# Hay-Square Bales vs. Round Bales



## Sheep Lassie (Aug 15, 2013)

Do any of you buy round bales of hay for your sheep? I can buy round bales from someone I trust, so I know it's good quality, my only concern is this: I remember reading somewhere that sheep may not like to/be able to eat the long strands of hay in round bales with their little mouths...In square bales the hay is chopped into smaller pieces. Any thoughts?


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

Done both. Sheep are fairly fussy with textures it seems, regardless of the hay. A good feeder with a catch tray beneath can help alleviate issues with waste. The hay needs to be leafy, not stemmy. IMO this matters more than the length of material for the most part.

For us at least it seems to not really matter the bale it is from.


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## hastyreply (Nov 10, 2012)

I feed round bales because we raise it. I've fed with a horse feeder but didn't like it as they ended up packing it down in the feeder and standing on it. Now I have cattle panel that I put around it and tie it with zip ties. They can put their heads in to eat but it probably won't work if they have horns. You can also by a hay bag that you can put the round bale in and I've thought about that. For now the cattle panels work fine. I also have it under their shed and that helps keep it dry therefore lasting longer.


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## 95bravo (Mar 22, 2010)

Video on how to wrap a round bale with a panel. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8RPmEIq1AE[/ame]
You can also you a smaller piece of fencing or in my case a piece of concrete mesh.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrAsAvBATxw[/ame]


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

I suppose if you're feeding 10-15 sheep squares would be fine. With 80-100 or more...different thing. What I've found over the years is that given equal quality hay most all my stock prefers loose hay to round bales, rounds to small squares and squares to chopped dry hay. I put it down to the ends of the hay jabbbing their mouths. Watching my sheep they pull a strand of hay out and sometimes pick the leaves off it, sometimes eat the whole thing. Finer hay is preferred, but we take what we can get. Rolling the bale out so more animals have access at one time results in more lost hay, but more animals having a chance at it. If I could I'd have a way to unroll the bale into a feeder of some sort the sheep couldn't possibly walk on. My attempts at this so far have resulted in sheep in the feeder and occasional busted legs- not a good thing. 

The sheep will figure out how to get the hay whether it's in squares or rounds. Limiting waste and ensuring everyone gets a shot at the feed is the important part.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

When you say lose hay, are you fluffing a bale or did you put up some loose in a stack?


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## 95bravo (Mar 22, 2010)

Bret4207 said:


> I suppose if you're feeding 10-15 sheep squares would be fine. With 80-100 or more...different thing. What I've found over the years is that given equal quality hay most all my stock prefers loose hay to round bales, rounds to small squares and squares to chopped dry hay. I put it down to the ends of the hay jabbbing their mouths. Watching my sheep they pull a strand of hay out and sometimes pick the leaves off it, sometimes eat the whole thing. Finer hay is preferred, but we take what we can get. Rolling the bale out so more animals have access at one time results in more lost hay, but more animals having a chance at it. If I could I'd have a way to unroll the bale into a feeder of some sort the sheep couldn't possibly walk on. My attempts at this so far have resulted in sheep in the feeder and occasional busted legs- not a good thing.
> 
> The sheep will figure out how to get the hay whether it's in squares or rounds. Limiting waste and ensuring everyone gets a shot at the feed is the important part.


Why not use multiple cattle panel feeders? To spread your large flock out a little bit. Just a thought. I have no experience with a large flocks, just big flock aspersions.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

dlskidmore said:


> When you say lose hay, are you fluffing a bale or did you put up some loose in a stack?



Actually loose hay, never baled in any way. different texture than round or square baled that's fluffed.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

95bravo said:


> Why not use multiple cattle panel feeders? To spread your large flock out a little bit. Just a thought. I have no experience with a large flocks, just big flock aspersions.



Here's the problem I've had- I LOVE cattle panel's, use then for all sorts of stuff. But, cattle panels have horizontal wires. That's fine as long as you don't get a lot of crowding. If you get crowding, eventually you'll have a sheep or goat get stomped on and once their throat is up against that horizontal wire they've got about 7or 8 seconds of fight before they pass out and choke to death. We've lost, I dunno, 7-8 sheep and 3-4 goats like that over 25 years. There's also the climbing issue with the horizontal wires. We've had more than one animal with broken legs thanks to that wire. There's also the frozen bale issue that comes with outside storage of bales and the ice that comes with it. Sheep don't much care for hay flavored ice cream! They like to start at the center and work out.

I actually got off the farm yesterday and went all the way to Watertown NY! That's like 40 miles! Passed by a BTO sheep farm and see he has round bale feeders that cradle the bale off the ground. Looked about 2 foot high clearance at the bottom. Looked like something that might work.


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## 95bravo (Mar 22, 2010)

Bret4207 said:


> Here's the problem I've had- I LOVE cattle panel's, use then for all sorts of stuff. But, cattle panels have horizontal wires. That's fine as long as you don't get a lot of crowding. If you get crowding, eventually you'll have a sheep or goat get stomped on and once their throat is up against that horizontal wire they've got about 7or 8 seconds of fight before they pass out and choke to death. We've lost, I dunno, 7-8 sheep and 3-4 goats like that over 25 years. There's also the climbing issue with the horizontal wires. We've had more than one animal with broken legs thanks to that wire. There's also the frozen bale issue that comes with outside storage of bales and the ice that comes with it. Sheep don't much care for hay flavored ice cream! They like to start at the center and work out.
> 
> I actually got off the farm yesterday and went all the way to Watertown NY! That's like 40 miles! Passed by a BTO sheep farm and see he has round bale feeders that cradle the bale off the ground. Looked about 2 foot high clearance at the bottom. Looked like something that might work.


That's good to know, I would hate to see any of my critters choked to death. I moved all my mangers into the barn, I think they like it more that way.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

I had a great idea one year. We break up sections of the barn with cattle panels. At that time we were graining the whole crew, something we don't do anymore. Pans didn't work, dumping it on hay didn't work, troughs on the floor didn't work. I came up with the brilliant idea of using plastic roof gutter, something we had a good supply of, for grain feeders. Wired them to the outside of the panels. Things went great for a day or 2. Then we started having goats and sheep die from the crowding I mentioned, and from sticking their heads between the gutter and fence somehow during the night. 

Another bright idea was taking sections of hog panel, the shorter version of the cattle panel and using them for mangers. I mounted them against the walls and would spread hay in them. Waste was cut dramatically. But in just a few days I found lambs hanging from the panels with broken legs. They don't sell so great! 

What I've learned is that there is a reason you very rarely see a sheep or goat feeder with horizontal stays of any kind offered in plans from the ag schools or manufacturers. Sheep and goats are climbers and have a propensity for sticking their heads in small spaces, especially goats. 

If you want to know how to let a sheep or goat commit suicide, just ask me, I've probably seen it!


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## Rectifier (Jun 12, 2011)

Been looking at building one of these Cowra feeders designed by the Australia sheep extension board and tested with farmers
http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/management/nutrition-and-feeding/feeding-equipment.php
Simple plans are available for free.

Bret, you are saying that these horizontal bars will result in deaths and broken legs?


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

I'm saying they have- FOR ME. We limit the use of cattle panels to jobs where there is not much chance of an animal being able to jump into or onto a panel, where they aren't going to be sticking their heads between panels that are adjacent to each each other.

That Cowra feeder has much larger diameter horizontals than a cattle panel. At that, it looks like there's plenty of room for lambs, determined sheep and goats to climb into it. I'd have to try one to see if they work that much better.

Please don't take my posts as trying to talk anyone into or out of anything. What works for one person may be a disaster for me. I'm just relating my experiences. You be the judge from there.


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