Big Round Bales

[KareyABohr]

I keep my big round bales in a shed. You can "roll out" a bit to feed every day. It is a lot cheaper than the small square bales, BUT buyer beware. It isn't cheaper if you get crappy or moldy hay. ALSO it is a LOT LOT more screwing around every day. Unfortunatley my time is worth less than my money, so I unroll.

 

[crazygoatlady]

It depends on where you are and what your winters are like--I like to have more than I think I need--just in case. Depending on how tight is is baled- very tightly baled big round bale -free fed -- will fed my 8 about 6 weeks. This year we are wrapping a cattle panel round it, clip it and you have a free feeder make so they can't get into it. I did this with some hay that was lost in a ditch one year. A truck lost 3 big round bales when it took a corner and the hay wasn't secured. I took a cattle panel,made a circle and then scooped the hay into it. My brothers BIL bales the big round bales, but they are loosely baled, they don't even last a 3 weeks If I were you, I would get 2 or 3 bales, but I am over prepared, we were so lucky last year, because I bought enough for 2 years ( 2 years ago) and hay was very hard to get last year. We covered it and the last bale was still nice and green. We put the extra bales on a pallet on its side and cover it--I sew and made slipcovers for them out of tarps.