Bale shear, bale unwinder or bale chopper?

Micheal H · 15-11-2019 11:37pm #1

Anyone have experience with any of these?

Aggravated an old back/ sciatica problem graping silage on Tuesday and have been laid up all week because of it. I think it might be time to invest in some labour-saving machine for the job!

Plenty of options for bale shears out there - everyone seems to make them and they look like a handy job, but don't think it would be ideal for my setup. Have 2 slatted sheds, one with a central passage and the other one the feed passage is enclosed on the opposite side, so manoeuvrability wouldn't be great for feeding with a front loader. Would still end up having to fork in a lot of the silage to them.

This leaves the options of a bale unroller like the Blaney:
https://youtu.be/8A9tRQb3tt8
or Bridgeway:
https://youtu.be/YCUM_8NF77A
which look like they'd suit me well. Has anyone got one of these or similar? Any problems with bales not unwinding? Looks like they can leave off the bales a bit lumpy, but I'd imagine with well chopped bales it wouldn't be too much of an issue?

Third option is a bale chopper/shredder like the Teagle Tomahawk or the Blaney Bale Shredder. Looks like they would be a good job, leaving well chopped, even rows of silage in front of the cattle.

If anyone can point me in the direction of makes/models I've missed or tell me any ones to avoid, it'd be greatly appreciated!

Bass Reeves · 15-11-2019 11:51pm

Have used none of them but your only hope is to get them on trial for a week . But that is easier said than done. As well you would want to make sure they will work with wrapped chopped and unchopped bales. A neighbour had a real handy system. It works with chopped bales. He had a front bale spike like a dung fork with 4-6 spikes about 24'' long. He spiked the bale from the side. He then too it to the central passage and cut the netting and plastic with a stanley blade. By shaking the bale with the loader he broke it up and used the fork to feed it to both sides. He could put two days feed in front a pen this way.

Panch18 · 16-11-2019 12:04am

We’d be feeding a lot of bales here and have no special bale grab, just a regular grab.

We never break the bales up, take off plastic and net about 4ft from the barrier with bale on the ground as a tin can, then tip it into the barrier so that the flat side of the bale is available to the animals to graze. We would then push off the top few layers of the bake to either side to make bale a bit lower and just to stop cattle pushing, but the bales would be very close to each other at the barrier, depending on the feeding space and the amount of silage in the bales

But we see breaking up the bale as totally unnecessary

Bass Reeves · 16-11-2019 12:15am

Panch18 wrote: »

We’d be feeding a lot of bales here and have no special bale grab, just a regular grab.

We never break the bales up, take off plastic and net about 4ft from the barrier with bale on the ground as a tin can, then tip it into the barrier so that the flat side of the bale is available to the animals to graze. We would then push off the top few layers of the bake to either side to make bale a bit lower and just to stop cattle pushing, but the bales would be very close to each other at the barrier, depending on the feeding space and the amount of silage in the bales

But we see breaking up the bale as totally unnecessary

I put bales in something similar but OP has a back problem and is unable to grape/pike silage.

divillybit · 16-11-2019 7:35am

We have a hustler bale unroller here, bought second hand two years ago. We had a bale splitter before that but it left alot of graping to be done still. The Huster is a good job for sheds where you can't back up perpendicular to the barrier. We use the front loader to load the bale as it gives the extra height needed to get the mesh off the bale quick as the mesh gets caught in the spikes on the conveyor but you can use the spikes on the hustler too it just doesent give as much clearance. Hydraulic top link is essential though so you'll need two double acting spool valves. Our bales aren't well chopped so we just have to be a bit conscious when we take off the mesh we can know what way the bale was made and so we know what way it will unroll easier. You'd want to be feeding out the bale in the opposite rotation direction to the way it was made if you know what I mean. It just feeds out quicker and more smoothly that way but with a well chopped bale it won't matter. You gotta creep along in low low gear to feed it out nicely, because you are trying to keep tight to the barrier the cattle have their heads out and they would be plucking the tyres. The spikes on the conveyor could cut a cows nose easily but it's just happened once. There's a small bit of graping to be done but it's just flicking back in the silage where the cattle may have pushed it out. the unroller is a good job overall, fresh silage fed out every 24-36 hours so there is little waste. Its low maintenance and little to go wrong with them, not many used ones crop up on done deal

Who2 · 16-11-2019 7:46am

I use the spikes ( roller type ) and drive in , cut the wrap, peel back. Cut the bottom of the bale, so the net is on top and open the spikes out. 1/4 of the bale falls to the outside of the spikes each side and the half in the middle just gets pushed up to the barrier in front. I rarely use a grape.

GrasstoMilk · 16-11-2019 7:49am

Micheal H wrote: »

Anyone have experience with any of these?

Aggravated an old back/ sciatica problem graping silage on Tuesday and have been laid up all week because of it. I think it might be time to invest in some labour-saving machine for the job!

Plenty of options for bale shears out there - everyone seems to make them and they look like a handy job, but don't think it would be ideal for my setup. Have 2 slatted sheds, one with a central passage and the other one the feed passage is enclosed on the opposite side, so manoeuvrability wouldn't be great for feeding with a front loader. Would still end up having to fork in a lot of the silage to them.

This leaves the options of a bale unroller like the Blaney:
https://youtu.be/8A9tRQb3tt8
or Bridgeway:
https://youtu.be/YCUM_8NF77A
which look like they'd suit me well. Has anyone got one of these or similar? Any problems with bales not unwinding? Looks like they can leave off the bales a bit lumpy, but I'd imagine with well chopped bales it wouldn't be too much of an issue?

Third option is a bale chopper/shredder like the Teagle Tomahawk or the Blaney Bale Shredder. Looks like they would be a good job, leaving well chopped, even rows of silage in front of the cattle.

If anyone can point me in the direction of makes/models I've missed or tell me any ones to avoid, it'd be greatly appreciated!

Feeding bales atm with a lucas straw blower. Not the easiest job either tbh, lots of reaching to cut netting and pulling then of to get the netting out. Need two tractors also, one to load and one to drive the blower.

Youd still end up forking the last bit of silage in I reckon, no matter what method you use. Were forking it in here any way.

I'd steer away from straw blower if it was me, a right PIA when it gets blocked. The bale under would be a better option.

What about a silage pusher? Something like this

https://www.donedeal.ie/silagegrabs-for-sale/silage-pusher/23334436

IEP Bale unwinder
https://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/iep-bale-feeder-unroller/14231193

Mulumpy · 16-11-2019 8:00am

I use a tine grab to leave in and break up bale at barrier. Then have a yard scraper on back of tractor to keep it pushed in. No forking needed. It's a lean to with plenty of room so obviously wouldn't work if there was a central passage

Cavanjack · 16-11-2019 9:34am

Would a small second hand tub feeder be an option? It would chop it up and all leaving it easier to grape in.

divillybit · 16-11-2019 10:24am

Cavanjack wrote: »

Would a small second hand tub feeder be an option? It would chop it up and all leaving it easier to grape in.

We looked at tub feeders briefly but the many cons outweighed the pros. It wouldn't work with our set up anyway.

https://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/hustler-bale-unwinder/23507557?campaign=3

This unroller for sale up the North is same as what we have. There's so little to go wrong with them that the bit of rust is aesthetic and wouldn't be a big issue.

mr.stonewall · 16-11-2019 10:26am

Mulumpy wrote: »

I use a tine grab to leave in and break up bale at barrier. Then have a yard scraper on back of tractor to keep it pushed in. No forking needed. It's a lean to with plenty of room so obviously wouldn't work if there was a central passage

+1 for tine grab. Feed over 400 bales per year plus pit. Stick into the end of Bale with grab, into shed, cut plastic in an x at opposite end and pull it back up Bale a bit, turn Bale up on end with loader and then flick up plastic. Repeat for rest of bales to out in. Once all bales in sheds pull of plastic and unroll netting. Then just shake up Bale with grab and feed. Shove in reamining silage next day. Quick and simple.
People under estimate how versatile a tine grab is. Have a 5ft on the front of an old 3cx. Beast to get thru work

lab man · 16-11-2019 12:30pm

mr.stonewall wrote:

+1 for tine grab. Feed over 400 bales per year plus pit. Stick into the end of Bale with grab, into shed, cut plastic in an x at opposite end and pull it back up Bale a bit, turn Bale up on end with loader and then flick up plastic. Repeat for rest of bales to out in. Once all bales in sheds pull of plastic and unroll netting. Then just shake up Bale with grab and feed. Shove in reamining silage next day. Quick and simple. People under estimate how versatile a tine grab is. Have a 5ft on the front of an old 3cx. Beast to get thru work

do similar here only we take in the bales today cut 1 end of plastic off then tmrw put in front of barrier tip up on end take plastic off with the front tine do 4 bales at a time then go down take off net of the 4 and feed then very little. going up and down

Say my name · 16-11-2019 2:11pm

The McHale loader mounted bale splitter that splits it out either side and maybe a silage pusher on the back of the tractor either a vee pusher or angle to one side?

I says · 16-11-2019 2:23pm

Mchale bale splitter is the one I use it’s a great job.

Micheal H · 16-11-2019 3:25pm

Thanks for the replies everyone.

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

What about a silage pusher? Something like this

https://www.donedeal.ie/silagegrabs-for-sale/silage-pusher/23334436

I was considering something like that as well, but I think they're more suited to pushing in the leftovers from a diet feeder or similar. Don't think they'd fare too well with full bales of silage in front of them. My bales are out of a Krone Comprima at 4 1/2 foot in size, so there's a bit of weight in them!

divillybit wrote:

We have a hustler bale unroller here, bought second hand two years ago. We had a bale splitter before that but it left alot of graping to be done still. The Huster is a good job for sheds where you can't back up perpendicular to the barrier. We use the front loader to load the bale as it gives the extra height needed to get the mesh off the bale quick as the mesh gets caught in the spikes on the conveyor but you can use the spikes on the hustler too it just doesent give as much clearance. Hydraulic top link is essential though so you'll need two double acting spool valves. Our bales aren't well chopped so we just have to be a bit conscious when we take off the mesh we can know what way the bale was made and so we know what way it will unroll easier. You'd want to be feeding out the bale in the opposite rotation direction to the way it was made if you know what I mean. It just feeds out quicker and more smoothly that way but with a well chopped bale it won't matter. You gotta creep along in low low gear to feed it out nicely, because you are trying to keep tight to the barrier the cattle have their heads out and they would be plucking the tyres. The spikes on the conveyor could cut a cows nose easily but it's just happened once. There's a small bit of graping to be done but it's just flicking back in the silage where the cattle may have pushed it out. the unroller is a good job overall, fresh silage fed out every 24-36 hours so there is little waste. Its low maintenance and little to go wrong with them, not many used ones crop up on done deal

Yeah, I think the unroller is looking like the most ideal solution for me. I know what you mean about getting the bale to unroll in the right direction alright. My bales are all well chopped (hopefully!) so that shouldn't be much of an issue. I see the Blaney unrollers seem to be the only ones with a guard to stop cattle putting their noses close to the spikes, but if you haven't really had much of an issue with it, it's probably not too essential to have it. Would be handy enough to make one up if it ever became a problem.

Cavanjack wrote:

Would a small second hand tub feeder be an option? It would chop it up and all leaving it easier to grape in.

Wouldn't quite suit the setup here unfortunately. The shed with the central passage in closed at one end, so would need to reverse in and would still be missing out on most of the two rear pens. Besides, most of the ones in reasonably good condition would be outside my available budget for now.

For all the suggestions about using a tine grab etc on the front loader: would work fine in the double shed as the central passage is decently wide to work in, but the older shed has a fairly narrow passage, around 11 foot or so, which makes it very awkward for working a front loader in. Would be doable alright, but just very tight for working in.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Micheal H · 16-11-2019 10:22pm

divillybit wrote: »

We have a hustler bale unroller here....l

Forgot to ask you divilly, what size tractor do you have it on? I'm thinking my 9880 Landini might be getting a bit light on front with the machine and a 1 ton bale on the back of it.

Have bigger tractors I could put it on, but the 9880 is just perfect for that sort of work in the tight shed.

divillybit · 16-11-2019 10:41pm

Ah your landini is plenty heavy enough. A front loader would be very handy though for loading it onto the conveyor, especially if the bales are well chopped and may come apart if you take off the net. If the net falls onto the spikes of the conveyor and and lump of silage along with it, it can be hard to get the net free of the spikes. It's a great machine for sheds like yours where you can't back up at right angles to the feed barrier. We've one shed like that we can reverse up at 90 degrees to the barrier and we use the bale splitter there.

Water John · 16-11-2019 11:46pm

With a narrow passage way in place, what are people trying to achieve? Do you want to lay out a nice layer of silage or simply have silage available for them to eat?
If the latter, you deposit a line of bales, either horizontal or vertical in front of the barrier. then the next problem is to get the rest of the silage near the barrier once they have eaten the first lot. So you simply want to move the silage/bales to the right/left. Wouldn't rigging up a cross push ram on the front or rear of the tractor achieve that in a simple manner. No manual pikeing needed.

Mooooo · 17-11-2019 12:04am

Narrow passage here but short on feed space. Bales are a pia. I put out the bale with the bale handler, take off wrap drop it down and split it with the handler and push to the side using combination of the hydraulics on the bale handler and slewing with the loader articulation. I only split it so the bale takes up double the space if it was left whole iykwim

Mooooo · 17-11-2019 12:19am

On the pusher, we made up a blade here for the front of the loader using old grab brackets. Just drive along and the silage slides in to the barrier then. Would work away with half eaten bales I'd say.

Jb1989 · 17-11-2019 12:31am

https://www.donedeal.ie/farmproduce-for-sale/silage-pushover/23171876

Water John · 17-11-2019 12:58am

Some also use a tyre on a horizontal axle. Simple solutions.

Bass Reeves · 17-11-2019 10:09am

Problem when feeding bales along a central passage is the amount of space bales need. A 4X4 bale(and most are now larger than this by 4-6'') when you allow firelight expansion of bale and leaving it at least 6'' from barrier will up at least 5' of a central passage. A tractor needs 10' to operate and even at that will be rolling over silage. Unless all your yard is concrete you be getting muck on silage.

However before I give 3-4 k on an unroller I have to see it in action. As well it will be hard to gauge amount to feed. Biggest issue will be smaller cattle unable to reach enough silage during the day as there is never enough head space for all to feed together. It's hard to beat plenty of silage available at front of pen for 3 days out of 4. If you feed more than they consume in a day you will have a waste issue as cattle will pick freshest silage.

In the video's I see most unrolled are only feeding about a half a days feed to a pen. You would really have to see it feed 2-3 times that height of silage for 14' or long slatted pens especially if no ration fed.

17-11-2019 2:06pm

Water John wrote: »

With a narrow passage way in place, what are people trying to achieve? Do you want to lay out a nice layer of silage or simply have silage available for them to eat?
If the latter, you deposit a line of bales, either horizontal or vertical in front of the barrier. then the next problem is to get the rest of the silage near the barrier once they have eaten the first lot. So you simply want to move the silage/bales to the right/left. Wouldn't rigging up a cross push ram on the front or rear of the tractor achieve that in a simple manner. No manual pikeing needed.

1-spread across barrier to maximize availability and reduce bullying
2-just enough out to avoid spoilage of putting too much out

Main reason for splitting is demand not high enough to consume <2 days. So spread across several barriers

Was able to do exactly as you describe... but demand was solid so did not have to split.

SuperTortoise · 17-11-2019 2:40pm

Have a bridgeway unroller here with 2 years, would'nt ever go back to anything else, the only graping i do now is taking a bit of the leftovers away from them before unwinding a fresh bit, takes all the hard work out of feeding, very simple machines so very little to go wrong in them has'nt missed a beat yet.
Fresh silage available every feed so less waste, no graping or pushing silage, was dear but for me well worth it.

SuperTortoise · 17-11-2019 2:48pm

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Problem when feeding bales along a central passage is the amount of space bales need. A 4X4 bale(and most are now larger than this by 4-6'') when you allow firelight expansion of bale and leaving it at least 6'' from barrier will up at least 5' of a central passage. A tractor needs 10' to operate and even at that will be rolling over silage. Unless all your yard is concrete you be getting muck on silage.

However before I give 3-4 k on an unroller I have to see it in action. As well it will be hard to gauge amount to feed. Biggest issue will be smaller cattle unable to reach enough silage during the day as there is never enough head space for all to feed together. It's hard to beat plenty of silage available at front of pen for 3 days out of 4. If you feed more than they consume in a day you will have a waste issue as cattle will pick freshest silage.

In the video's I see most unrolled are only feeding about a half a days feed to a pen. You would really have to see it feed 2-3 times that height of silage for 14' or long slatted pens especially if no ration fed.

Not hard to judge ammount of feed at all, spin off 5 or 6 bales to get used to it and how much it throws out and you'll have it down to a tee, you would spend far more time backing in bales and pushing it in every day then unwinding a day's supply of silage, i spend less than 10 mins in the morning fetching a bale, taking off the wrap and feeding half of it out, in the evening feeding the other half literally takes me 2 mins.

Bass Reeves · 17-11-2019 5:47pm

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Not hard to judge ammount of feed at all, spin off 5 or 6 bales to get used to it and how much it throws out and you'll have it down to a tee, you would spend far more time backing in bales and pushing it in every day then unwinding a day's supply of silage, i spend less than 10 mins in the morning fetching a bale, taking off the wrap and feeding half of it out, in the evening feeding the other half literally takes me 2 mins.

Problem can be with stores of different weights in same pen. In most pens I have cattle will vary by 50kgs. Friesian's have a longer reach that AA or HE. Your problem with any system like that is in most pens not all cattle can feed at same time. That is ok as long as cattle have surplus up close to the feed barrier. If there is a particularly shy or an animals with a shorter reach then they can go back very fast in such a pen of cattle where they cannot access enough feed all the time

Mooooo · 17-11-2019 5:54pm

If short of feedpace silage must be kept in front of stock really. When all stock housed here if I feed out in the morning if be pushing in the rest in the evening and will be gone by the following morning. Actually tend to feed fresh in the evening for as at least overnight all stock will have a good bit in front and push in what's left in the morning. Heifers or younger cow's wouldn't stand a chance otherwise, the mature ladies would blow em out of it. Hope to add feed space by putting a feed barrier on the other side of the shed but shed is dug in to a slope so cost and cashflow is an issue at the minute, have young stock in a shed where there is headfeed for all, blew out two bays of walls and just put up a bar then as the headfeed, manage to leave the bottom two blocks of the wall as a stubwall then

Bass Reeves · 18-11-2019 12:56am

Mooooo wrote: »

If short of feedpace silage must be kept in front of stock really. When all stock housed here if I feed out in the morning if be pushing in the rest in the evening and will be gone by the following morning. Actually tend to feed fresh in the evening for as at least overnight all stock will have a good bit in front and push in what's left in the morning. Heifers or younger cow's wouldn't stand a chance otherwise, the mature ladies would blow em out of it. Hope to add feed space by putting a feed barrier on the other side of the shed but shed is dug in to a slope so cost and cashflow is an issue at the minute, have young stock in a shed where there is headfeed for all, blew out two bays of walls and just put up a bar then as the headfeed, manage to leave the bottom two blocks of the wall as a stubwall then

Dairy can afford that expense.

Mooooo · 18-11-2019 1:39am

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Dairy can afford that expense.

What expense?, putting in the extra feed space? I assume we're the same as most here, things are added on whenever they can be. All sheds here were added on to existing ones, hence the 11ft feed passage, would be much easier to knock and rebuild but like most that's not a possibility for me for a while anyway if ever, whatever the future may bring

Bass Reeves · 18-11-2019 1:55am

Mooooo wrote: »

What expense?, putting in the extra feed space? I assume we're the same as most here, things are added on whenever they can be. All sheds here were added on to existing ones, hence the 11ft feed passage, would be much easier to knock and rebuild but like most that's not a possibility for me for a while anyway if ever, whatever the future may bring

Giving total individual feed space in a beef system is not really an option. Major adaptations to sheds costing thousands that add little to output n a system where margins are low cannot be justified.. Most pens will have headspace for 60-70% of cattle in them.

Castlekeeper · 18-11-2019 2:15pm

Have a bale shear grab here (Rohan eng.), no piking, no getting off/on tractor. Have a pushing in wheel that is picke up by a tine of the grab, works perfectly in a central and one sided 12' feeding passage.
Grams generally cuts off 1/3 of bale and drops an 18" section, I shove that in parallel with barrier (optional depending on feed space and feeding frequency).
Then I drop rest of the bale, drop the plastic plus net and sideways. Go back and divide that lump in 2 (optional) shoving both sections in to the barrier again.

When finished plastic gets picked up for all bales.
Works well and is simple, I've pit silage too hence the dual purpose grab.

trg · 18-11-2019 10:04pm

How much would a bale unroller be? Ballpark

Micheal H · 18-11-2019 10:46pm

Was pricing a few of them today. Hustler, Nugent and Blaney all around the €6500 mark new. Not exactly cheap bits of kit.

Cavanjack · 19-11-2019 12:04am

Micheal H wrote: »

Was pricing a few of them today. Hustler, Nugent and Blaney all around the €6500 mark new. Not exactly cheap bits of kit.

That’s crazy money for the average man. You’d want to be feeding at least a thousand bales over the winter to even think about it.

divillybit · 19-11-2019 12:43am

All in, I paid 3800 euro for a 3 year Hustler SL 370, that was buying it up North and getting it transported to the Midlands. I bought it 2 years ago.

https://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/hustler-bale-unwinder/23507557?campaign=3

This one looks like good value, even though it looks like it hasn't been minded. It is hard to justify buying them new though but a 2nd hand one is the smart buy in my opinion.

We find the hustler handy too in that if you have a few cows out around the shed that may have just calved, you can leave the butt of a bale on it, and pull out the tractor and headstock and it doubles as a ring feeder. The headstock spikes are the right size for lifting JFC meal bins too

Dozer1 · 19-11-2019 12:27pm

when it comes to price whats saving money versus your health & safety, if there is no money in alot of farming activities at least make it as safe and enjoyable as possible.

if you are laid up with an injury a few K wouldn't be long going in extra costs and loss of earnings.

something like this is probably a once in a lifetime purchase, buy the machine if its the right one for you and mind it well.

taking the plunge and buying a bale shear myself, not 100% necessary but current method of feeding bales not safe, over time it'll pay for itself

Micheal H · 19-11-2019 2:26pm

Cavanjack wrote: »

That’s crazy money for the average man. You’d want to be feeding at least a thousand bales over the winter to even think about it.

It's a lot of money for what it is alright. But I have to think of it as an investment in my long term health. If I keep going like I am now I won't be able to feed one bale over the winter never mind a thousand.

divillybit wrote: »

All in, I paid 3800 euro for a 3 year Hustler SL 370, that was buying it up North and getting it transported to the Midlands. I bought it 2 years ago.

https://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/hustler-bale-unwinder/23507557?campaign=3

This one looks like good value, even though it looks like it hasn't been minded. It is hard to justify buying them new though but a 2nd hand one is the smart buy in my opinion.

That's more reasonable money alright, but like you said, it hasn't been minded. I'd prefer to get something a bit fresher if I could. I think I might be a month or two too late trying to find a nice 2nd hand one, they'll all have been snapped up by now, but I'm keeping my eyes open for one anyway.

I'm VAT registered so I'll be able to claim that back at least, which will soften the blow a little bit. Still going to be a hefty chunk of change either way though.

Dozer1 wrote: »

when it comes to price whats saving money versus your health & safety, if there is no money in alot of farming activities at least make it as safe and enjoyable as possible.

if you are laid up with an injury a few K wouldn't be long going in extra costs and loss of earnings.

something like this is probably a once in a lifetime purchase, buy the machine if its the right one for you and mind it well.

taking the plunge and buying a bale shear myself, not 100% necessary but current method of feeding bales not safe, over time it'll pay for itself

Yeah, that's my reasoning as well. It's painful forking out that sort of money, but not nearly as painful as last week was - 2 days in bed, no sleep, and another 3 or 4 days hobbling around the place like a 90 year old, and still not right yet. If I don't have to go through that again it'll be a worthwhile investment.

Good luck with the bale shear!

SuperTortoise · 19-11-2019 8:22pm

Just to echo what Dozer above said, it's dear alright but there's a few things you can compare it to.

On my own farm as an example i've upgraded the shaker, sprayer, bale spike, over the last few years, how many days have they been on the back of the tractor? The bale unwinder is on the back of my tractor almost exclusively from October through to mid May, the spikes on it can be used to move pallets or bales or meal bins or IBC tanks or whatever else is in the way, i can use it to throw a few barrows of silage to cows let out of the shed early instead of skull dragging a half flat wheelbarrow through 2 foot of shyte in the pissing rain.

I used to feed~350 bales every winter graped in and out every handfull, my back would be screaming at me by the time came around to let cattle out of the shed, i'd estimate in terms of time it saves me approx half an hour per day in feeding time, so over one winter i can save 4 full days and use that time to break something else rather than my back.

I'll be the first to admit before i bought one i said the same thing, too dear the grape will do, would'nt go back to the grape.

To the person enquiring on price, anywhere from 5-7000 depending on flavour. Problem with second hand is they never seem to come up.

Bass Reeves · 20-11-2019 12:57am

Lads for your own sake solve the back problem. It a matter of stretching for 15-20 minutes 3-4 times a weeks. The problem with graping/piking silage is only a symptom of the real issue.

divillybit · 20-11-2019 1:32am

Not sure what to make of that last statement about back stretches. Not many lads would have time in the day for that worthwhile and all as they are but getting back on topic I think a bale shear is a great machine but just doesn't suit our shed configuration. The bale unroller suits our set up. Any graping can be done easily by my elderly father and isint hard on someone with a few hip operations behind him. As the feed passage way isint congested with alot of silage he doesent have to step over and means he can check stock better that are in the shed. Super tortoise made some very good points regarding how often the machine gets used. Our will be used daily for 4 to 5 months of the year, that might only be a few minutes a day but its a productive few minutes. I see dramatically less silage waste compared to when we would split 6 bales at a time versus feeding a bale or two every day fresh.

Michael H, I don't see a used unroller getting any cheaper than the one I linked in done deal. Machinery ain't getting cheaper. The worn paint and surface rust are superficial things. Id safely say you wouldn't lose money on it were you to buy it and sell it on if you were unhappy with it.

Bass Reeves · 20-11-2019 1:54am

divillybit wrote: »

Not sure what to make of that last statement about back stretches. Not many lads would have time in the day for that worthwhile and all as they are but getting back on topic I think a bale shear is a great machine but just doesn't suit our shed configuration. The bale unroller suits our set up. Any graping can be done easily by my elderly father and isint hard on someone with a few hip operations behind him. As the feed passage way isint congested with alot of silage he doesent have to step over and means he can check stock better that are in the shed. Super tortoise made some very good points regarding how often the machine gets used. Our will be used daily for 4 to 5 months of the year, that might only be a few minutes a day but its a productive few minutes. I see dramatically less silage waste compared to when we would split 6 bales at a time versus feeding a bale or two every day fresh.

Michael H, I don't see a used unroller getting any cheaper than the one I linked in done deal. Machinery ain't getting cheaper. The worn paint and surface rust are superficial things. Id safely say you wouldn't lose money on it were you to buy it and sell it on if you were unhappy with it.

15-20 minutes 3-4 times a week. It equates to 60-70 minutes/week out of 10000 odd minutes. Idealy you should do a bit of of walking or other excerises as well but stretches help the most.

The problem is most lads will not change there habits. I had two serious back issues. I had a discectomy after the last one. 50-60 hours stretching in year equates to 2-3 days in the year. Its the equivalent to the time you spend dringing two pints once a week.

If you have a back injury the time you spend moaning about it will more than cover the stretching

twin_beacon · 20-11-2019 11:55am

Micheal H wrote: »

Anyone have experience with any of these?

Aggravated an old back/ sciatica problem graping silage on Tuesday and have been laid up all week because of it. I think it might be time to invest in some labour-saving machine for the job!

Plenty of options for bale shears out there - everyone seems to make them and they look like a handy job, but don't think it would be ideal for my setup. Have 2 slatted sheds, one with a central passage and the other one the feed passage is enclosed on the opposite side, so manoeuvrability wouldn't be great for feeding with a front loader. Would still end up having to fork in a lot of the silage to them.

This leaves the options of a bale unroller like the Blaney:
https://youtu.be/8A9tRQb3tt8
or Bridgeway:
https://youtu.be/YCUM_8NF77A
which look like they'd suit me well. Has anyone got one of these or similar? Any problems with bales not unwinding? Looks like they can leave off the bales a bit lumpy, but I'd imagine with well chopped bales it wouldn't be too much of an issue?

Third option is a bale chopper/shredder like the Teagle Tomahawk or the Blaney Bale Shredder. Looks like they would be a good job, leaving well chopped, even rows of silage in front of the cattle.

If anyone can point me in the direction of makes/models I've missed or tell me any ones to avoid, it'd be greatly appreciated!

we bought the bridgeway bale unroller in September 2016, just started the 4th winter with it. We have no complaints what so ever. My dad had his second hip replacement in the summer of 2016, so his days of forking silage every day in the winter are over. We looked into the bale slices like the keltec, but there is still a lot of forking.
We feed around 350 (mchale) bales every winter. We stack them 2 high, and have never had any real issues with deformed bales at the bottom of the stack not feeding out correctly. If anything, its the extra dry bales that are worse to feed as the layers of silage can be very tight and don't fall off too easily.

Once your tractor has a pair of double acting spools, you can use this machine. A hydraulic top link is essential, hence why you need a pair of double acting spools. Although we have a loader, we don't use the loader to load the bale onto it, our yard is tight and it would just take longer.

It takes a few days to get into the swing of it. In the first video you linked, the cattle cant put their head out the feeder when the machine is being used. Most farmers don't have feeders like that, and you really need 3 eyes as a result to make sure you don't catch the heads of cattle on both wheels and the machine, while also keeping an eye on the amount of silage being fed out.

There are pros and cons to the machine, but in my opinion the pros outweigh the cons.

Bass Reeves wrote: »

However before I give 3-4 k on an unroller I have to see it in action. As well it will be hard to gauge amount to feed. Biggest issue will be smaller cattle unable to reach enough silage during the day as there is never enough head space for all to feed together. It's hard to beat plenty of silage available at front of pen for 3 days out of 4. If you feed more than they consume in a day you will have a waste issue as cattle will pick freshest silage.

In the video's I see most unrolled are only feeding about a half a days feed to a pen. You would really have to see it feed 2-3 times that height of silage for 14' or long slatted pens especially if no ration fed.

we paid around €6.5k. The amount of silage that is fed is up to the operator, drive slower or increase the speed of of rotation of the bale and you feed more. We go through the same amount of bales in a week with the machine as we did before.

Cavanjack wrote: »

That’s crazy money for the average man. You’d want to be feeding at least a thousand bales over the winter to even think about it.

It depends on how you look at it. All our cattle are in for the winter, the unroller wont be coming off the back of the tractor (and if it does come off, it will be back on the same same day) until probably April. There is no other implement for our tractor that gets as much use per year. Its also a simple machine to maintain, keep it greased and it will last for many years. My dad bought this machine when after he got his second hip replaced. I'm not implying that is was just feeding bales that caused the damage, but it was definitely a factor. Replacing the hips cost a lot more than 6.5k!

divillybit wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/hustler-bale-unwinder/23507557?campaign=3

This one looks like good value, even though it looks like it hasn't been minded. It is hard to justify buying them new though but a 2nd hand one is the smart buy in my opinion.

it doesn't look that bad, the paint has worn off in a few spots where the bales spin and touch the paint. If the hydraulic motor an chains are good, then problems are only cosmetic. Ours is galvanised.

annubis · 21-11-2019 9:53am

have a tanco bale splitter thats hold plastic, must be 8th or 9th season now, been a good tool, never any bother, works best in good solid bales, after a day or day and half you need to run thru shed with tractor /loader to push in silage, 2 min job, think it cost about 2.5k back when i got it. problem i see with yokes like the hustler is that it s bit of effort to get your bale ready to feed with nett and plastic off and then you have to start all over with your next bale
could feed just as easily with grab on loader except of cutting off plastic and nett but still a quick way to feed bales, so long as you can transport bale in front of barrier i think cattle will do the rest

Bale shear, bale unwinder or bale chopper?

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