Round Bale unroller

obi604

tanko wrote: »

Don't take this the wrong way but it's starting to sound like your father is beyond help at this stage:D

I hear ya. he is probably beyond help at this stage, see below :D :pac::pac:





> Silage wont be fresh if you put in more than one bale a day.

> If not forked in to them and broke up with fork, the cattle will only pull in large clumps and clog up slats = more work
(but in reality, he is making their eating job too easy and they probably pull in more with his way as opposed to making them work harder and pull and eat from the bale)

> Since cattle went in last week, he is on about mold on some older bales (from last year that he has left over) makes out its bad for animals lungs ..........so not only is he forking, but he seperates out all the moldy stuff and puts in wheelbarrow and up to dung pit. He has done this often in the past too with bad bales.

> My father is 75 and obviously based on above, healthy as a fish. does this all himself, but as I said, he just loves making work for himself. To me, its all just too much hardship, as I said to him, I bet all the other/bigger farmers are not removing mold or messing around like this, and with all your messing, are you getting 100 quid more a head for your cattle? etc etc etc



:pac:

Jb1989

obi604 wrote: »

I hear ya. he is probably beyond help at this stage, see below :D :pac::pac:





> Silage wont be fresh if you put in more than one bale a day.

> If not forked in to them and broke up with fork, the cattle will only pull in large clumps and clog up slats = more work
(but in reality, he is making their eating job too easy and they probably pull in more with his way as opposed to making them work harder and pull and eat from the bale)

> Since cattle went in last week, he is on about mold on some older bales (from last year that he has left over) makes out its bad for animals lungs ..........so not only is he forking, but he seperates out all the moldy stuff and puts in wheelbarrow and up to dung pit. He has done this often in the past too with bad bales.

> My father is 75 and obviously based on above, healthy as a fish. does this all himself, but as I said, he just loves making work for himself. To me, its all just too much hardship, as I said to him, I bet all the other/bigger farmers are not removing mold or messing around like this, and with all your messing, are you getting 100 quid more a head for your cattle? etc etc etc



:pac:

The other bigger farmers may not be fit at 75.

minerleague

obi604 wrote: »

I hear ya. he is probably beyond help at this stage, see below :D :pac::pac:





> Silage wont be fresh if you put in more than one bale a day.

> If not forked in to them and broke up with fork, the cattle will only pull in large clumps and clog up slats = more work
(but in reality, he is making their eating job too easy and they probably pull in more with his way as opposed to making them work harder and pull and eat from the bale)

> Since cattle went in last week, he is on about mold on some older bales (from last year that he has left over) makes out its bad for animals lungs ..........so not only is he forking, but he seperates out all the moldy stuff and puts in wheelbarrow and up to dung pit. He has done this often in the past too with bad bales.

> My father is 75 and obviously based on above, healthy as a fish. does this all himself, but as I said, he just loves making work for himself. To me, its all just too much hardship, as I said to him, I bet all the other/bigger farmers are not removing mold or messing around like this, and with all your messing, are you getting 100 quid more a head for your cattle? etc etc etc



:pac:

In fairness I do this myself with old bales with mould

divillybit

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Would he even meet you half way and put in two bales as a starting point - one between 1st & 2nd bay and the other between the 3rd and 4th bay, about 1ft out to stop them pulling it into the slats?
With cattle like that - the silage wouldn't get much of a chance to spoil.

A splitter would be no use to you unless you can get in perpendicular to the feed gates as it splits the bale like an open book.
My thoughts on the rotospike is that although it will loosen the bale up for you it would seem like you have little control over the distribution of the silage. Dry bales and wet bales will unroll differently and more than likely wet bales would fall off before you want them to.

However, a concern I have with the unroller is that you are driving along the feedgate watching the unrolling. Hungry cattle are sticking their head out to try and get fed - strong possibility that are some stage a head will get caught in the gate by the tractor wheel. I've seen it happen here - you can't have eyes looking everywhere.

So, for the rotospike you need to vary your forward speed based on the unravelling of the bale - if you unravel far enough out that you won't catch a head, you'll still be graiping the full bale for the 4 bays.
For the unroller - I'd want one with an extension chute so you can stay away from the heads and concentrate on the feeding.

It would seem that an roller is around 4.5k - 5k and a rotospike is approx 1k.

TBH - I would try putting in a couple of bales first and see how that goes. If you had a spike I would tell you to set the bale down and then lift it half way up to separate it and that would make what bit of graiping you have to do easier. The cattle eating at it too should help prevent it get awkward to shift.

Who puts in the bales - you or your father? If it is him (as he seems to be doing the graiping) would he be fit to work an unroller?

Have to disagree with your point about the bale splitter, you can put the bale in parallel to the barrier and split it, put a few more cuts in the silage that near the barrier and then pick up the other half with the bale splitter and pull that to the next pen of cattle and split it. Some of the silage next the barrier may get pulled a little as you pick up the other half but it's to be expected.You've a good 2wd tractor with a great lock on it so it's not hard managed. Ive split 100's of bale this way, in a shed the same as in your picture but we've the bale unroller now. I'd be in tight to the barrier (about 2 foot away) when using the unroller, creep along in first low when using it. Cattle get used to it quick and I've never had an animal get caught cos they will just pull their head back. You need to travel slow with an unroller to ensure an even feed, as the bale gets smaller you'll need to run it faster to keep the quantity of silage being let out constant.. I think you just need to take the plunge and buy some implement to make life easier for yourself. Old fellas on some farms love hardship. My old man would go back to the days of mowing meadow with a fingerbar if he were let. I'd highly recommend a bale splitter for the set up you have, even a second hand one on done deal for a few hundred quid is worth a punt. Ye can't justify a bale unroller for one bale a day. If you decide to get the splitter don't tell yer old man you're going buying it at all. Back yourself and have a bit of confidence and just do it yourself.

funkey_monkey

It's really up to the op to determine whether their father would be willing to do that.
A bale spike would loosen it up and can be dragged forward too at a fraction of the cost.

I would not recommend the op going behind father's back and purchasing a splitter unless there is an agreement to purchase.

JeffKenna

obi604 wrote: »

I hear ya. he is probably beyond help at this stage, see below :D :pac::pac:





> Silage wont be fresh if you put in more than one bale a day.

> If not forked in to them and broke up with fork, the cattle will only pull in large clumps and clog up slats = more work
(but in reality, he is making their eating job too easy and they probably pull in more with his way as opposed to making them work harder and pull and eat from the bale)

> Since cattle went in last week, he is on about mold on some older bales (from last year that he has left over) makes out its bad for animals lungs ..........so not only is he forking, but he seperates out all the moldy stuff and puts in wheelbarrow and up to dung pit. He has done this often in the past too with bad bales.

> My father is 75 and obviously based on above, healthy as a fish. does this all himself, but as I said, he just loves making work for himself. To me, its all just too much hardship, as I said to him, I bet all the other/bigger farmers are not removing mold or messing around like this, and with all your messing, are you getting 100 quid more a head for your cattle? etc etc etc



:pac:

I dunno I tend to agree with your father on a lot of this. With the splash plates gone I'd be worried about silage being pulled into the slats and it never occurred to me not to remove mold before it goes into the cows.

Just a bit of advise and it probably sounds harsh but take it with the best intention that it's meant in. We're talking about one bale a day your dad puts in. Let go of the control and let him do it his way, your time will come to do it how you want. You're wasting a lot more time fighting with him than he is doing it his way!

obi604

JeffKenna wrote: »

I dunno I tend to agree with your father on a lot of this. With the splash plates gone I'd be worried about silage being pulled into the slats and it never occurred to me not to remove mold before it goes into the cows.

Just a bit of advise and it probably sounds harsh but take it with the best intention that it's meant in. We're talking about one bale a day your dad puts in. Let go of the control and let him do it his way, your time will come to do it how you want. You're wasting a lot more time fighting with him than he is doing it his way!

hey, thanks for the comment, trust me - there is no fighting here whatsoever, twas just me throwing them couple of remarks in a friendly tone.
I just see him slaving away every day and was trying to make things easier on him.
But my idea of him slaving away is most likely his idea of happiness and contentment.

So im just going to forget all about unrollers, unwinders and shear grabs etc
And instead just try and get him to put more than one bale out at a time.

obi604

On another note, I actually had to google the word graiping
I had never heard of it before


I just always referred to it as forking silage etc

Panch18

obi604 wrote: »

On another note, I actually had to google the word graiping
I had never heard of it before


I just always referred to it as forking silage etc

don't mention the war!!!

it's clearing forking silage by the way!

The Rabbi

obi604 wrote: »

On another note, I actually had to google the word graiping
I had never heard of it before


I just always referred to it as forking silage etc

You must have been in hibernation during the great war of "What do you call this"back in 2015. It was pure carnage.

funkey_monkey

Panch18 wrote: »

it's clearing forking silage by the way!

Graiping!

Water John

Had single horizontal bars up until now, a good bit getting pulled in. Fitted four diagonal barriers last Sat, really great nothing being dragged in. Cost €1K + fitting. Put out 3 bales to 3 bays this morning, standing and 6/9" from the barriers. Eight were feeding in one bay and six in each of the other two.

obi604

The Rabbi wrote: »

You must have been in hibernation during the great war of "What do you call this"back in 2015. It was pure carnage.

must have been. suppose its like hurl and hurley.



I call it a hurl :pac:

funkey_monkey

Water John wrote: »

Had single horizontal bars up until now, a good bit getting pulled in. Fitted four diagonal barriers last Sat, really great nothing being dragged in. Cost €1K + fitting. Put out 3 bales to 3 bays this morning, standing and 6/9" from the barriers. Eight were feeding in one bay and six in each of the other two.

I was thinking of just doing a horizontal bar to a couple of pens we were adding - so you're not a fan then of them?

lab man

funkey_monkey wrote: »

I was thinking of just doing a horizontal bar to a couple of pens we were adding - so you're not a fan then of them?

They are a disaster

funkey_monkey

Okay - good job I read here as I'd seen them done with crash barriers etc and I thought they looked a great handy job.
I seen Gerry6420 on YT was clipping some cattle he had in a shed with that type of gate and thought it would com in handier/cheaper than the diagonal gates.

ruwithme

Horizontal bars here in the main. Stock pulling in silage from bales is minimal here fortunately. You get the odd tramp.

DBK1

The Rabbi wrote: »

You must have been in hibernation during the great war of "What do you call this"back in 2015. It was pure carnage.

I wasn’t here for that myself, I must look up the thread! Although I can’t understand how there’d even be a debate on it, is it not just a fork and thats it? A grape is a fruit you make wine from! And I’ve never heard of anyone asking for a knife and grape to eat their dinner!!

Jb1989

Handy to have one pen with just a horizontal bar for times you might have an animal with horns or a broke horn.

obi604

Another general question

Is the even such a thing as a front loader for a 2004 Massey Ferguson 4355 TWO WHEEL DRIVE.

If so, what’s the average price of a second hand loader? (Ballpark)

As well as the actual loader does something have to be added to the tractor to allow the loader to be attached? Or does this attachment come with the loader?

Sorry, I know absolutely nothing about loaders as we never had one, so just querying. Apologies in advance for the dopey question

Water John

I think the loader would have different fittings on the tractor side of things, specific to the tractor model. The brackets are not generic TMK.
Bought an old tractor but not the loader on it, seller took off €2K. Now the loader would have required him to repair a number of rams, so that may not be a guide.

funkey_monkey

You will need a weight block too in order to balance the weight on the tractor. Plenty folk make these at home with a large drum filled with concrete.
We have a loader on an old jd 1950 two wheel drive. It needs the weight block, in fact most tractors do.
I'm not sure of the prices second hand.

Water John

Moving square silage bales today for a fella. 4 Wheel drive tractor and the bale on the back was nearly lifting the front.

curiousinvestor

I had a loader on a mf690T 2wd for a few years, mainly for silage.
Absolutely need a weight on d back, . Id imagine front Bearings will be a problem. I cracked a fair few front rims too. So did my neighbour with a 698t. But if pushing silage like to OP photo a 2wd is a pain, what I ended up doing was lifting the silage as I was pushing to d barrier it so no bit accurate or tasty. ( d tractor wanted to continue straight not push to d barrier)
I'd be very careful with overloading such a 2wd tractor , I.e. a bale front and back.
I also broke a kingpin pushing silage.
D 690T was totally useless in any kind of slippery wet or sticky ground with the loader on it and no weight. I did 1 bog run with the loader on, never again.
The 4wd is simply a different beast altogether.

funkey_monkey

OP - not sure if you are still interested in a loader, but just spotted this on another thread:
http://www.gribbentractors.com/products/mx-u312-loader/index.html

tractorporn

Saw this on donedeal and said I would throw it up here. Looks like a lad who has progressed on the design. I think the squeeze bars could do with some spikes for grip myself.

https://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/bale-feeder/26570301

SuperTortoise

I don't see the befefit of having the squeeze bars instead of detachable spikes?

49801

SuperTortoise wrote: »

I don't see the befefit of having the squeeze bars instead of detachable spikes?

Less tractor moves I’d imagine

Be interesting to see it in action

obi604

funkey_monkey wrote: »

OP - not sure if you are still interested in a loader, but just spotted this on another thread:
http://www.gribbentractors.com/products/mx-u312-loader/index.html

Thanks for this. But a non runner now

49801

Doubt small beer but an interesting little loader for tight spots

https://www.donedeal.ie/horseboxes-for-sale/cast-work-quads-for-sale-hire/20696754?campaign=6

emaherx

tractorporn wrote: »

Saw this on donedeal and said I would throw it up here. Looks like a lad who has progressed on the design. I think the squeeze bars could do with some spikes for grip myself.

https://www.donedeal.ie/feedingequipment-for-sale/bale-feeder/26570301

So, you'd need to fully remove net and plastic before trying to grip the bale, could get a bit messy with finely chopped bales.

obi604

emaherx wrote: »

So, you'd need to fully remove net and plastic before trying to grip the bale, could get a bit messy with finely chopped bales.

Yeah, was thinking this too.

twin_beacon

SuperTortoise wrote: »

I don't see the befefit of having the squeeze bars instead of detachable spikes?

exactly. We only have the "cradle" that holds the bale coupled to the spike when we are actually feeding out bales, the rest of the time its off the tractor as its very heavy, and has a big tail swing. Also, for that machine above, you would need a loader to position the bale before it grabs it.