# How many average sized sq bales in a 4 x5 round bale?



## greybeard (Jul 26, 2012)

Waste aside, about how many average sized sq bales would be accurate if one were switching from sq to round bales? 
IOW 1 4x5 round bale coastal bermuda generally equals ? sq bales.

(yeah, I know, it 'depends on how tight each bale is and how long the sq bales were, but just on "average" what do ya think?)


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jul 26, 2012)

I believe it is about 13 but not quite sure.


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jul 26, 2012)

In our area at least, with newer equipment = tighter roll...it is 20+.  Of course, I have never unrolled one and run it through a square baler to see for sure.  But that is word on the street anyhow! 

Our Maine hay is mostly Timothy/Orchard Grass/Alfalfa mix.  So I am not sure if it would be more/less/indifferent to Coastal Bermuda? 

I can tell you from my experience, that our cows waste much less when they have a round bale.  The square bales are too easy for them to pull apart and strew all over the place.  They have to work a little harder with the round bale.  There is still a bit of waste, but far less.  So for us the round bales make sense.  

I know...not what you asked!  lol


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## goodhors (Jul 26, 2012)

You would probably be better off weighing big bale, instead of going by bulk.  

Hay sold by the ton, is MUCH more economical than hay sold by the bale.
You get a consistant ton of hay in your purchase, not above or below the 
2000 pounds guessing what each bale weighs.  You are not dealing with 
"light or heavy" bales because they have grass or alfalfa in them.  Truly 
a money saving method of hay purchasing.  Auctions sell by the ton, keeps
things consistant for the seller and buyer.  You get all that you purchased.

Then feeding out your big bale, you can feed "that amount of weight" consistantly, 
if you are pulling the big bale apart.  Animals are presented the same amount,
quality and quantity of hay each feeding.  

So often the majority of a big bale 
is wasted by the animals pulling it apart, walking over it to make muck.
One of the bale net studies had from 30 to 50% of EACH BALE wasted on 
the ground, before starting to use the bale nets.  I presume they weighed
those bales daily in their study.  Animals with food in front of them all the 
time, tend to get picky about what they eat, wasting LOTS of hay.  And they
will eat more than they NEED, because it is in front of them.  That makes 
YOU NEED to purchase more hay for winter feeding.  

Some folks get around that a little, by only letting animals in a corral
for certain lengths of time to eat.  Less time to waste the hay, but still do 
waste a lot of it.


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## Royd Wood (Jul 26, 2012)

As stated above - it depends
A modern tight 4x5 round bale will equal 18 - 20 square bales
Tombstone round bale feeders work well for cattle and save on waste, we use bale buddy's for the horses and although I have a round bale feeder for the sheep I tend to feed squares but regulated as they are wasteful


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## greybeard (Jul 26, 2012)

goodhors said:
			
		

> You would probably be better off weighing big bale, instead of going by bulk.
> 
> Hay sold by the ton, is MUCH more economical than hay sold by the bale.
> You get a consistant ton of hay in your purchase, not above or below the
> ...


With hay just now becoming "adequate" in supply here, ya have to take what the seller offers, and right now, that is by the bale. I can't compete with the larger buyers when it comes to hay auction, and because of the waste factors you mentioned above, I have almost always shied away from feeding round bales, but they are a lot easier for me to handle with a tractor instead of moving sm squares by hand--I'm 62 now, so really don't look forward to pulling hay by the sq bale out of a barn anymore. Square bales are going for $4-$5 a bale here now, except from those who are still shooting for last year's winter prices of $11-$15 per bale (feed stores and TSC). I can travel 70 miles round trip and get 2nd cutting  $5/small bale in the field, or pay $60 per 4x5 round bale within 18 mileround  trip. It "may" go down later, but after last year, I ain't gonna wait much longer. I've heard anything from 15-21 sq to round equivalent--just thought I would see what you folks thought.  Even at 15=1 ratio, that puts me about $4/bale equivalent --not counting waste of course--but I never have to lay hands on a round bale except to cut the netting off. I have plenty of storage space either way, so it comes down to equivalents and labor. The 4x5 bales I looked at yesterday weigh about 1000lbs--don't know if that's good or bad and guess it depends on a lot of factors, but it looked to be good clean coastal to me. The few sq bales I bought last winter (lucky to get them) probably didn't weigh 50 lbs--or I've recently gotten a LOT stronger in my old age.


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## goodhors (Jul 26, 2012)

If the 15 small squares weigh 60# consistantly, then buying a 1000# large bale is saving
you money, cash-wise.  You still have the waste loss, but perhaps less handling is worth it in 
loading and unloading, gas money to get it.  $120 the ton is not a bad price if hay is hard to 
find.

Some fear buying happening here too, with dairy alfalfa going $8 the small bale.  Looked good 
enough for salad, nice stuff.  Other hay was cheaper at the Auction.  An Indiana person told me
the good horse hay went $400 the ton a couple weeks ago.  They have had some rain since, so
that might have been the high price for the year.  Really dry for them, which is unusual.

The bale net study was for horses, but I would think the bales over your big squares, rounds,
and then the bale rings, might be a savings in waste when feeding big bales.

Horse folks all recommend Cinch Chix brand bale nets for being tough and holding up well.  Wander
around the site to see the information.  This brand also was the winner in a University study on
saved hay, U of Minnesota I think.  Very small quantity of waste.  And these nets are used with cattle
as well, though you might want to ask what size holes work best for the cattle if you are buying.

http://www.cinchchix.com/

Among the horse folks using a variety of bale netting types, most kicked themselves for not just getting
the Cinch Chix brand first.  They bought other kinds that didn't hold up well, constant need of repair,
and having to buy 2-3 kinds of OTHER nets trying to save money, they wasted more than what a 
Cinch Chix cost to start with.  This was posted on several open Forums, by people I know.


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