Round Bale unroller

richie123

obi604 wrote: »

This could be the crux of the matter possibly!!
He seems to like making work for himself, would rather use wheelbarrow than tractor and transport box, dose rather than pour on etc.

However, found a video on that bridgeway rotospike and it actually looks alright. Could justify the price versus the 5 or 6 grand for the hustler type machine.

Anyone here have a bridgeway rotospike. Do you kind of have to unravel them in the direction of the grain / the way the bale was wrapped?

I had one few years back ya it did the job ..won't do a perfect job but good enough

obi604

richie123 wrote: »

I had one few years back ya it did the job ..won't do a perfect job but good enough

Did it put the bale everywhere like messy or did bales possibly just fall apart in one lump straight after starting the unrolling

divillybit

If you're feeding just one bale a day a bale splitter is probably the best bet. You could put in a bale in the last pen, split it letting one half in next the barrier, and then back into the other half, put the blade down and pick up the other half and pull it up to the next pen of cattle. Depending on how well chopped the bales are you can put several cuts in the bale to make it more manageable.

richie123

obi604 wrote: »

Did it put the bale everywhere like messy or did bales possibly just fall apart in one lump straight after starting the unrolling

Depends how well chopped it was and how fast u unwind bit of a knack to getting it right

Micheal H

obi604 wrote: »

Hi

What do ye make of these round bale unrollers?
From a casual search it’s seems ‘Hustler’ and ‘Nugent’ seem to be popular.

Would be used on a tractor with no front loader.

Bought a new Hustler last year and my back is very thankful I did! Used to suffer greatly at this time of year from forking silage, so for that reason alone it's been a very worthwhile purchase.

On top of that I find there's a lot less waste silage now. I used to leave a bale in front of every bay and between them pi**ing and shi**ing out through the barriers, spoiling the silage, by the third day they would be gone off the bale and always leave some after them. I'd say there's 5 or 10% of the waste now, and they'll eat every last bit of silage unless they've shat on it, still haven't figured out how to get them to stop doing that

What size tractor are you planning to use it on? It's a very heavy unit when it's loaded up with a bale and you'll need some extra weight on front if it's a small-medium size yard tractor, which is the only drawback really. Well, that and the price!

Panch18 wrote: »

Why do lads want to break up or fork out bales so much??

I don’t understand it. We feed a lot of bales every year and ever bale goes in whole and stays hole. 1 bale per span and just pull the top of the bale down to the sides

Next day push it in with the loader

I just don’t see the point of splitters and unwinders

Because some sheds have narrow passageways and low rooves, which makes manoeuvring with a front loader next to impossible, so an unwinder or forking are the only viable options.

MfMan

Anyone have a straw blower for feeding bales? e.g. Mchale 460? Was thinking of investing for feeding out bales and bedding sheds. It might seem like overkill, but it may be easier than trying to lift up a round feeder, put in a bale in and dropping the feeder over it again, while cattle are pulling at it and the netting.

obi604

Anyone else have experience with the bridgeway rotospike?

hopeso

divillybit wrote: »

If you're feeding just one bale a day a bale splitter is probably the best bet. You could put in a bale in the last pen, split it letting one half in next the barrier, and then back into the other half, put the blade down and pick up the other half and pull it up to the next pen of cattle. Depending on how well chopped the bales are you can put several cuts in the bale to make it more manageable.

I do similar to this, but I split the two halves again, which gives me four blocks of silage from each bale. Then back in under a block and lower the blade, as you said, and I can carry the block forward to the next pen, and so on. Even if you have to go forking, it's very easy work from such narrow blocks.

Omallep2

obi604 wrote: »

Thanks. They seem to be more labour intensive. More forking etc.

Also don’t have the option to reverse in perpendicular to the feeding area. Can just go parallel.

My feed passage is only 11ft wide. I split bale in half. Then quarter. Leave quarter closest to cattle, move other quarter in front then take other half and move that (as a half bale) closer to exit and split with next quarter in front of feed barrier. Then take last quarter and leave in front. Basically put a half bale (in 2 quarters) in front of each pen. Make sense?

obi604

Omallep2 wrote: »

My feed passage is only 11ft wide. I split bale in half. Then quarter. Leave quarter closest to cattle, move other quarter in front then take other half and move that (as a half bale) closer to exit and split with next quarter in front of feed barrier. Then take last quarter and leave in front. Basically put a half bale (in 2 quarters) in front of each pen. Make sense?

Yep. I’m not even sure if our concrete clean area in front of shed is wide enough to allow for the splitting of the bail in 2, it may spill out too far.

obi604

Omallep2 wrote: »

My feed passage is only 11ft wide. I split bale in half. Then quarter. Leave quarter closest to cattle, move other quarter in front then take other half and move that (as a half bale) closer to exit and split with next quarter in front of feed barrier. Then take last quarter and leave in front. Basically put a half bale (in 2 quarters) in front of each pen. Make sense?

When moving the 1/4’s, is it hard to grasp it. I imagine when you reverse in to the bale that it would just move back when spikes hit it, as not much weight in the bale to make it stay put.

divillybit

Ah no it wouldn't be hard to pick up the quarter of the round bale provided it's not too well chopped in the first place, the prongs will go under the silage and just drop the blade on it but not down fully. It holds the quarter bale in place and you can pull that up to the next pen. You'd be surprised how much you can do with a bale splitter. I opted for a bale unroller as we'd be feeding 4 bales a day of not very well chopped stuff either so it was a good option for us.

hopeso

divillybit wrote: »

Ah no it wouldn't be hard to pick up the quarter of the round bale provided it's not too well chopped in the first place, the prongs will go under the silage and just drop the blade on it but not down fully. It holds the quarter bale in place and you can pull that up to the next pen. You'd be surprised how much you can do with a bale splitter. I opted for a bale unroller as we'd be feeding 4 bales a day of not very well chopped stuff either so it was a good option for us.

It’s also worth fitting a fourth prong in the spare hole to help with lifting the quarters..

obi604

I’m just drawn towards the bridgeway rotospike. Seems a simple setup and could take away a lot of pulling and dragging. Only thing I’m worried about is it coming off in one big lump.

The father probably wants to do a bit of forking to keep him active. Just not pulling and dragging type stuff.

See this link: https://ibb.co/zfskNzB

This is the very simple basic setup we have. Only a small area of concrete in front of shed to play with.

richie123

obi604 wrote: »

I’m just drawn towards the bridgeway rotospike. Seems a simple setup and could take away a lot of pulling and dragging. Only thing I’m worried about is it coming off in one big lump.

The father probably wants to do a bit of forking to keep him active. Just not pulling and dragging type stuff.

See attached. This is the very simple basic setup. Only a small area of concrete in front of shed to play with.

You possibly could get one on the understanding that if you weren't happy enough with it you could give it back.worth a shot

obi604

richie123 wrote: »

You possibly could get one on the understanding that if you weren't happy enough with it you could give it back.worth a shot

Hmmmm, true. Doubt there would be many sellers willing to give an option like this.

minerleague

obi604 wrote: »

Hmmmm, true. Doubt there would be many sellers willing to give an option like this.

Just saw picture of shed, plenty room to do what i do on outside farm. remove 2/3 plastic /netting from bale, drop bale 1 foot from barrier at an angle, pull out from bale then reverse catching back of bale with prong of bale handler rotating bale so its square to barrier ( flat side ) The 1/3 netting keeps bale together and fresh, after a day or 2 tip whats left in with bale handler. (Know it isnt what u asked, father same as yours here! afraid they get too fat )

twin_beacon

divillybit wrote: »

Some old fellas don't like to spend a few bob to make life a bit easier on themselves. Spending a few pound on a bale unroller or front loader is money well spent. It's cheaper that a hip or knee replacement. My old man thought I was daft buying a bale unroller, he thinks it's a great job now. He's had the two hips done. Of all the tractor implements on the farm, the front loader and bale unroller are used the most. The main point is that if you have the money to spend on a machine to take the work out of a labour intensive task like feeding round bales in narrow passage ways its well worth buying an implement to help ye.

I agree with everything you've said there. We're on our 5th winter with the bridge way diamond feeder. My dad bought it after he got his second hip replacement. We are on our second one, we found a few issues with the first one after a few weeks, the mechanism that connects the spike to the bale cradle wasn't great, and the hydraulic motor that spins the bale would struggle in a wet bale on the bottom of the stack. The first one was swapped with an updated model after a few weeks, zero complaints since. Simple machine to maintain, keep grease in the bearings, and keep the chain oiled and it should last many years. As someone mentioned earlier, you need a hydraulic top link. Its not a time saver, it roughly takes the same length of time to do the feeding, however, its a lot less Labor intensive.

Panch18 wrote: »

Why do lads want to break up or fork out bales so much??

I don’t understand it. We feed a lot of bales every year and ever bale goes in whole and stays hole. 1 bale per span and just pull the top of the bale down to the sides

Next day push it in with the loader

I just don’t see the point of splitters and unwinders

We used to do that, for many years. We always end up forking the ends of the bales. To be honest, if you had one for a month, you wouldn't go back. We find there is also a lot less waste as cattle are always eating fresh silage.

obi604

minerleague wrote: »

Just saw picture of shed, plenty room to do what i do on outside farm. remove 2/3 plastic /netting from bale, drop bale 1 foot from barrier at an angle, pull out from bale then reverse catching back of bale with prong of bale handler rotating bale so its square to barrier ( flat side ) The 1/3 netting keeps bale together and fresh, after a day or 2 tip whats left in with bale handler. (Know it isnt what u asked, father same as yours here! afraid they get too fat )

Hi. What machine are you using for this?

Is it a front loader type thing?

minerleague

obi604 wrote: »

Hi. What machine are you using for this?

Is it a front loader type thing?

The round bale handler on back of tractor that you use to bring in bales from meadow

SuperTortoise

I don't see this as a loader vs bale feeder type of thing, a loader should be on every tractor fit to handle it, i bought a tractor a couple of years ago and i regret not buying one with a loader already fitted, the ammount of back breaking hardship it would save would be worth it.
Yes the bale unwinder is designed to do only one job, but this one job around these parts comprises 7 months of the year, in a tight feed passage there would be no comparison between a loader and a bale unwinder, the unwinder would be in and out in a tenth of the time.

I had'nt see the other type of unwinder before, as in the rotating spike? now i've never used one but i would imagine half my bale would be on the ground as soon as the net is taken off, the type with the bed underneath it (diamond) i would imagine is the much tidier job.

divillybit

https://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/roto-spike-/26273936

A roto spike like this one on done deal wouldn't be much use except for being used on a front loader feeding a bale into a diet feeder.
If you just use a bale of silage a day its hard to justify the cost of buying a bale unroller. For your set up a bale splitter is your best bet Id say. Im sure there would be a local farmer you'd know who has a bale splitter that would put in a bale or two for ye and see what you think of it.

obi604

divillybit wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/roto-spike-/26273936

A roto spike like this one on done deal wouldn't be much use except for being used on a front loader feeding a bale into a diet feeder.
If you just use a bale of silage a day its hard to justify the cost of buying a bale unroller. For your set up a bale splitter is your best bet Id say. Im sure there would be a local farmer you'd know who has a bale splitter that would put in a bale or two for ye and see what you think of it.

But would the roto spike not help the situation by having it on the back of the tractor and it would break up the bale along the bays and avoid having to pull and drag with a fork etc.

The bale splitter could be ok, I just think it looks dangerous.

ruwithme

Would the roto spike hold onto a well chopped damp bale long enough to undo it up the passage abit?

divillybit

Id imagine if the bale is middling chopped at all it'll end up just falling off the roto spike after a few rotations and the silage will still need to be pushed into the barrier as it won't leave the silage tight to the barrier like a Hustler will. A bale splitter is dangerous in a way, but so to are shear grabs, and all farm machinery have their hazards. I know if I had a set up like what's in your picture I'd be using a bale splitter.

trabpc

Panch18 wrote: »

Why do lads want to break up or fork out bales so much??

I don’t understand it. We feed a lot of bales every year and ever bale goes in whole and stays hole. 1 bale per span and just pull the top of the bale down to the sides

Next day push it in with the loader

I just don’t see the point of splitters and unwinders

Have to agree. Especially in the beef game. I think all those unwinders are unnecessary. Only make extra work. As for forking one bale across several barriers...... madness. One bale per barrier. Left in one piece it stays fresh. It's all the forking out that introduces air and potential to go off. Pic attached is 3 days after bale fed. Just push last bit on day 3 not a fork/ sprang/ grape in sight

trabpc

Panch18 wrote: »

Why do lads want to break up or fork out bales so much??

I don’t understand it. We feed a lot of bales every year and ever bale goes in whole and stays hole. 1 bale per span and just pull the top of the bale down to the sides

Next day push it in with the loader

I just don’t see the point of splitters and unwinders

Have to agree. Especially in the beef game. I think all those unwinders are unnecessary. Only make extra work. As for forking one bale across several barriers...... madness. One bale per barrier. Left in one piece it stays fresh. It's all the forking out that introduces air and potential to go off. Pic attached is 3 days after bale fed. Just push last bit on day 3 not a fork/ sprang/ grape in sight

obi604

trabpc wrote: »

Have to agree. Especially in the beef game. I think all those unwinders are unnecessary. Only make extra work. As for forking one bale across several barriers...... madness. One bale per barrier. Left in one piece it stays fresh. It's all the forking out that introduces air and potential to go off. Pic attached is 3 days after bale fed. Just push last bit on day 3 not a fork/ sprang/ grape in sight

Try telling this to my aul lad. He just applies no common sense at all and likes to do things in the most awkward way.

But as was said earlier, probably to do with just keeping himself occupied and something to do or the perception he is doing good work etc.

The bale at each bay....... So you just push the bale in to the middle of each bay right against the wall/barrier? and let them eat away at it?

Is the bale lying the way it comes out of the baler or in an upright position?

Do you do any forking at all.....like spread it out a bit?

mr.stonewall

This thread has the potential to roll on and on.😉😉

obi604

mr.stonewall wrote: »

This thread has the potential to roll on and on.😉😉

Try telling this to the aul lad )