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[RC] Roundbales --wet climate. - L ginI have fed round bales for 6 years or so..... The SE is pretty wet aobut 8 months of the year and if you include Thunderstorms in summer..... I thnk we get about 42 inches of rain.....wet enough?You need an area that drains well if you are storing them outdoors. I do .They are on a hill. You can tarp two together, open ends to the side. You must leave a foot or so around the bottom open so they can breathe. Do not tarp them to the ground. I use laundry soap containers or paint buckets filled with water and elecric fence tape to tie two together about 6 feet or so long. I tie two containers and I have 'anchors'. I put one set near the front of the bale tarped and one set over the other ends. This keeps wind and storms from flipping the tarps off. Do not do more than two bales per tarp. I use 11 X15 silver sided and brown or blue on the other from Sams -- they are the longest lasting, I get 2 for about 15$ --Cheap ones don't last a season. Silver last longer. I use a round bale circle thingie, keeps them from tearing bale apart too quick and trashing it. Mine eat a 800-1000 lb bale a week, longer if there is grass. "They won't eat the bad stuff. which usually is only the bottom 3" or so. You do have to be quite certain that the hay was baled properly-- must be dry when baled. Stick you hand into the bale in a couple places. I had the same farmer for years, could always trust him. I have gotten 2 bad bales from others. I learned to always check. ( all who grow hay are not necessarily horse people and often act like experts and are not)-- If they don't bounce or are too heavy-- they are usually 'sodden'-- in an emergency -- like a friday evening and you husband picked it up, and it is baled wet and you can't get your money back or hay elsewhere---- you can unroll it immediately and let the horses eat it that way, it is salvagable (this is if it isn't moldy--- just too wet when baled or rained on--- like upended. You can tell by smell too--- fermenting smell is a dead give away. Try to get it stored in a barn. Best way to insure it is dry--- mine was. But you can use some stored outside---if baled right , and stored right. You just will waste the outside 4" or so and the bottom. Just don't want it stored on floodplane. Again stick you hand inside, if dry and smells hayie , it is ok. I have had bad square bales too, and found dead snakes and such in them..... It is a bit harder for farmers to bale right in a wet area.... Takes much longer to cure where humidity is higher. That is why not too much Alpahlfa is grown in Se , too humid for the leafy stuff to dry without molding. I had a much harder time storeing square bales outside. Lost alot more of them it seems, even on pallets...... with tarp under I too use a tractor and a spike-- but it is an old tractor......husband says it may be going to have a mysterious fire and burn up before we move......;0( Roundbales saved me about 50-70% of the hay costs around here. If the roundbale is 20-25$ the square bales have to be 2.00 and 80# to equal costs. And those are the ones you pick up and load twice , from a field.And you have to handle them every day and have a covered storage area. Roundbales are a once a week thing for me. The worst part is picking up the string after they finish one. (remember it is in a hayring, so usually stays in the ring). If you get those nasty net bales .... good luck,.... I have to cut those off or unwrap it when I put them into the ring.I hate that stuff. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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