# Has anyone tried this to minimize hay waste?



## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

Cinch Chix - Cinch Chix - Home of the Cinch Net Hay Feeder or Freedom Feeder with their sheep? (or goats or horses...)

I'm considering trying one for the sheep. (and horses)

Right now, I'm using the frame of a chemical tote for my sheep but there seems to still be a lot of waste.

Thoughts...opinions...ideas?

I just found customer feedback from someone using it for 40 sheep towards the bottom of the feedback.

http://cinchchix.com/customer-feedback.html


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

It looks interesting. I wonder if laying it on the ground would make the hay rot on the ground side? Also clover and alfalfa leaves would fall through the holes anyway as the animals eat from it if it were hung in the air. I wonder how they get it over a large bale? You'd think it would be easier for sheep to eat from it than horses or cows. I wonder if sheep could eat the netting?


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

To minimize waste chop the hay. It incorporates the stem which is largely valueless, but adds bulk, so the sheep's metabolism adapts to maximizing the feed available instead of digesting wastefully, losing bypass protein that gets away. By and large we all feed sheep too well, they are very efficient feed processors we just don't give them the chance to prove it.


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

Callieslamb said:


> It looks interesting. I wonder if laying it on the ground would make the hay rot on the ground side? Also clover and alfalfa leaves would fall through the holes anyway as the animals eat from it if it were hung in the air. I wonder how they get it over a large bale? You'd think it would be easier for sheep to eat from it than horses or cows. I wonder if sheep could eat the netting?


I bought one...gonna see if I like it or not. I can put a bale in one and set it in the chemical tote or set it in a trough or black tub? Not sure I'd leave it on the ground right now with it raining on and off here.

Ross...our hay is just pasture hay. Hubby would never consider chopping it. I've asked him about doing it for the cattle and he won't.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Those holes look awful small. Make sure to let us know how it works for your animals.


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## Plowpoint (May 2, 2012)

My sheep have broken welded wire fences with their sharp hooves and have destroyed more things in their pasture that I thought were indestructible; I know my sheep would tear through that pretty quick once they got hungry.

Ross: I completely agree. I have been feeding my sheep silage for several years now because we simply do not do hay any more on the big dairy farm. I contracted with an independent sheep nutritionist and it has worked out well. I cannot give silage to the lambs of course, but for the bigger sheep they get a ration of 60% grass silage, and 40% corn silage with sheep mineral mix added in as well.

Note: Our combine has a corn cracker on its head (a 40K option) that ensures the corn kernels get broken down and allows us to get by with less grain for the dairy cows, and none needed for the sheep.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Plowpoint, why can you not give silage to the lambs? I have often wondered if the sheep/goats/mule could eat our baleage. Sorry if this is a highjack.


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## DebnKirk (Jul 5, 2011)

I bought two of the extra-small haybags from Cinchchix, and I also have a feeder made from Premier's plans. You need to hang the haybag, which is tough if you have no other infrastructure in a pasture. I hung mine from the side of my catchpen which is made from cattle panels, and I saw absolutely no difference in hay wastage from the Premier feeder that has 4" spacing. So, I am selling my haybags (the nylon ones, not the sheep) and building some Premier style feeders on skids.


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

Do you have pictures of the Premier feeder? Nvm..I was able to find it in a search.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

I eliminated hay waste for my goats and sheep by eliminating hay. I only feed hay and alfalfa pellets, the small ones. They are let out on pasture year round, even in the snow. When I first began, everyone said it wouldn't work because sheep and goats needed long stem grass. I have had no digestive problems, even when they're confined to dry lot conditions. Been on pellets exclusively for 3 years.


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## Plowpoint (May 2, 2012)

It is due to the high moisture content in the silage/baleage.

In a nut shell, silage is about 66% water, so a lamb will eat it and feel full, but really only a third of it is "dry matter", the rest is water. So while they are stuffed full of feed, it does not pack enough dry matter in them to sustain their rapidly growing bodies and so they starve to death.

On adult sheep, this does not occur because their rumens are big enough to accommodate silage and their nutritional needs are less.

BTW: This happens with all ruminant animals. On our dairy farm, where we no long produce any hay at all...just silage...we buy hay every year for the calves because of this same issue.



lonelyfarmgirl said:


> Plowpoint, why can you not give silage to the lambs? I have often wondered if the sheep/goats/mule could eat our baleage. Sorry if this is a highjack.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I was talking about chopping dry hay but certainly silage can play a roll in feeding sheep!


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## Barn Yarns (Oct 7, 2012)

I have the big square bag for my sheep. I think I got the 1-1/4" size tho. Thats smaller than the orriginal. 
I got mine on sale at MN Horse expo after reading about it in Farm Show Mag. 
We tie ours up between a couple trees to keep it off the ground. Put the hay in the bag, tie it up, then cut the strings on the hay. 
Im feeding 18 sheep right now. since its colder and pretty much grass hay, they will go thru 2 bales a day. when I switch over to the bigger 70# bales, that will last them a day. and with luck ill be down several sheep too. 
there is a huge difference in what is no longer being wasted as opposed to just tossing on the ground. 
I use cattle pannels around my big round bales.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

I have wondered about silage for sheep - and goats - have long been told it isn't a suitable feed by the big sheep producers in the valley, maybe it's not suitable for large herds?


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

houndlover said:


> I have wondered about silage for sheep - and goats - have long been told it isn't a suitable feed by the big sheep producers in the valley, maybe it's not suitable for large herds?


 Funny thing is you need enough sheep to keep the silage face (stack pile tube or silo ) fresh, so you really need a good number of sheep to make it work.


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

I use a hay net with small holes when I put sheep in the barn pen. At first I thought the holes would be too small and keep them from being able to eat enough, but they do just fine. Been using the same net for 2 years with sheep and goats, and never had one hurt it, or get caught in it. I hang it from the wood rail at the top of the fence and it works great. It does minimize the waste, and when the alfalfa leaves fell through (when I was feeding alfalfa), they'd clean up the leaves on the ground.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Where can I buy the mesh and make my own?


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

It's taken forever...I bought my first hay net back in September but never have an opportunity to use it until now. I have 18 ewes on one square bale of hay. Normally something like that would have been demolished in minutes. Here is a picture taken about 30 minutes after giving them the hay. Can't wait to see how long it lasts.


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## goodhors (Sep 6, 2011)

The horse folks are mostly liking the big bale nets for feeding. Cinch Chix has been the most recommended brand, having the toughest, longest lasting netting. Users have all said the animals waste MUCH less hay, with the big bales lasting days longer than unnetted bales will. Those folks using the smaller hay nets said the same, adding that eating time takes longer, so animals have a constant feed of hay over the day, no boredom time. What hay falls out is readily eaten instead of wasted, trying to dig deeper into a big bale. Even with holes so small, animals can get hay out, just have to work for it.
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Folks who tried going with homemade nets reported poor results with various kinds of netting that tore quickly, didn't hold up to the animals. Wasted money going that way, but you can sure give it a try. Hockey goal netting, fishing nets were some that were bad failures in the reports.

We changed over to 2" hole haynets for horse shows, and it REALLY made a difference in how much horses ate at the shows. Saved us a LOT of hay with no refills needed, kept horses busy while tied on the trailer.

I would think sheep could get plenty to eat with the haynets on big bales or when fed servings in smaller haynets. Big bale nets appeared fairly easy to put on in their video showing how to do it.


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

I took the bale out of the pen (so I can see on the barn cam for lambing) two hours later. Over 1/2 the bale was still there. I will take a pic this evening...but I'm loving my hay net so far.


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## Looking4ewes (Apr 30, 2006)

Did you buy the 1 3/4" net? The website recommends 1" netting for sheep. Looks like a great product, though.


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## Barn Yarns (Oct 7, 2012)

i have 1-1/4" that was what was recommended for sheep when I purchased mine last year. and i purchased it from the gals, face to face. 

they are made here in MN. Thats even better. Might be buying one more myself here next month. they have great horse fair/expo deals!


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

I honestly don't know which one I bought. But I love the way it worked. The sheep ate the bale down with minimal waste. It took over 6 hours for 18 bred ewes to eat the bale down. When I moved it out of the pen last night there was still "some" hay in the bag that I will pour out and give to my rams.


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## Barn Yarns (Oct 7, 2012)

i never take hay out of the bag, unless its nasty. it will get eaten. 

hard enough getting a bale in there.... even harder getting it out! lol


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## jrexroth (Jan 3, 2013)

We use the small hole regular horse haynets for the sheep and get a lot less waste. They are able to eat fine through the small holes.


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## Looking4ewes (Apr 30, 2006)

I purchased the 1 1/4 round bale net for use with the sheep. I've attached some pictures for illustration. The first image is the shows the hay waste I get from the hay feeder from Premier 1 Supplies. The second photo shows the bales with net and hay feeder after 12 hours. The third photo is after 2 1/2 days. Forth photo is a close up of hay net. 5th photo shows how little hay has been wasted on the ground versus the top photo without the net. Last photos shows contented sheep chewing cud (on a pile of previous hay waste!).


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## Looking4ewes (Apr 30, 2006)

I wanted to add that my sheep will eat through a 4 x 5 round bale in 2 1/2 days. They are now on day 5 1/2 and there is about 1/8 of a bale left. With hay costing about $250/ton, this net will reduce my hay cost substantially. I plan on getting another net for the cow feeder.


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## sheepgurly (Apr 7, 2013)

We just use typical metal round bale feeders (type commonly used for cattle) for our sheep. Works well to keep waste to a minimum and the ewes eat from it easily.


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

I can't wait to order a large round bale net for my sheep! I know the square one I have works wonderful!!! I put in a square bale in the net in the "nursery area" and have 4 ewes on it. They have been on the same square bale for 3 days now.


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## Looking4ewes (Apr 30, 2006)

I want to use two round bale nets with feeders for the ewes (75), and one for the cows/rams at the 1 3/4" openings. I am very excited at the results so far. The sheep are eating everything that they pull out of the net instead of picking through it. Not only should I save on hay costs, but also save on the labor and gas to set out round bales less frequently.


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## plowjockey (Aug 18, 2008)

Hay waste is practically becoming an OCD for me, especially since I piled a six foot pile of very expensive alfalfa "manure" cleaned from around my "reduced waste" small bale feeder.

I'm going to find a way to fine-grind hay and then feed out of a bunk feeder .

Quite sad considering what I paid for hay.


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## Carol K (May 10, 2002)

Is there something like a small bale chopper? I would be interested in chopping my hay like Ross suggested but not sure how to?

Carol K


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## StockDogLovr (Apr 13, 2009)

I have also used the small mesh hay nets for horses that are about $10 and made of synthetic knotted netting, and they work great! I have hung them off fences, and I have also tossed them on the ground when it was dry, pulling the cord through two sides of the top to knot together several times so the top won't open up. I fed meals this way rather than going for days, but they would eat ALL the hay without peeing/pooping on it. I have a couple of Cinch bale nets for my horses and wouldn't hesitate to feed my sheep that way if I had to go away for several days. Right now they are on pasture, so no need for hay - yeah!


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