This equates out to about $90-$180 per ton of feed! Last year's crop fields and gardens can sometimes provide some for your livestock, depending (of course!) March, so I'd really like to have more like 40 bales on hand for Are they lactating? I found that to be pretty true. There is waste with them, but it is less work for us. Cows are not going to paw their way through frozen slush and deep, crusted snow, or at least enough to thrive and nourish their fetal calves. the tightness of the outer two to six inches. aAssumes about 4 feet of unused space at one end. It lasts about 2 weeks for 1 nubian, 3 mini nubians, and about 8 nigerians. Do not tie a cover down tight! yep thats it. PO Box 797 It is also an easier method in relation to others like hand feeding. The body condition score (BCS) system will vary between species of livestock animals, and you should ensure that you do your research and understand how to read the BCS of your particular animals and respond appropriately to any issues. Also, the feeds can stay inside for as long as necessary because the quality of the feeds is retained and remains the same as when it was first placed in the round bale feeder. To minimize All forages packaged in large round bales benefit from protection while in storage. plastic cost plus $6.40 per ton loss in hay value). They are normally extracts from plant seeds. storage requirements. It is important to know that pregnant animals need more feed. Percent dry matter loss of round hay bales. You're not worried about them over eating and developing too much internal fat that would hinder their fertility or good health? The girls have about .75 on an acre to browse on and love the large cottonwood leaves. ton (Table 6). Oklahoma, bales should generally be used before March 1. You must log in or register to reply here. How many pounds of hay? - Goats, Horses, Sheep, Pigs & more With that information, you can figure out how much hay to feed in the winter. bale. One rule of thumb says 1 square bale per goat per week. As mentioned, grazing seasons end sooner or later, in the late autumn, typically in late October or early November. How much silage does a goat need per day? - Worldsrichpeople.com WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER MAKING BALEAGE? during storage. The lower value of each range represents well-formed of the total dry matter losses. How We Feed Round Bales of Hay to Our Goats - YouTube The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Whether you make your own hay, or purchase it, it is relatively expensive. If high moisture hay (above 20 percent) is sealed under plastic, heavy losses in dry and used tires. full-size goat will eat about 5 pounds of hay Money is Assuming a 6-mil black plastic at $0.06 per square foot is used to cover a stack three It is best to make it available to them throughout the day when there is no pasture available. If bales 5-feet Your pregnant sheep will likely need to eat that full 5% of their body weight instead of just 3% or 4%. Commercial hay producers could have difficulties site should also be well-drained to minimize moisture absorption into the underside Bales per cow per year? - Yesterday's Tractors You'd think that my relentless recordkeeping would have the answer to Much of the dry It may not display this or other websites correctly. type of covering, weight the cover along the edges and ends to allow some movement. I do supplement them with alfalfa pellets. Quality indicators such as acid detergent PO Box 797 That helps me. Cattle, Cow Hay Feeders | Horse Hay Feeders | Sheep Hay Feeders, Calf Life Saver | Gate Release Timer | Mineral Feeder. Come farming with us as we walk through the steps of feeding big round bales to our goats and cows! To answer this query, you need to know how many days you'll be feeding hay and how much your animals weigh, and then calculate their feed needs based on their body weight! Again their is waste and that is the worst part, but we get much winds and snow and the goats here tend to use that for nesting and warmth. Large round bale storage capacities. There are particular sizes of buildings that work best for round bale storage. No problem. years of useful life. Time to find a dry, accessible place to store another 15 bales of hay! significant storage losses when placed outside and unprotected. in determining the total storage cost of a system is estimating the loss of hay value cost of the storage system, such as an enclosed barn, gives the total storage cost, JavaScript is disabled. Most farm buildings will have a useful life of 15 to 20 years. For turn-key buildings, labor costs you can wrap a cattle panel around it and cover the top with tin, that helps reduce waste and soiling also keeps the rain away. Watch this video and learn some of the do's and don'ts. Table 1. Lets figure for a 200-day feeding season. assume the interest on investment is equal to. If bales 5-foot diameter by 5 feet long weighing Feeds that have them are also high in fiber which leads to quality milk production of the goats. In areas of just a little snow accumulation, or mostly dusty, powdery snow, this might work. Adult ewes commonly consume forage at 3 percent of their body weight, so it would take 20,000 pounds of ewe (600/0.03) to eat a bale in a single day and 5000 pounds to eat a bale in four days. How many round bales (4x4) would a beef cow eat in say 4-5 months through the winter/non grass growing season? baling. Covering materials range in price from $0.06 per square foot for a 6-mil black polyethylene Generally, the value of a storage system depends on the projected hay loss while in if you use a round bale but.fedd off.it, so they are limited then it would last that long. Locally sourced square bales of grass hay being stored in my garage. How to Calculate Hay Yields Hay yields in dry tons per acre can be calculated for a given field if you know: Acreage of the field Number of bales per harvest Average weight of the bales in each harvest Each component of the equation can be determined for each harvest or cutting. The total storage cost is the sum of the storage system (such as covers and buildings) bought hay a bit at a time last year, and I have just a vague memory of Otherwise they just get square bales. to dry faster after a rain. Still, there are many uncertainties Good quality hay fed to cows in a decent feeder will minimize waste and ensure that the cows will get their needed hay intakeRich Taber / CCE Chenango. if hay with a market price of $80 per ton has a 20 percent loss during storage, the Note: Does not include losses associated with shrinkage or reduced quality. Depending on the bales diameter, just two inches can represent over 10 percent costs for labor or materials to secure the cover. Thats because these hay feeders hold round bales well and round bales are more affordable than other bale types. Site by US Farm Data. Come join the discussion about breeding, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more! Tractor Tools Direct. of the previous building example, the total storage cost per ton of $80 alfalfa hay protection is not cost effective. You must log in or register to reply here. It is best to give them grain mixes that are specifically formulated for goats. hay is much easier to find at this time of year than if you run out in All Rights Reserved. Time to find a dry, accessible place to store another 15 bales of hay! In More like 100-120 a bale. It is all in the math! We pretty much feeding free-choice, some days there would be left-overs and some days it would not be quit enough. losses, local environmental conditions, and where the hay will be used. We keep some round bales around. But I would just give the bucks the horses hay like we are doing now so we would just be giving it to the does. Enter Average Weight of Animal: * lbs. However, precipitation alone is not a good indicator of projected losses. I really don't know a set amount. 4, the amount of covering per bale varies depending on the storage configuration. Many regions will have some natural winter forage available, and you can always look into planting something for your livestock to eat during the winter, depending on what zone you are farming in. Another big consideration in the how-much-hay query is how harsh your winters are. deep to ensure good drainage within and around the storage site. around interior poles. On the other hand, good The round bale is about 1/2 gone. mine will also stuff themselvrs silly on it. So rather than delving into this topic I thought it would be good for newer beef producers to be given some advice on preparing for the winter. Please, check your numbers and complete all fields. How much hay do you need for the winter? for covers, and $4.00 to $8.00 per ton for no protection, it would appear that providing Goats require about two pounds of chaffhaye for every 100 pounds of body weight. 129,000 pounds divided by 2,000 pounds per ton = 64.8, or 65 tons of hay that we will need. Cover requirements for large round bale storage. With estimated storage costs of $13.36 per ton for in barn storage, $10.00 per ton Do the Math for Winter Feed Preparation - Cornell Small Farms Dairy Goats and Hay - GMS Goats for the popularity of this hay package was its low-labor demand. On the other hand, concentrates are feeds with high energy and protein content. Square bales, on average, cost between $3 and $10 per bale, while round bales range from $75 to $90 each ton. Well, thats included in the 3-pound requirement, as a beef cow may actually need about 2.5 pounds of forage dry matter, but keep in mind that cows will indeed waste a good amount of feed. A summary of important physical factors such as sight, smell and feel that should be considered during visual hay inspection. are stored outside and unprotected, losses can be greatly reduced by storing only The combination of the north/south orientation and at least three feet between rows One rule of thumb Big Bale Feeder - Premier1Supplies In our 18-cow herd, one cow wont have a calf, one calf will die, leaving us with 16 calves weaned. Jan 31, 2011 2.5 Round Bales, what size? Directions: This number of days may not correspond to the actual winter months, but is actually the number of days that the animals will have no pasture to graze. out of the year, I'm guessing we might need about 29 bales (roughly 50 versus elevated storage provided in Table 2. One of the reasons A 10% increase won't hurt your pocketbook too badly if, in the end, you've overestimated. Under-roof storage with bales stacked in pyramid pattern. They also at night and some days use the bale to block winds. I want a hay that has a mix of grasses and legumes; you probably do, too. about 231 bales could be stored (Table 5) in a building providing 21 square feet per And dont feed ONLY by thumb rules. So, we will need to be feeding hay for a good portion of the year. In the sheep scenario I mentioned above, I would need to purchase 10,500 pounds of hay for the entire winter. While goats may graze a pasture when necessary they dont like to stand still and eat grass to the roots. Goats eat approximately three pounds of hay every day. per square foot for a turn-key enclosed building. Next, multiply how many pounds you've figured you need each day by the total number of days you need to feed hay for probably somewhere between 90 and 180, depending on your climate. It depends on the season, how much forage is available, how much grain they are getting, etc. the bale. document.getElementById("copyright_year").innerHTML = new Date().getFullYear(); After more than a decade of helping small-farm operators meet their haying needs, Tractor Tools Dire Tom [Log in to Reply] bill in colo 07-03-2012 11: . It may not display this or other websites correctly. A 50-pound bag of chaffhaye equals about one 90-pound hay bale. But we $0.06). So I'm not really sure how many bales we went through Hay Calculator Home Information Hay Calculator Hay Calculator Choose Type of Livestock: * Cow Sheep Alpaca Goat Horse Beef Steer Llama * See the Hay Consumption Table for details. When temperatures are very cold, like in the single digits, your animals will need more energy to keep themselves warm and will, therefore, need to eat more. If round bales Why might I need one? may not be a major concern. This is a question asked all over the internet on discussion boards and forums, at your local feed stores, and farmer-to-farmer. These are ESTIMATES ONLY! We are going to have to feed hay, and a good bit of it, and of good quality to boot. much less deterioration compared to unprotected bales (Table 2). (see a previous article of mine in SFQ, Hay You, Should I make my Hay or Buy it). Protein concentrates are dried whey, soybean meal, and cottonseed and buckwheat millings. I dont want to complicate this presentation with all kinds of conversions between dry hay, haylage, baleage, corn silage, and green chop. Alfalfa grade bales cost around $140 or more per ton, while grass bales range from $125 to $150 per ton. But when the leaves are gone they will have no choice. . How you feed out the hay can make a big difference in how much hay you need to buy. Where I live, in the cold, high elevation area of southern Madison County, we often forget that the springtime can come around! using two bales per week for our herd of two during the peak of winter's I just got my first round bale for my animals-which are two llamas, and 11 Nigerians. On the other hand, good Feeding Goats 101 - The Hay Manager Last spring our first cutting put in 4x5 bales produced 69 bales on 13 acres. The better your goats are fed, the better return on your investment. Research has shown that storage losses in large round bales stored outside and unprotected and I don't have solid estimates on hay usage during the shoulder The chaffhaye is then vacuum packed. Ok! absorption resulting from the wicking action. where carbohydrates in the plant tissue plus oxygen are converted to carbon dioxide, So I thought, well, that's ok. What I didn't expect was one of my nubians somehow got her foot wrapped up in the fencing and was lying there crying when I went out to feed! I can travel 70 miles round trip and get 2nd cutting $5/small bale in the field, or pay $60 per 4x5 round bale within 18 mileround trip. They can provide you with information about how to have your hay or pastures tested and analyzed. Of all the ways to feed your goats, a round bale feeder is the best. Chaffhaye also provides more energy and vitamins and minerals then dried day. If you can't weigh your animals on like, a bathroom scale, you can still make an educated guess at their weight. Our 18-cow herd needing 65 tons can cost us $5,850 to $11,700 per winter feeding season! Rocky Mountain Alliance (RMA) Dairy Goats, ~Quality Nigerian Dwarf, LaMancha & Recorded Grades~, ADGA Purebred and American Saanens and Nubians, *CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR HERD ON FACEBOOK*, http://www.facebook.com/Breezytraildairygoats. Then, multiply that number by the corresponding body weight percentage. For Oklahoma conditions, the opening should be to the east to prevent snow and rain I like to know where you get a 1500lb bale for $20. Baled silage, or "baleage," is an excellent method for forage harvest, storage, and feed efficiency. apart on the bale. 4 x 4 or 4 x 5 round bales can run anywhere from $30 to $60 per bale, or even higher. Again, there are a lot of factors, but if you have absolutely no idea how much hay you need, start there and keep track. But how much will we need? in the end and how that will relate to years to come. using two bales per week for our herd of two during the peak of winter's ! They also waste a lot. plus $1.60 per ton loss in hay value). This publication focuses on common questions about making and feeding baleage. On average, you can expect to produce 5 - 200 bales of hay per acre, which varies based on the type of hay bales you produce (round hay bales per acre or square hay bales per acre) and a number of other factors, explained below. So, lets say we have a herd of 18 brood cows that average 1200 pounds. The Best Way To Feed Round Bales To Sheep - Family Farm Livestock Storage costs for hay stored in a building depends on the initial cost of the structure is equal to 6.7 percent of the initial cost (100 percent divided by 15). It is just mixed grass hay and on the small side for round bales. percent ($6.40 per ton) dry matter loss would be about $10 per ton ($3.60 per ton of all annual DIRTI percentages. $3 per square foot to construct and has an expected life of 15 years. PDF Calculating Hay Yields - Purdue University Are those 100lb square bales? I've said it before, write it all down, because you will forget how many bales you had and how long they lasted. OK, but thats expensive too! on the north-facing surface. Grass hay provides a satisfactory amount of protein and energy for goats while legume hays provide more protein and vitamins and minerals than grass hay. Estimating hay needs, size, weights and costs - Farmbrite FIND A DEALER NEAR YOU BECOME A DEALER, Mailing Address: share of the labor, the initial cost can be greatly reduced. Further, this type of low grazing can lead to the spread of parasites. Also, large round bales have fewer semi-dwarfs and I figure we have to feed them hay for about 6 months I only feed sheep at the 5% margin during the last 45 days of their gestation, for example. Figure1. Are you talking round bales or square bales? Goats also can be fed grain or grain pellets. And while you may think it makes good financial sense to cut back on the quality of goat feed to save money that is never a good idea. of hay based on a percentage of storage loss over a range of hay prices. We've learned that our kidding stall holds 27 balesbut of the bales dry matter (Table 3). Mailing Address: Harvesting and storing and I don't have solid estimates on hay usage during the shoulder A typical 4 x 4 round bale of dry hay will weigh about 670 pounds, so presto! People don't often give a simple answer to this simple question, and much ado is made about this mysterious topic. than four percent or $4 per ton. Good to hoard some for emergencies! Don't make deadly mistakes when feeding round bales of hay to goats. We were feeding a 40lb alfalfa bale and a 50 lb 2nd cut grass mix bale of hay a day to 16 does, so we are close to 100 lbs of hay total for 16 does. Roughages help the digestive tracts of the goats to work efficiently. A single bale of baled silage (4 feet by 4 feet) at 50 percent moisture may contain up to 600 pound of forage dry matter. cost, surplus materials such as discarded pallets, racks, fence posts, railroad ties, They eventually wore the fencing down on one side and were lying on part of the bale and eatting the rest. Chaffhaye also provides more energy and vitamins and minerals then dried day. of hay/per hundred wt. sonicwilson 8 yr. ago Last winter I had 2 goats. Hay quality and type can be especially important in dairy animals, including cows, goats, and sheep, and you should do your research to make sure you are buying the right type of hay to meet these additional nutritional requirements. If bales are stored outside, the added time and expense are easily justified. Besides manufacturing round bale feeders. You dont want to be shortchanging pregnant brood cows in the winter. We ended up opening them and stuffing them in a stall and using it to fill up their hay feeders. The fertilizer you use can increase the hay yield by tons of hay per year. Five sheep? They are about three feet long - large bales. December 01, 2018. round bales, multiply the area of coverage (from Table 4) by the cost of the covering. can range from less than $1.50 per square foot for a roof-only structure to over $6.00 How Many Round Bales Of Hay Per Cow - All Animals Guide water, and heat. I have 2 large goats. Then, as if by magic, the grass grows, and it gets warm, the grass starts growing, and we can now graze. I can't wait to see how long it lasts. Additionally, in the springtime, the month of May seems to take forever to come around, and when it does, its still cold, rainy, with little grass to graze until well into the month in many locations. For example, low as 13 square-feet per bale. Almost 12K in some circumstances to feed through the winter? Kick the hay habit? Round Bale Hay Storage | Oklahoma State University - OSU Extension If the annual building cost was $0.56 per square foot, annual storage ok - so two bales per week for 20 weeks give or take the Ohio weather. on your climate. This assumes the bales are well-shaped with a tight outer about projected storage losses in exposed large round bales and the economic benefits The storage site is another important consideration in reducing bale losses. When I work on figuring out how much hay I need to have to get through the winter, I take the number that I got from the percentage body weight equation and automatically increase it by 10%. safety's sake. Livestock guardian dog questions from a newbie, Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along, Canesisters 2023 journal - turning my Disasters into Delights. a Assumes about 4 feet of unused space at one end. 648/40=16.2, or 16 small square bales per day. or weighty materials to secure the plastic. Of all the ways to feed your goats, a round bale feeder is the best. Then, as if by magic, the grass grows, and it gets warm, the grass starts growing, and we can now graze. of providing some type of protection. Note: This does not include the that the girls like to nibble down the edges (far more fun than eating Chaffhaye ferments in the bag which adds good bacteria that is easy digestible. Luckily, the internet is However, plastic has several shortcomings. On I-29, take exit 104 to Trent, go through Trent and our shop is located on the East side of Trent at the intersection of 478th Ave and 240th Street. 3-4 bales will probably get you through the winter just fine. Round bale questions - Cattle, Cow & Ranching Community 4 Wheel drive is almost a necessity! Bales Stored Outside and Unprotected Research has shown that storage losses in large round bales stored outside and unprotected can be far greater than hay producers realize. Limited research indicates storage The related to precipitation combined with air temperature and humidity. I hope you are fortunate enough to own goats (presently or in the near future)! 22 Points 148 Location Central Ohio I have two ND does - almost 6 months old. out of the year, I'm guessing we might need about 29 bales (roughly 50 Assume hay costs $180/ton (9/lb). If the hay producer is going to feed this hay to When you receive this edition of the Small Farm Quarterly in July, we will be in the throes of the summertime grazing season. those bales that are well-shaped with dense outer layers; keeping bales off the ground Bales should be stored in rows, buffed end-to-end, and oriented in a north/south direction. I free choice the hay year round in giant 6 tie square bales. Depreciation (D) is the cost associated with normal life or wear out of the building. Yeah, we've got to creep it up regardless in order to keep up with the growing kids but I was thinking of upping it just a tad more overall anyway. for selected building sizes. Conserving forage as baleage enables harvests to be performed on a timely basis, allowing harvests to capture higher quality forage. It will be warm, sunny, and life for our grazing cows will be beautiful. Jul 14, 2011 . We made a round bale feeder for our goats out of an old cattle feeder, cut in half to make a moon shape, lifted it off the ground and welded a horse panel to the inside to help hold the hay in. So I'm not really sure how many bales we went through Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately. We built a feeder that lasts the 3 goats a week. But what about all the wasted hay that we see? These generally improve the butterfat content of the goats. fiber and dry matter disappearance can be adversely affected over 10 percent. Where I live, in the cold, high elevation area of southern Madison County, we often forget that the springtime can come around! I liked the analysis. High winds can cause How do you know how much a round bale weighs without weighing it? TOP: Bales stacked on side.NOTE: Sidewalls must be built to withstand horizontal pressures from each row of bales.BOTTOM: Bales stacked on end. for your critters. Large round bale storage capacities. cold. Speaking of quality feeds, what you feed to your goats determines their general performance. What is a lift kit? It may be that they are filling up on pasture but if you are talking about the 50lb (roughly) square bales they will go through a LOT more than 3 bales for the winter. If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an alternate format, please contact Cornell University via email at. When we produced 5x6 bales that weighed a ton we regularly produced 5 bales per acre. No problem, just remember the 3-pound rule. An explanation to limit feeding of beef cows, some management tips to keep the herd healthy and alternatives to corn in limit feeding. How many goats do you have?.I definately wouldn't expect one round bale to last 3 months for very many goats. Animal rations are typically figured on a dry matter basis, which simply is the amount of nutrients in each feed with all the moisture removed. This is the beauty of feeding round bales; you can avoid the onerous task of handling innumerable small square bales. As shown in Table Another alternative is to use a layer of crushed rock about six inches If bales Ground contact can account for over half length in storage (Table 2). So, do the math, and plan accordingly! storage covering. rainfall are favorable for microbial activity, resulting in greater losses of forage New beef farmers often ask me How much hay will a beef cow eat? Table 5B. It's way easier than feeding by hand and that way I know they all get what they needhowever they stay a little over conditioned. now's the time to stock up on hay for the winter. Now I have one of the cattle feeders that holds a round bale off the ground in a V. Has worked well but the same nubian some how got her head stuck between the bars this month :GAAH: So I may have to look for another option. Under-roof storage with bales stacked vertically. The world is green, the grass is lushand, You'd think that my relentless recordkeeping would have the answer to So, if you have particularly cold winters as I do, go ahead and assume that during those coldest months, your animals will need to consume an extra percentage of body weight point.
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