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Using A Round Bale Hay Net

By Brenda Long


Once upon a time hay was cut by hand, tossed with hand rakes to accelerate drying, raked into rows, and forked onto wagons. It was then drawn by horses to a barn or a barnyard, where it was forked into a loft or piled scientifically into a stack. These days, when labor is short and time precious, almost all hay is baled, and increasingly it is rolled or packed into huge bales that can weigh from 800 to 3000 pounds. A round bale hay net must be correspondingly large to fit over these behemoths.

Grazing is the natural way for cattle, horses, and sheep to get their food. Goats prefer to nibble on bushes and trees but can make do with grass if that's all there is. Many animals have pasture year-round, but others may never feed outside a paddock or a stall. These animals will need hay in bale or pellet form year round.

Winter also means limited pasture, since grasses go dormant and snow may make grazing impossible. The forage that these herd animals need to stay healthy is easily supplied with hay, which can make up 100% of their diet. Breeding stock, growing youngsters, dairy cows, and horses under heavy work may need grain supplementation.

These animals actually have to have forage to be healthy. Their stomachs need the roughage and are not really designed for heavy grain consumption. That means that almost every animal owner will be feeding hay at least part of the time. This is most easily done with large bales that the animals have access twenty-four seven.

Feeding large round bales makes life easier for those who care for these animals, but there are drawbacks to this system. Cattle which are being raised for meat can have hay before them all day and night. However, the economics of raising beef dictate that the amount of hay any one animal consumes be limited to what will translate into weight gain. Horses, in particular, may get too fat on unlimited hay.

Animals allowed free access to a large bale of hay will also waste a lot of it. As they pull out great mouthfuls, they drop what they can't chew on the ground. Then they trample it into the mud, defecate on it, and lie on it. As much as eighty percent of the hay can be wasted.

Putting the bale into a net helps solve most of the problems owners face when feeding forage outside. Having to nibble through openings in a mesh slows animals down, which means that they will have more trouble over-eating. The mesh also makes animals take smaller mouthfuls of hay, which they eat rather than dropping on the ground. This can cut waste to as little as 5% - a significant savings.

Using a net outside for large bales also means that animals will eat a while and then take a break, which is the natural way for grazers. Owners can therefore have forage available at all times without the drawbacks of excessive feed costs or too much weight gain.




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