Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

wrapping hay bales??

  • 16-04-2011 10:32pm
    #1
    johnpawl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 595 ✭✭✭


    Thinkin of making a few acres of hay this year, weather permitting. Problem is I've no spare shed to store them in. A neighbour of mine reckons he wraps them and he has no prob with them heating. What do ye think, would I get away with it?


Comments

  • #2
    blue5000
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 12,753 Mod ✭✭✭✭blue5000


    Ya I've done it, used 6 layers instead of 4 and it was ok for horses, odd one goes mouldy if it gets punctured. With the price of wrap for this year it might be cheaper long term to build a shed though.

    If the seat's wet, sit on yer hat, a cool head is better than a wet ar5e.



  • #3
    Bizzum
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,034 ✭✭✭Bizzum


    We were stuck for space one year and stored hay outside in a haggard, each bale not touching the next, and it was perfect throughout the winter.


  • #4
    johnpawl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 595 ✭✭✭johnpawl


    Bizzum wrote: »
    We were stuck for space one year and stored hay outside in a haggard, each bale not touching the next, and it was perfect throughout the winter.

    Did the rain not affect them? Why bales not touching?


  • #5
    moy83
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,701 ✭✭✭moy83


    I have a small square bale wrapper and i wrap a few for lads that rent a bit for one or two ponies and have nowhere to store it . They are always fine so long as they are wrapped well


  • #6
    reilig
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭reilig


    We wrap hay every year. It gets 4 layers and I've never seen mould on them.
    If you think about it this way:

    You bale hay, its nice and dry. You pack the bales well into the shed. The centre bales are cut off from the air supply - they always keep well. Don't they?

    Well then if you wrap them, its pretty similar. You cut off the air supply. The only way that they will ferment and mould grow on them is if there is moisture in them (either you baled them too soon or they were wrapped on a wet day etc)

    If you are baling hay into round bales, the hay should be extra dry as unlike small square bales, it is impossible to dry the hay further once it is baled into tightly packed round bales.


  • Advertisement
  • #7
    johnpawl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 595 ✭✭✭johnpawl


    Thanks for the advice. I'll hope for good weather so n go down that route. Its my first year going with AI and I was thinking of feeding hay for 6 wks or so before calving to keep calves smaller, as afraid I
    I may run into trouble if i feed silage ad lib. What do ye do in this case?


  • #8
    jeff greene
    Closed Accounts Posts: 733 ✭✭✭jeff greene


    johnpawl wrote: »
    Thanks for the advice. I'll hope for good weather so n go down that route. Its my first year going with AI and I was thinking of feeding hay for 6 wks or so before calving to keep calves smaller, as afraid I
    I may run into trouble if i feed silage ad lib. What do ye do in this case?

    Why would hay assuming same quality as the silage reduce calf size. Calving difficulty is determined by the bull, overfeeding will lead to fat cows that mean smaller pelvic area.

    No evidence says calf size is increased by feeding 6 weeks precalving.


  • #9
    sh1tstirrer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,489 ✭✭✭sh1tstirrer


    If you are going to wrap the bales then why don't you make haylage instead? If you stack wrapped hay bales in a stack you will have to keep rats away from them as they will destroy them.


  • #10
    Bizzum
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,034 ✭✭✭Bizzum


    johnpawl wrote: »
    Did the rain not affect them? Why bales not touching?

    The weather had little effect on them, the top inch or so maybe. If you put them touching each other the rain can't drip off them ans lies in the valley soaking into the bale.
    Try a couple of bales outside and you'll see!


  • #11
    Bizzum
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,034 ✭✭✭Bizzum


    jeff greene wrote: »
    No evidence says calf size is increased by feeding 6 weeks precalving.

    Why do so many suckler farmers practice this, ie. restricted feeding, to some extent or other?


  • Advertisement
  • #12
    reilig
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭reilig


    Bizzum wrote: »
    Why do so many suckler farmers practice this, ie. restricted feeding, to some extent or other?

    Personally I find that it works well for me. I'll restrict feeding for at least 6 weeks before calving. It means that the cow puts less fat on her back and the calf inside her doesn't grow as big either so he's easier to get out.

    Whether evidence exists or not as to its benefit, it works very well for me. Everyone in our suckler discussion group does it too and it works well for them.


  • #13
    candor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 106 ✭✭candor


    reilig wrote: »
    Personally I find that it works well for me. I'll restrict feeding for at least 6 weeks before calving. It means that the cow puts less fat on her back and the calf inside her doesn't grow as big either so he's easier to get out.

    Whether evidence exists or not as to its benefit, it works very well for me. Everyone in our suckler discussion group does it too and it works well for them.

    How much would you restrict feeding? Kinda rough figures etc.


  • #14
    jeff greene
    Closed Accounts Posts: 733 ✭✭✭jeff greene


    reilig wrote: »
    Personally I find that it works well for me. I'll restrict feeding for at least 6 weeks before calving. It means that the cow puts less fat on her back and the calf inside her doesn't grow as big either so he's easier to get out.

    Whether evidence exists or not as to its benefit, it works very well for me. Everyone in our suckler discussion group does it too and it works well for them.

    The suckler world is different as cows can get fat looking at silage, which is what leads to hard calvings. I learned the hard way this year that calf size is related the sire as my heifers incalf to AI easy calving holstein, threw their calf out while those to a HE stockbull had difficult calvings. Same heifers, same feeding.

    That HE bull was supposed to be easy calving but even on cows they are big calfs.


  • #15
    reilig
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭reilig


    candor wrote: »
    How much would you restrict feeding? Kinda rough figures etc.

    I try to reduce it by about 25%. I find that Ad Lib, 20 cows will eat a bale per day. If I'm restricting it, I'll make a bale do 25 cows. It takes a little bit of extra work because you have to push the silage up to them twice a day. But its worth it. Even if they do over eat, its no harm to leave a cow without silage for half a day.


  • #16
    Bizzum
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,034 ✭✭✭Bizzum


    reilig wrote: »
    Whether evidence exists or not as to its benefit, it works very well for me.

    The reason I asked the question is that it is something that we do too and many other suckler farmers I know.


  • #17
    johnpawl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 595 ✭✭✭johnpawl


    Its sucklers I'm in also. In discussion groups I've heard it said that the calves double in size in the last 6 wks, and that restricted feeding during this period prevents the calf becoming too big...


  • #18
    reilig
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭reilig


    johnpawl wrote: »
    Its sucklers I'm in also. In discussion groups I've heard it said that the calves double in size in the last 6 wks, and that restricted feeding during this period prevents the calf becoming too big...

    That's what we were told too!!


Advertisement