# 3 x 3 x 8 bales of alfalfa question



## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

I saw some of these advertised on Craig's list today for $85. Supposed to be tested good for horses. From NE which doesn't have as bad of blister beetles as we have here in OK I guess.
Are big bales like that in sections like small bales are? I was thinking of getting a couple of them if I could just keep them in the barn and feed out a little at a time.
Are they something 2 people could unload from the back of a truck?


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

Yes, you can scoot them off the back of your truck, you won't be doing much with them after that though. They do break off in flakes just like a huge square bale. They can then split down the middle one way pretty easily, so that you end up with rectangles about twice the size of a square off a small square bale.

When I used these and had to be able to move them from where they landed, I opened them and stacked them flake by flake where I wanted them.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

I found the ad, too bad they aren't closer. Sounds like good hay.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I would encourage anyone buying hay that's been shipped in from another region to have it tested and make very sure they have minerals available. I learned an expensive lesson during a drought. We had to bring in hay for our livestock and while I did have mineral available, I had a general/all purpose sorta mineral that didn't take into account that the hay we were feeding came from a selenium deficient area. One season of white muscle disease was an experience I plan to never repeat.


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## Jay27 (Jan 11, 2010)

$85 seems high. Big squares are typically 1000 lbs. I have a sweet deal and only pay $30 for a big square. At auction (in Minnesota) big squares go for $45 or so - small squares go for $3.50 for comparison.

ETA: I second the hay testing. It is standard practice to test auctioned hay.


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## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

Thanks for the replies. Jay27 you do have a sweet deal! If the big bale is 1000 lbs I'm still getting a good deal as small alfalfa bales around here are 11 or 12 dollars. If I'm figuring right I would get equal to about 12.5 small bales and saving about $50 from the individual bale price. I don't have a great need for hay and one of those bales would last me a pretty good while.
I don't know much about testing. I know the ad says it was tested and had "138 RFV and 19.2% Protein". What is RFV? I know we are not in a selinium deficient area here. I will ask and see if he has other info re:minerals. My horses do still have grass they are eating in the pasture. They are all easy keepers and fat. I just want to give them some extra when it's really cold or wet. Mainly this would be for my dairy goats.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

longhorngal said:


> Thanks for the replies. Jay27 you do have a sweet deal! If the big bale is 1000 lbs I'm still getting a good deal as small alfalfa bales around here are 11 or 12 dollars. If I'm figuring right I would get equal to about 12.5 small bales and saving about $50 from the individual bale price. I don't have a great need for hay and one of those bales would last me a pretty good while.
> I don't know much about testing. I know the ad says it was tested and had "138 RFV and 19.2% Protein". What is RFV? I know we are not in a selinium deficient area here. I will ask and see if he has other info re:minerals. My horses do still have grass they are eating in the pasture. They are all easy keepers and fat. I just want to give them some extra when it's really cold or wet. Mainly this would be for my dairy goats.


You need to come just a little farther north. I've seen quite a few sq. bales of alfalfa and the going price is about $5 to $6 a bale for small square bales.


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## Jay27 (Jan 11, 2010)

longhorngal said:


> Thanks for the replies. Jay27 you do have a sweet deal! If the big bale is 1000 lbs I'm still getting a good deal as small alfalfa bales around here are 11 or 12 dollars. If I'm figuring right I would get equal to about 12.5 small bales and saving about $50 from the individual bale price. I don't have a great need for hay and one of those bales would last me a pretty good while.
> I don't know much about testing. I know the ad says it was tested and had "138 RFV and 19.2% Protein". What is RFV? I know we are not in a selinium deficient area here. I will ask and see if he has other info re:minerals. My horses do still have grass they are eating in the pasture. They are all easy keepers and fat. I just want to give them some extra when it's really cold or wet. Mainly this would be for my dairy goats.


RFV = relative feed value. It's a very subjective measurement...

For my horses, 2 working drafts and a performance barrel horse, I provide 24/7 free choice alfalfa/grass mix. They get a concentrated 'balancer' product, which is basically just the pellets that you find in a sweet feed. My friend is an equine nutritionist and has really taught me a lot about feeding a appropriate diet.


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## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

Jay27 said:


> RFV = relative feed value. It's a very subjective measurement...


How is RFV a subjective measurement? It is calculated based on the ADF and NDF values determined by chemical analysis.

Jim


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I bought a couple of 3x3x8 bales of good alfalfa this fall for $50. The farmer said they weighed 600 lbs. I had to tear off flakes in order to stack.


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## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

I can't believe how cheap alfalfa is up north. We have to pay way more. Longhorn gal, thats a pretty good deal, I have a friend up in Adair and he drove way out in western OK and paid $75.00 a bale for some that came out of Colorado. I"d like to have a bale of that myself.
P.J.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

Yea, I SO wish I could get alfalfa at prices like that for my dairy goats.


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## longhorngal (Aug 4, 2005)

PJ-he's just right over there in your area. Just check out the Tulsa CL or I can send you his email.
I don't know why hay is so pricey around here! I would like to get to KS for some organic chicken feed. I don't think I'd have room for hay too though.


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## Jay27 (Jan 11, 2010)

Lazy J said:


> How is RFV a subjective measurement? It is calculated based on the ADF and NDF values determined by chemical analysis.
> 
> Jim


RFV doesn't mean much to me unless I know the other measured values. Original post gave only the RFV and protein values. I wouldn't be able to determine if I wanted to feed that hay off only those two values.


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