of one of those and will not pull their heads out until absolutely necessary. I have even pulled them off of it a night and still they eat it down in 7-10 days, sleep on lots of it and poop on the rest - so there is a good bit of waste. That is about 12-14 horses on one round bale with me pulling off some to feed horses that are kept up. Probably right now with prices running around 65 for round bales I would be ahead, but now I have pasture and no place to store round bales for later.

I did not know they made round bales of alfalfa, I too would be concerned about feeding that to even a big horse(s), let alone a small one(s). TOOO MUCH protein would not be good for any of them when eating around the clock like they do on round bales.

Good luck, usually round bales are baled on first cutting and typically not as good a quality hay as square bales which are baled on 2nd, 3rd cuttings - at least here. Some hay farms only produce coastal for a living and this is good hay, clean on the first cutting - but higher priced round bales as a result of their diligent care of the growth.

 

[dixie_belle]

Thanks for all the comments. I kinda figured the alfalfa would be too rich for them. So here's what I have decided to do. I have decided against round bales altogether. I have fould a grower who does square bales - alfalfa, orchard grass and clover (a real nice mix vertually weed free). I have contracted with him to get his second cut which hopefully will be this coming week. Since storage isn't a problem here, I will buy as much as hubbie and I can load before we poop out, and simply store it in the barn. I have no idea how much hay I will need to overwinter my boys because I now have four mini horses (one extra than last winter), plus I have tons of grazing. Since this is our first year here, I am not really sure how much green will be available over the winter months.

Right now I let them graze in the morning - four hours EXACTLY. Then I bring them onto the dry lot. I spread out a flake of hay for them to "find", provide lots of water and then around 4:30 in the afternoon they have their evening meal of hay. I actually moved 45 bales of hay from Texas to Kentucky and am just finishing it up now. So this hay cutting is just in the nick of time for us. I figure I will have to start the winter with 60 bales? But that is just a guess on my part. To be safe I'll probably start with a tad more. Better to be safe than sorry, I always say.

Plus this new guy with the gorgeous hay mix does some round bales. If I run out during the winter of the square, he said he'd sell me a round bale so I could just put it in the run in to get us thru until Spring. I have passed on the alfalfa as I think it would be a real pain to pull some off the round bale and mix with the other hay. This new stuff has some alfalfa in it already. So it should be a better mix.

Thanks for all the guidance. Sometimes I just need someone else help me make the decision I knew was right all along.

Shelley

 

[chandab]

Thanks for all the comments. Since storage isn't a problem here, I will buy as much as hubbie and I can load before we poop out, and simply store it in the barn. I have no idea how much hay I will need to overwinter my boys because I now have four mini horses (one extra than last winter), plus I have tons of grazing. Since this is our first year here, I am not really sure how much green will be available over the winter months.

Shelley

I don't know if this will help you guestimate how much hay you will need for your minis, but... I have 8 B-size minis and 2 A-size minis, I go through at least one 70# bale grass hay per day (I feed pretty much year round, as I don't have much grazing), plus they get a ration balancer, and a couple get a little senior (but mostly they rely on the hay for their diet, so each averages about 7# hay daily which is roughly 1.75% of their BW for the Bs).

Depending on the size of yoru minis, I would guess for 4, you'll need around 1/2 bale per day (if they are 70# bales), and it would be better to guess long than run short. [Even though I go through roughly a bale a day, I plan to put-up 400 bales for the year, and hope I don't run short. It gets mighty cold here in the winter, so we go through a bit mroe hay daily at that time.]

 

[kdhminis]

Interesting topic. My husband and I were just discussing this issue last week. We get our hay off of our own farm. We have someone else actually do the baling and they of course prefer to big round bale. But we have always also had them do some small square bales. Just last winter for our big quarter horses we started feeding them the big round bales. I know they didn't care for it as much because when it snows/ice it does get on top of the bale, etc.

For out 9 miniature horses this week we are going to bale 600 square bales. That way I know I have plenty - plus I need some to take with me when I go to horse shows etc.

The big round bales sure are a lot easier all the way around though.

 

[~Amanda~]

Very interesting and informative thread. I've known a lot of 'big horse' farms to feed round-bales, but I hadn't really thought about it for the little guys.

 

[Bess Kelly]

For me, round bales are a problem to handle and store. The convenience of having it "there" for them is nice for we providers

but, I have found that I can accomplish similar results by just putting out more hay in their feeders for the days I need to free up my own time....let's face it, this is primarily why we even consider round bales, right?

I like the stackability of the squares and most often get a better hay, in general. So, if the weather is not good, and work requires I need to leave very early or get home very late (which helps me to not be pushed to feed that meal) I use more pads of the square bales. Just much simpler for me.

If you are wanting/needing the large feedings that the rounds can provide, I feel the large squares are "safer" for the minis as they don't have the "eat the middle and fall" issues. Again, these are 5-700 # and if you can work with the accordian effect when unbanded, they may be an alternative. These need cover, more than rounds, IMO, to shelter from weather.

ONLY HORSE PEOPLE can appreciate the thought, effort, love that goes into such seemingly simple things as "feeding hay"

 

[wildoak]

Going from Texas to Kentucky I'm guessing all the grass and hay you have access to is richer than what you had! Your horses probably think they have hit the jackpot lol - our fields here looked great a month ago but are burning up again now since the rain has quit. Sounds like you have found a safer solution for feeding.

FYI on the subject of round bales, when possible we put them under the overhang of a barn or shed - or for the minis since they eat off the sides, I put a tarp over them & tie it down to the hay ring. They do last longer when protected and I find the horses actually eat all of it instead of using the last third for recreation lol.

Jan