? A HAY QUESTION?

[roho627]

I probably SHOULD know the answer to this question BUT!!! Anyway here goes, "What is equalivant on amount of hay in square bails vs round bails! Well I know that sizes vary but I'm looking for a general rule of thumb, how many square bails = 1 round bail? The reason is have another boarder that borrows/steals hay all year and once a year hauls in a round bail(questionable quality) and considers it equal! She's family to owners and when it comes to me or her I know who is leaving and I'm lucky she's down to one horse!

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I know that sizes vary

[/ QUOTE ]

OK, as long as you know it can vary considerably, I'd say in general 10 to 15 square bales to one round bale.

[jimbrown]

It varies but in most places one square bale of Bermuda = 100lbs.

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> "What is equalivant on amount of hay in square bails vs round bails! </font color>
It depends. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Around here, there are different types of square bales. The ones we buy are 50 pounds. Round are around 1,000 pounds.

[Pat]

To account for the different sizes of both round and square bales you could assume the compaction (density) is about the same for a starting point and compare volumes.

LxWxH for the square and pi * r * r * length for round.

An eample: Lets say you had a square bale that is 18 inches square and 3 ft long. This is 6.75 cubic feet.

A round bale 5 ft in diameter and 6 ft long woluld be 117.8 cuft

That gives about 17.5 square bales to equal one round bale (in this example and assuming compaction to be the same. Weighing representative bales would be more accurate.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[roho627]

Thanks EveryBody! Took all in consideration and I think I like BIRDS answer! Seems pretty reasonable! Funny how bales differ down here on Gulf Coast! Had one feed store owner say that short bale were quarter horse bales cause QH people didn't like to pick up heavy bales and I told her she was full of it! I usually try to start last cuttin with 100 bales. . for winter but started w/less this fall! Sure hope not bad winter! &amp; OF COURSE PAT is right on the Money!

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
A round bale 5 ft in diameter and 6 ft long woluld be 117.8 cuft

[/ QUOTE ]

Pat, I'm curious as to whether any of the balers actually make a bale that size. The Gehl baler I used made bales 5' long (or wide) and could be set to make them from 3' to 6' in diameter. We baled some 5' wide x 6' diameter (sure were heavy ones) but mostly 5' x 5'. A neighbor in the hay business used Deere balers that only made them 4' long (or wide), and made his bales 4' wide and 5' diameter. He used the 4' width so he could load them on the flat bed of his 18-wheeler without them hanging off the side. So I've never seen a baler that makes 6' width (or length) and wonder whether they exist. They very well could, of course, since there's lots of things I haven't seen yet.

In the midwest and around Idaho, Oregon, MT, etc. Bird all we make are 5x6 round bales. They usually average 2000 lbs./bale. Personally I don't know anyone that makes a smaller bale than 5x6. Square bales will vary from 50 to 120 lbs./bale. In the midwest they are usually smaller bales because the only people that feed squares anymore are horse people. In the west they still have alot of square bales because square bales are stored outside and brought in from the field with a stacker wagon. Less labor and machine hours doing that than hauling in round bales.

[Bird]

Richard, I was figuring square bales at 80-100 pounds; may have been figuring a little high. But in the area we lived in, south of Dallas, 6' diameter bales were quite unusual for the simple reason you stated; 2000 pounds is heavy to handle, so the vast majority of what we saw were 5' x 5'. The neighbor I worked with baled just 5 or 6 bales in the 6' diameter when he first got the baler and quickly decided they were too heavy to suit him. Then later, we had one customer who wanted his baled in 6' diameter, but he was the only one. It's amazing how much additional weight you get with that extra 6" layer all the way around that bale.

I can well imagine those with large volumes of hay to feed and the right equipment to handle it wanting the bigger bales so they don't have to handle so many individual bales. You would definitely save some time.

[opie744]

Did you figure out if your coming out even??