[Womble]

So what do the rest of you do to carry hay out to your fields? Up until now, we've always bought hay in small bales, which I can wheel out to the field on a sack truck.

However, we just bought a couple of large round bales from our neighbour, and I either need to take the hay feeder to them to fill up (something like this?):



Or I need some sort of sack or bin that I can fill up from the big bale, then carry or wheel out to the hay feeder.



Any bright ideas?

Cheers!

[BenBhoy]

...tractor?

[Bionic]

I use a builders bag.

 I only have 6 sheep so don't need to put too much out at a time but find I can put what I want in the bag and sling it over my shoulder and off I go. Simples...... :-)

[Rosemary]

I use hay nets - I have two big ones but I agree with Bionic - builders bag. Takes a lot and you can drag it.

[regen]

Just drop it down out of loft into feeder in barn then leave door and gate open -if they want it they come and get it!
So far 17 sheep have only eaten 3 small bales and seem happy enough with rough grazing.

Regen

[pharnorth]

We switched from small,bales to large ones a few years back so I bought One of those very large wheelbarrows. They cost about £300 though.

[Womble]

Good ideas folks - thankyou!

We're getting through half to 2/3 of a square bale per day at the moment between twenty zwartbles. Unfortunately our hay shed is in our yard, rather than in one of the fields, so I can't let the sheep in there (for one thing, it's full of ducks at the moment!)

Also, I've twice had to free sheep with button ear tags caught in hay nets, so I gave our nets away to a horsey friend. Perhaps your sheep aren't as daft, Rosemary!

I'll try a builder's bag in the first instance and see how I get on. Thanks!

[Rosemary]

Also, I've twice had to free sheep with button ear tags caught in hay nets, so I gave our nets away to a horsey friend. Perhaps your sheep aren't as daft, Rosemary!

I'll try a builder's bag in the first instance and see how I get on. Thanks!

Ah, I don't leave the hay in the net for the same reason of losing tags. We have wheeled covered hay racks for the sheep, cattle and ponies.

Try the skip for rubble bags.

[SallyintNorth]

A round bale should 'unpeel', pretty much, so I just unpeel what I want, roll it up on itself, strap it around with baler twine, and carry it by that.  Do restrap the big bale, though, to stop it unraveling by itself.

Otherwise a dumpy bag

[landroverroy]

A round bale should 'unpeel', pretty much, so I just unpeel what I want, roll it up on itself, strap it around with baler twine, and carry it by that.  Do restrap the big bale, though, to stop it unraveling by itself.

Otherwise a dumpy bag

Would definitely agree with unpeeling it and then rolling it up like a carpet for carrying. Else once you start gathering wisps of it for carrying you will end up moving a lot of bulk but not much actual weight of hay.

In my experience round bales are great to put straight into a ring feeder but once you have to start carting it, it becomes a pain. Large square bales are a lot easier to deal with as you can just get a segment off and it's still compressed for transport.

Can you not get your neighbour to put the bale next  to the fence so you can just throw the hay over? Doesn't matter if the whole bale gets wet as presumably it'll be finished before it goes mouldy. Or put a cover over it.
I'm a great believer in taking the mountain to Mohammed (so to speak). Ie move the bulk of the  hay by tractor as near to the sheep as possible and so cut down your carting small amounts across the fields daily.

[pgkevet]

It's obvious... you need a tractor. Whether you bother using it for the hay is immaterial...

My few sheep are fussy. The last two winters we had snow for a few days and I took hay up to them .. they turn their noses up at boring dried grass.. they're far to grand to eat that. But then 5 sheep in 15 acres with lush hedges and trees.....

[Womble]

OK, so it took me a year to get around to sorting this out, but.....





More details here (as if those pictures don't tell you everything you need to know already!  )

[PK]

I like that. What are the dimensions of the nylon sheet (approximately)?

[landroverroy]

OK, so it took me a year to get around to sorting this out, but.....





More details here (as if those pictures don't tell you everything you need to know already!  )

[Buttermilk]

An Ikea bag also worked.