Feeding round bales with front loader

Limofarmer

Feeding bales here this winter with front loader for first time . Using hydraulic handler at the minute and it's not ideal . Was thinking along the lines of a dung fork or a simple 2 or 3 prong bale spike with good heavy bottom section that won't mind being pushed along on the concrete . Not buying shear grab or bale shear as costs too much and can't justify the cost .
I'm interested to hear what others find works best .

Mooooo

cut the face off the bale and then tip it out on that face and as you pull the spike out catch the plastic and it will lift it off the bale. Hop down and unwind netting off the bale and then push in to barrier. Use the handler here most of the time just take the rollers off. Neighbour uses a set of pallet forks if you prefer. Fcukin hate bales pit will be opened here this week and shear grab all they way then. Im biased tho as feeding passage too narrow to use bales comfortably

_Brian

Limofarmer wrote: »

Feeding bales here this winter with front loader for first time . Using hydraulic handler at the minute and it's not ideal . Was thinking along the lines of a dung fork or a simple 2 or 3 prong bale spike with good heavy bottom section that won't mind being pushed along on the concrete . Not buying shear grab or bale shear as costs too much and can't justify the cost .
I'm interested to hear what others find works best .

We always feed bales with front loader, have a 3 prong bale spike made for it, one central heavy spike and two lighter spikes either side.

Timmaay

A sheargrab is no advantage to feeding bales, 2prong defo easier. You should pick up one for afew hundred with brackets and all.

trabpc

Pallet forks works fine for me.

Reggie.

_Brian wrote: »

We always feed bales with front loader, have a 3 prong bale spike made for it, one central heavy spike and two lighter spikes either side.

Same as that here

GrasstoMilk

This is what we have for the job, bought it a good many year ago for a few quid. needed a good few new tines, we never needed the side ones or all the curved ones till this year so putting them back in now.

Throw all the bales out on the ground
Open them all up
Get back up in tractor and place them where you want them ( on there ends)
Out of the tractor then and unwind all the netting

That way your only out of the tractor twice

RightTurnClyde

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

This is what we have for the job, bought it a good many year ago for a few quid. needed a good few new tines, we never needed the side ones or all the curved ones till this year so putting them back in now.

Throw all the bales out on the ground
Open them all up
Get back up in tractor and place them where you want them ( on there ends)
Out of the tractor then and unwind all the netting

That way your only out of the tractor twice

Ya, same grab here. I do the same, off the stack and put them face down, open all and then drop along feed face, off tractor and remove net. None of this up and down off the tractor for every bale crack

Timmaay

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

This is what we have for the job, bought it a good many year ago for a few quid. needed a good few new tines, we never needed the side ones or all the curved ones till this year so putting them back in now.

Throw all the bales out on the ground
Open them all up
Get back up in tractor and place them where you want them ( on there ends)
Out of the tractor then and unwind all the netting

That way your only out of the tractor twice

Ya got a sheargrab for the maize?

GrasstoMilk

Timmaay wrote: »

Ya got a sheargrab for the maize?

Nah, going across the face quick so it won't go off, had plans of buying one but doubt I will now tbh

Timmaay

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Nah, going across the face quick so it won't go off, had plans of buying one but doubt I will now tbh

Does the maize not fall out of the grab?

Brown Podzol

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Nah, going across the face quick so it won't go off, had plans of buying one but doubt I will now tbh

Have a shear grab here and I don't use it to take out maize. It doesn't leave the cleanest face and some can fall out on the way to feed passage. I take it out with the bucket and find it leaves as good a finish as the grab and no loses on the way to feed passage. 7ft bucket. Dwag, before he was hounded out of here, said that spraying the face of the pit as you move across it with propionic acid prevented moulds and heating. Will give this a try this year.

Bass Reeves

I use the 2 wd tractor and a rotospike at the rear. Orginally bought the rotospike to roll out bales it was not a great job for that as bales are unbalanced bit it is a grand as a rear spike for bale silage. Use it in the spring to break up bales for the week before they go out so as to have them hungry when they go out.

2WD tractor is way more maneuverable than the 4WD and no pressure on loaders etc. Just push into bale and wriggle it out from under other bales. Sometimes will use the loader on the 4WD to drop a few at the week end but generally just pull the, out from underneath. Cut the front off the bale before spiking and take it over to front of shed. Remove rest of plastic and net and drop bale in front of cattle. If a bale land on the ground spike it from the side and roto spike will level it on slab and take face off it next time you are off the tractor. Whole trick with bale silage is trying to minimize number of times you are up and down off tractor.

Mooooo

Brown Podzol wrote: »

Have a shear grab here and I don't use it to take out maize. It doesn't leave the cleanest face and some can fall out on the way to feed passage. I take it out with the bucket and find it leaves as good a finish as the grab and no loses on the way to feed passage. 7ft bucket. Dwag, before he was hounded out of here, said that spraying the face of the pit as you move across it with propionic acid prevented moulds and heating. Will give this a try this year.

Where will you get the acid? I find the shear grab better than the bucket here once you get a good full grab. Have seen these buckets with a hydraulic driven rotating yoke on it that cuts down the face of the pit. Looked like it left a tidy finish but slow enough

blue5000

Mooooo wrote: »

Where will you get the acid? I find the shear grab better than the bucket here once you get a good full grab. Have seen these buckets with a hydraulic driven rotating yoke on it that cuts down the face of the pit. Looked like it left a tidy finish but slow enough

~AFAIK it's the same acid used for storing barley, propcorn. It should be available in 20L drums at merchants.

Brown Podzol

Mooooo wrote: »

Where will you get the acid? I find the shear grab better than the bucket here once you get a good full grab. Have seen these buckets with a hydraulic driven rotating yoke on it that cuts down the face of the pit. Looked like it left a tidy finish but slow enough

Propcorn? Good numbers of years since I used it on barley but I am assuming it shouldn't be too hard to find. Knapsack and spray as you go.

GrasstoMilk

Timmaay wrote: »

Does the maize not fall out of the grab?

Use a bucket. Cut the silage out of the clamp with it and put on the bucket, take the maize out with that and put silage into the feeder with the bucket

lakill Farm

2 heavy duty tine on a frame make with 100mm box and brackets on back

200/250e and 2 hours welding

4odh4n

defo a minimum of two spikes, do not go for a single one as bale will always try to roll the heaviest point to the bottom, and not great if carrying any distance or over rough ground when compared with two spikes. what kinda/age tractor?, we have 880 loader on a MF398 and is grand with the 2, if ye try to use the dung fork with 5 it doesn't have the weight to push them into the bale and yer left with the two front wheels dangling in the air!

Timmaay

4odh4n wrote: »

defo a minimum of two spikes, do not go for a single one as bale will always try to roll the heaviest point to the bottom, and not great if carrying any distance or over rough ground when compared with two spikes. what kinda/age tractor?, we have 880 loader on a MF398 and is grand with the 2, if ye try to use the dung fork with 5 it doesn't have the weight to push them into the bale and yer left with the two front wheels dangling in the air!

Shear grab is even more fun with 10tines! And my dad has insisted on bringing me in bales from the back of the stack and throwing them on the concrete by the feed passage, where your sliding them 1/2 way across the yard to find something to ram into haha.

pedigree 6

lakill Farm wrote: »

2 heavy duty tine on a frame make with 100mm box and brackets on back

200/250e and 2 hours welding

Did you time poor Reggie welding?

lakill Farm

pedigree 6 wrote: »

Did you time poor Reggie welding?

I got a proper lad to do the bale spike

but in fairness reggie welded "lakill" into the beet bucket and my initials

But lazy fecker wount paint it. Him and his colleagues would have it painted in a week

twin_beacon

up until this year we used to feed the bales with either the bale handler (without the tubes of course), or dung fork. We got a bale feeder (made by bridge way in shannonbridge) a few weeks ago so that will handle the feeding from now on. Cows are going in this weekend, so it will get its first proper test in a few days!

bales are grand if you are set up for them, and have a wide enough passage.

Grueller

lakill Farm wrote: »

2 heavy duty tine on a frame make with 100mm box and brackets on back

200/250e and 2 hours welding

Bought a brand new sparex one from my local machinery dealer. Painted, on euro hooks for €290 and he threw me in 4 new flails for the mower. I do my own welding but not for how little was to be gained from that. 2 hours would become half the day by the time I would go get steel, tines, cones and hooks.

_Brian

twin_beacon wrote: »

up until this year we used to feed the bales with either the bale handler (without the tubes of course), or dung fork. We got a bale feeder (made by bridge way in shannonbridge) a few weeks ago so that will handle the feeding from now on. Cows are going in this weekend, so it will get its first proper test in a few days!

bales are grand if you are set up for them, and have a wide enough passage.

Agree re passage width.
We working in an old slatted shed with a narrow passage and it's a pain, bales have to be pronged on the curves side so I can drop them in with flat face facing barrier, total pain in arse.

Bass Reeves

_Brian wrote: »

Agree re passage width.
We working in an old slatted shed with a narrow passage and it's a pain, bales have to be pronged on the curves side so I can drop them in with flat face facing barrier, total pain in arse.

Know a lad with a similar issue. He uses a silage Grab. He grabs the bale takes it into the passage. He slits along the bottom of the bale with a good Stanley blade taking away some of the plastic then he slits the netting ina straight line. He shakes the bale with the grab(they are all chopped. He can then break up the bale and feed it to both side as he reverses out. As it falls apart he will drop the bale and collect the plastic and netting and throw them to one side or in front of the broken bale. He collects them next time he gets off the tractor. TBH he is good to gauge how much he needs and he feeds for two days at the time I think

99nsr125

With the flat side facing you/tractor

Starting at about 10 o'clock cut through the plastic
in a anti-clockwise circular moition till you get to about 2 o'clock

Through the flap up, push prongs into uncovered bale part now

Pick her up and go to where you want to go
Rest bale on ground

Now from about 8 o'clock on the face you've already cut
Cut across the bale to the other flat face
(which is now 4 o'clock as you look back at the tractor)
and up to the opposite side.

Lift her up, go in at a bit of an angle, give her a shake to slide off
And catch the net and plastic in one on the way


Christ I should've just made a video

BnB

This thread really made me laugh. I took over a farm at short notice last year and learnng as I go. Switched from a pit to all bales this year and have been fapping around trying to figure out the best (clean-neat-least labour) way to feed them. Anyway, after a week or two of some days feeding more netting than silage, I have it down to a fine art..... Cut the ass off the bale. Drop it in, heeled up on the afore mentioned ass. The rest of the plastic will just slip off with the grab, and then just wind off the netting. Lovely and neat.

I was quite proud of my method and reckoned it could almost be patentable..... and then I found this thread and found out.... that's the way half the country's been doing it for years. I should have just asked in the first place, and saved me poor bullocks a week of sh1ttin' nettin'....!!!!!

To top if off, the pic of GrasstoMilk's Grab, almost exactly like what I'm using myself. Only difference, is the tractor looks a bit newer....!!!!

lakill Farm

• I take the bale and drop it on its belly.
• cut the 2 ends and 2 strips along the belly and peel off the plastic onto the ground (keepings the plastic in 2 bits )
• then drive the 2 prongs on the loader into the bale about 60/75% up the bale
• drive to where I'm feeding in and get off the tractor with bale bottom 4ft off the ground
• cut the netting along the bottom and peel it off
• 4 out of 5 times the centre part of the bale will hit the ground leaving the rest on the prongs
• then reverse and drop remainder along passage that hasn't silage

One bay fed along the barrier
plastic and net separated
I find this way great for the round feeder and dropping in full bale off a loader is dangerous to the cattle's necks

larthehar

Our process was identical to Lakill but we found when feeding to slats that cutting the netting often resulted in bits being left on the bale and in turn popping up on the end of the agitator.. after we started unwinding the netting then this problem disappeared.. now when you are paying a lad by the hour to agitate it was well worth it!
For the last four years the agitator had not to come out of the tank once for cleaning..

cj maxx

Been googling attachments for the loader bucket to clamp on a tine and all I can find are expensive 2/3 prong yolks.
But I remember coming across on google a clamp for a single time.
Anyone know what / where I might find one ? Or what I mean??

cj maxx

Just thought I'd boot this seeing it was the weekend and all !

quietsailor

The contractor I worked for years ago bought a tractor + loader that had a quick attach but not a shear grab so he just welded 3 bushes onto the quick attach frame for one normal spike and two smaller ones that prevented the bale twisting.

I never took a photo but it was a simple set of fittings that were locked in place with pins rather than threads so I could change from feeding to an using an implement in minutes.

RightTurnClyde

cjmc wrote: »

Been googling attachments for the loader bucket to clamp on a tine and all I can find are expensive 2/3 prong yolks.
But I remember coming across on google a clamp for a single time.
Anyone know what / where I might find one ? Or what I mean??

Not sure what you mean, you want to clamp a tine onto a bucket for moving bales?
Have you quick attach. Dairygold near us are selling a 3 prong fork with q/a brackets for around €200 (maybe 299)
If you were hand with a welder you could buy the q/a plate and make one for small money?

Edit: if you're determined to put a tine onto the bucket, just get a bushen and weld it onto the bucket and get the tine drilled at the threads for an R clip.
A Q/a plate welded to some 3 inch box with a bushin and tine would be a lot safer

cj maxx

RightTurnClyde wrote: »

Not sure what you mean, you want to clamp a tine onto a bucket for moving bales?
Have you quick attach. Dairygold near us are selling a 3 prong fork with q/a brackets for around €200 (maybe 299)
If you were hand with a welder you could buy the q/a plate and make one for small money?

Edit: if you're determined to put a tine onto the bucket, just get a bushen and weld it onto the bucket and get the tine drilled at the threads for an R clip.
A Q/a plate welded to some 3 inch box with a bushin and tine would be a lot safer

Yeah, clamp a tine to the bucket. I have a rear mounted spike that I could perhaps find brackets to but I thought this might be handier

RightTurnClyde

cjmc wrote: »

Yeah, clamp a tine to the bucket. I have a rear mounted spike that I could perhaps find brackets to but I thought this might be handier

You can get the hooks already welded onto a H shaped plate, so you've no dicking with measurements, just weld the plate to your spike and off you go. They're around €100. A machinery place would have them. (I got a few in Clonmel Machinery a few years ago)

cj maxx

RightTurnClyde wrote: »

You can get the hooks already welded onto a H shaped plate, so you've no dicking with measurements, just weld the plate to your spike and off you go. They're around €100. A machinery place would have them. (I got a few in Clonmel Machinery a few years ago)

Have you a pic I Can show to them

RightTurnClyde

cjmc wrote: »

Have you a pic I Can show to them

I should be getting commission....
https://www.donedeal.ie/silagegrabs-for-sale/euro-8-quick-hitch-brackets-on-frame/13551095

Nekarsulm

If you have a "Euro" spec. head-stock on the loader (or similar) you would be better to buy a bale spike with the same brackets, and drop off the bucket when lifting bales.
A spike on the front/top of a bucket will mean that the bale is another two foot out in front of the tractors front axle than it need to be.
Harder on the loader, harder on the bucket, and harder on the tractor axle, and leaves the outfit more unstable when the loader is lifted.

If its just for hay or straw bales, ignore everything I've just written......

twin_beacon

Nekarsulm wrote: »

If you have a "Euro" spec. head-stock on the loader (or similar) you would be better to buy a bale spike with the same brackets, and drop off the bucket when lifting bales.
A spike on the front/top of a bucket will mean that the bale is another two foot out in front of the tractors front axle than it need to be.
Harder on the loader, harder on the bucket, and harder on the tractor axle, and leaves the outfit more unstable when the loader is lifted.

If its just for hay or straw bales, ignore everything I've just written......

and make the tractor much less maneuverable getting into sheds

lakill Farm

RightTurnClyde wrote: »

I should be getting commission....
https://www.donedeal.ie/silagegrabs-for-sale/euro-8-quick-hitch-brackets-on-frame/13551095

bought a few sets of these over different times for €55 with a vat invoice and they have primer paint on them

raypallas

lakill Farm wrote:

bought a few sets of these over different times for €55 with a vat invoice and they have primer paint on them

Got similar myself off our local man.

cj maxx

How is it welded to it ?

Bass Reeves

cjmc wrote: »

How is it welded to it ?

with a welder

farawaygrass

Anyone use an ordinary shear grab on bales?

Nekarsulm

Bass Reeves wrote: »

with a welder

Turn the welder up and burn it in. make sure and weld top and bottom and sides of all surfaces where the brackets meet the frame.
Have the top of the euro brackets in line with the top of the spike's frame. (ie, not sticking up above the cross-member)

If you are not confident, get a pro to do it. You do not want this breaking off..

This guy made me an adapter to convert a Grays Lynkon loader to EURO 8 bracket configuration. Peace of mind. Search DungDeal for "dowd engineering"

cj maxx

Bass Reeves wrote: »

with a welder

Kinda meant is the bush welded to the crossbar, if so it seems a lot of pressure on the weld.

roofer1988

I use back of tractor as no loader,bales stacked 3 high, every few days I climb to the top of stack and put a rope around one of the top row of bales and pull off the bale down on ground with tractor, i do this to each bale on top row, when ever the cattle need a bale i drop bale outside shed as it is too low to go in with tractor and wheel barrow it in then infront of barrier, i then take of my bale spike and put on transport box.I then draw out straw and dung out to door with wheel barrow and either tip it into transport box or tip it onto concrete and pike it into transport box,I then drive tractor over to dung yard and pike it from transport box into wheel barrow and wheel it over to dung heap about 50 or 60 meters away as gap is too narrow for tractor to fit through,I then put back on bale spike and get bale of straw, and then draw it arond shed with pike and wheel barrrow.

Count Mondego

roofer1988 wrote: »

I use back of tractor as no loader,bales stacked 3 high, every few days I climb to the top of stack and put a rope around one of the top row of bales and pull off the bale down on ground with tractor, i do this to each bale on top row, when ever the cattle need a bale i drop bale outside shed as it is too low to go in with tractor and wheel barrow it in then infront of barrier, i then take of my bale spike and put on transport box.I then draw out straw and dung out to door with wheel barrow and either tip it into transport box or tip it onto concrete and pike it into transport box,I then drive tractor over to dung yard and pike it from transport box into wheel barrow and wheel it over to dung heap about 50 or 60 meters away as gap is too narrow for tractor to fit through,I then put back on bale spike and get bale of straw, and then draw it arond shed with pike and wheel barrrow.

I'd say you love winter, you poor hoor.

J.O. Farmer

roofer1988 wrote: »

I use back of tractor as no loader,bales stacked 3 high, every few days I climb to the top of stack and put a rope around one of the top row of bales and pull off the bale down on ground with tractor, i do this to each bale on top row, when ever the cattle need a bale i drop bale outside shed as it is too low to go in with tractor and wheel barrow it in then infront of barrier, i then take of my bale spike and put on transport box.I then draw out straw and dung out to door with wheel barrow and either tip it into transport box or tip it onto concrete and pike it into transport box,I then drive tractor over to dung yard and pike it from transport box into wheel barrow and wheel it over to dung heap about 50 or 60 meters away as gap is too narrow for tractor to fit through,I then put back on bale spike and get bale of straw, and then draw it arond shed with pike and wheel barrrow.

Is that how they do it on Fair City. Not sure they know much about feeding cattle.

Timmaay

farawaygrass wrote: »

Anyone use an ordinary shear grab on bales?

Yep, I'd be swapping over all the time otherwise. A tractor with plenty back end weight needed, and even then be bloody careful incase you pickup a heavy bale anyway awkward. I've had the tractor up on 1 front wheel at times, drop the loader quick is all ya can do and hope you don't have a stain the back of your trousers ha.