Best way to open round silage bales

Gilally · 03-11-2014 08:28PM #1

Can anyone advise best way to cut open round silage bails.

We have never used this type of fodder before.

Thanks

Miname · 03-11-2014 08:33PM

its like a cadburys cream egg, everyone does it there own way. personally i start at the nearest point to me and cut in no particular direction.

visatorro · 03-11-2014 08:34PM

good Stanley knife I find is best. what have you for handling them?

Paudee · 03-11-2014 08:35PM

Cut a 3/4 of a circle into the side facing you leaving the bottom 1/4 attached.
Stick loader in opening you have just cut.
Transport to where you will feed.
Cut similar circle on side opposite to loader going 99% of the way around stopping at the bottom corner
Cut along the length of one side of the bale near the underside joining the two circles you cut previously.
Peel off plastic and wrap, should be all attached and come off as one whole piece.

I'll never make a cook book author.

Kovu · 03-11-2014 08:42PM

We use a converted antique hay-knife so it looks a bit like this.- A rudimentary machete!

Then slit the base completely around roughly 2-3 inches from the bottom, the closer to the ground the better.

Then cut from the centre on top finishing to join with the lower slit. Easy then to peel it back and fold and roll.

(This is also a great tool for cutting cows tails or simply waving it in the air like a rambo-esque madman when people are in the yard and you don't want them there)

Paudee · 03-11-2014 08:46PM

There's no two ways about it, I should probably be doing something constructive.

Reggie. · 03-11-2014 08:59PM

Paudee wrote: »

Cut a 3/4 of a circle into the side facing you leaving the bottom 1/4 attached.

Stick loader in opening you have just cut.

Transport to where you will feed.

Cut similar circle on side opposite to loader going 99% of the way around stopping at the bottom corner

Cut along the length of one side of the bale near the underside joining the two circles you cut previously.

Peel off plastic and wrap, should be all attached and come off as one whole piece.

I'll never make a cook book author.

Same as that

Sam Kade · 03-11-2014 09:07PM

I just take the bale from the stack drop it on the ground cut a cross from end to end and side to side pull the plastic down and it will come off when the bale is lifted.

Greengrass1 · 03-11-2014 09:11PM

Take out of stack coukd be ten otmr so bales.
Cut open front bit where loader picked them up.
Gently run knife over plastic, cut other side of bale l.
Peel off plastic.
Pick up bale with grab drop it on its end then. Unwind net off bale.
Walla. No silage left on net and no silage juice falling on your arms or clothes trying to open net with bale on loader

Brass Tag · 03-11-2014 09:17PM

If you have a total of three bales or more to feed over the whole winter you need the following.
1. 100 hp tractor (new preferably) complete with soft ride loader.
2. Bale handler / opener attachment for said loader.

Now you can from the comfort of your air conditioned cab, pick up and transport bale to feeding area. Cut and remove plastic and net wrap. Place same in designated storage area. Dispense bale to cattle at feed barrier.
Alight from tractor without dirt or smell on your hands. Retire to study to fill in form
higher education grantðŸ˜

smokey-fitz · 03-11-2014 09:17PM

Up, across and down. Peel like a banana then lift and go.

Its a bale, no point in getting to technical about it.

Reggie. · 03-11-2014 09:17PM

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Take out of stack coukd be ten otmr so bales.
Cut open front bit where loader picked them up.
Gently run knife over plastic, cut other side of bale l.
Peel off plastic.
Pick up bale with grab drop it on its end then. Unwind net off bale.
Walla. No silage left on net and no silage juice falling on your arms or clothes trying to open net with bale on loader

That way is handy for lining a few in front of a barrier so you can peel small pieces off at a time

mf240 · 03-11-2014 09:24PM

Take of the plastic first and the netwrap second.

farmerjj · 03-11-2014 09:29PM

Gilally wrote: »

Can anyone advise best way to cut open round silage bails.

We have never used this type of fodder before.

Thanks

Take plastic off then twine/netting.:D

feck beating to it

Base price · 03-11-2014 09:30PM

The way I do it -
Pick up bale on forks and transport to location.
Cut the plastic around the bale nearest the forks.
Cut a slit down the length of the bale and remove the plastic.
Cut a slit down the length of the wrap on the underside at arms length. Do not stand or lean under the bale. Remove the wrap.
Drop the bale and you are left with the circular disc of wrap on the forks.
I have a nice sharp pocket knife that I use. Stanley knife will do but I don't like them.

Farrell · 03-11-2014 09:30PM

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Take out of stack coukd be ten otmr so bales.
Cut open front bit where loader picked them up.
Gently run knife over plastic, cut other side of bale l.
Peel off plastic.
Pick up bale with grab drop it on its end then. Unwind net off bale.
Walla. No silage left on net and no silage juice falling on your arms or clothes trying to open net with bale on loader

Find it easier taking off net when the bale is in the spike.
Chopped bales were great cut net on bottom & it just falls clean

Milked out · 03-11-2014 09:33PM

Take bale from stack, cut off the plastic on the end, tip on the end, as you are lifting the spike out of the bale tilt it out so it catches the plastic as it comes out, hop down pull off netting job done. hate bales

severeoversteer · 03-11-2014 09:42PM

tanco bale shear takes the misery out of feeding silage

and don't say you like the misery!!!!!

with the bale shear it makes it easier than pit silage, can feed 10 bales in less than 10 minutes from the seat of the tractor

Reggie. · 03-11-2014 09:45PM

severeoversteer wrote: »

tanco bale shear takes the misery out of feeding silage

and don't say you like the misery!!!!!

with the bale shear it makes it easier than pit silage, can feed 10 bales in less than 10 minutes from the seat of the tractor

I like the misery

Greengrass1 · 03-11-2014 09:47PM

Farrell wrote: »

Find it easier taking off net when the bale is in the spike.
Chopped bales were great cut net on bottom & it just falls clean

Used to always do it that way but got fed up with the bale falling on the netting and getting destroyed pulling out tge netting

Base price · 03-11-2014 09:47PM

severeoversteer wrote: »

tanco bale shear takes the misery out of feeding silage

and don't say you like the misery!!!!!

with the bale shear it makes it easier than pit silage, can feed 10 bales in less than 10 minutes from the seat of the tractor

Good idea but not much use in a round feeder.

ganmo · 03-11-2014 09:55PM

we use a stanley craft knives, sharp not too heavy in your pocket and not as awkward as the normal stanleys

Count Mondego · 03-11-2014 09:58PM

Ye all take off the black stuff???? My lads ayte through it.

Charliebull · 03-11-2014 11:40PM

Treat it like a pair of knickers , flitter the fcuker off whatever way you can

keep going · 03-11-2014 11:59PM

Please stop all this bale talk has me coming out in hives.only just getting over the frazzles bale stack pictures and probably the nightmares will come back tonight

Base price · 04-11-2014 12:18AM

Never had these problems with the pit.
Other than covering it on a windy day when the plastic was blowing into the next parish. Getting drowned with the dirty rotten slop from the tyres and having sore arms from throwing same onto it. Remembering to keep your mouth closed in case you got Weils disease.
Stripping your clothes off outside the house cause you smelled like the dead lorry, and having to make sure that there was no undue male attention while peeling off said clothes.
And then the joy of opening the pit.
Throwing the same dirty fecking tyres to one side, while remembering to keep your mouth closed and knowing that no matter what rain gear you wore, you would still get skitted with the dirty rotten slop that resides in tyres.
TBH I prefer the bales

J.O. Farmer · 04-11-2014 12:39AM

Take the bale out onto wherever you want to open it and drop on its side.
Cut a cross in 1 end cut across the top and another cross in the 2nd end.
Pull the plastic down off the bale and move the bale to where you're feeding it.
If you're putting it within reach of cattle at a feed barrier make sure to keep the end rather than the side facing the barrier. Otherwise you'll have the arms pulled of yourself trying to fork silage out of a big lump once the cattle have ate the first half of the bale.
To cut off the net lift the bale high enough if you can so you can comfortably cut close to the bottom and pull the mesh out from under the bale and up on each side before dropping. If it's twine you'll be able to pull it out after if you cut it all the way across.
If you're putting the bale in a round feeder or forking it all to the cattle drop it on its end and you can wind the mesh off.

Count Mondego · 04-11-2014 12:46AM

Base price wrote: »

Getting drowned with the dirty rotten slop from the tyres and having sore arms from throwing same onto it. Remembering to keep your mouth closed in case you got Weils disease.

That stuff is vile. You could have thrown 200 tyres and the last one would get ya. Still, pit costs me 100 and acre and bales would be 200 so I'll be putting up with it for another while.

Timmaay · 04-11-2014 12:57AM

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Used to always do it that way but got fed up with the bale falling on the netting and getting destroyed pulling out tge netting

Yeh pure pain in the hole then with the netting stuck under the silage. Your way GG of throwing the bale up on its flat side and unwinding the netting is the only way I'd ever do it now.

Farmer Pudsey · 04-11-2014 01:20AM

Cut circle around end of bale. Reverse in with bale spike lift bale (this works with stacks two high as usuall second bale stay insitu) reverse it back towards feed barrier. cut around end facing barrier and remove plastic. Quickly remove netting and reverse in bale. As they are chopped one in nine or ten will crumble in you as you remove net.

The one that falls on end off stack cut plastic off upper end tip onto side with bale spike and repeat normal process. Use a kitchen knife that I bought in Aldi or Lidl it hi-vis green so easy to find. Edge it with a chefs file. It has a cover over blade.

lefthooker · 04-11-2014 02:05AM

Have a few opinions when it comes to bales.
Firstly I hate getting up and down out of the tractor seat too often. Secondly if you drop off the bale you'll never get it on the grab like when you pick it out of the stack.
So with that in mind when I drive out to the stack I open whatever bales I intend to use.
Cut a semi circle on the bottom of the face of the bale and do the exact opposite on the rear.
Then cut along the top and down the face and peel back to expose face.
Drive in and close grab, holds the plastic in place till I get to the wraps bin.
Open grab and plastic falls off. Tadaa.
Drive onto passage, bale around 3ft off ground and slit net wrap on the side. Easy enough to then pull the wrap off from the far side

Best way to open round silage bales

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