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mardi 12 janvier 2016

Benefits Of A Round Bale Hay Net

By Brenda Long


Hay used to be cut, raked, and stacked by hand. This process was labor intensive but the only way farmers could feed their animals through the winter. Mechanized mowers began to make the task easier around 1930, and the baler was invented by the 1940s. Now huge round balers have cut the labor even farther, but the big bales have a few drawbacks which a round bale hay net can mitigate.

Grazing is the natural way for cattle, horses, and sheep to get their food. Goats prefer to nibble on bushes and trees but can make do with grass if that's all there is. Many animals have pasture year-round, but others may never feed outside a paddock or a stall. These animals will need hay in bale or pellet form year round.

In areas where winters are cold, pasture grasses go dormant and are often buried in ice and snow. The grazers need forage, which can supply all needed nutrients for animals not in heavy work or production. Dairy cows, beef cattle fattening for market, breeding stock, and horses under heavy training or work can have their forage supplemented with grain.

These animals actually have to have forage to be healthy. Their stomachs need the roughage and are not really designed for heavy grain consumption. That means that almost every animal owner will be feeding hay at least part of the time. This is most easily done with large bales that the animals have access twenty-four seven.

Big round bales of hay make feeding animals less labor-intensive, which is important these days when labor can be the greatest cost of raising animals. However, animals with free-choice baled hay may eat more than they need for daily nutrition or desired weight gain. Unlimited hay may be all right for beef cattle, but higher than necessary consumption reduces the profit margin. Horses will get too fat on an all-they-can-eat program.

Another economic factor to feeding large bales is waste. Animals routinely bite off more than they can chew, dropping the excess to be trampled underfoot. Animals will also lie on it and defecate on it. The cost of hay makes it expensive bedding. Waste can range from 25 to 80% of the bale, especially in wet climates.

Putting a hay net around the bale solves both the problems of waste and over-eating. Having to pull the hay out through the small openings in the mesh means that an animal gets one mouthful at a time, not big clumps. There will be less dropped on the ground and wasted. The consumption is slowed, as well, since it takes more time and effort to get the hay out. The animal will eat less before getting satisfied.

Using a net outside for large bales also means that animals will eat a while and then take a break, which is the natural way for grazers. Owners can therefore have forage available at all times without the drawbacks of excessive feed costs or too much weight gain.




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