Round Bale Unwinder

[Jennifer L.]

Has anyone used one? I was looking at the Altec unit on YouTube

YouTube

and it looks like a nice way to get small square bales out of round bales later on after haying is done without having to deal with kicker wagons, elevators, and kids in the mow.

But what kind of bale do they turn out? I was wondering if it was still a good looking bales. My hay is grass, so leaf shatter isn't a huge concern for me like it would be if I had a lot of alfalfa.

Don't know if it's something I'd want to go ahead with, but it looks interesting.

[Brighton]

I guess I don't understand the point of it, you still have to have the equipment to load the round bale into that thing, then the labor to haul the bales up to a hay loft? Also seems a good bit of waste on the ground under it, which I am sure they clean up and use.

[coolrunnin]

Plus the double cost of fuel, nope i don't see the point.

[Jennifer L.]

More of a time management issue than anything. It's pretty easy to round bale and get them to the barn, and then any time you wanted you could rebale right onto a truck, for example. So you wouldn't have the labor of storing small squares in the first place.

I've got a NH Stackliner, which takes the work out of a lot of small squares, but that wagon is pretty worn out now, and they operate like a Mouse Trap game--this triggers this that triggers that causes this other thing to happen. When they are working right they are a wonder, and when they aren't, they are no fun at all. I was digging that wagon out this year after not having used it for probably 12-15 years, and every part I look at, I say to myself " oh, yeah, I remember working at that and there was something tricky about it". So I'm looking at alternatives. I'd like to do some small squares again but I don't know if the wagon will do it for me now.

[COWS]

It's just hay. The ones I've seen demonstrated have perfectly acceptable bales coming out of the square baler. It's a time management thing. Round bale when things are busy, store under shelter, unroll and square bale when things are slower. Only works for high value hay to be sold for horses. Another way it can work is to sell the square bales to a farm supply dealer who sells the hay a few bales at a time to individuals, for horses but also for other things that people may have. Didn't I see that rabbits eat hay? Some people will buy hay to use as mulch around plants.

COWS

[Spamela]

Originally Posted by Jennifer L.

More of a time management issue than anything. It's pretty easy to round bale and get them to the barn, and then any time you wanted you could rebale right onto a truck, for example. So you wouldn't have the labor of storing small squares in the first place.

I've got a NH Stackliner, which takes the work out of a lot of small squares, but that wagon is pretty worn out now, and they operate like a Mouse Trap game--this triggers this that triggers that causes this other thing to happen. When they are working right they are a wonder, and when they aren't, they are no fun at all. I was digging that wagon out this year after not having used it for probably 12-15 years, and every part I look at, I say to myself " oh, yeah, I remember working at that and there was something tricky about it". So I'm looking at alternatives. I'd like to do some small squares again but I don't know if the wagon will do it for me now.

So I had no idea what a stackliner was so I looked it up on youtube.

Holy Cow! It looks like a rube goldberg machine! Never seen nothing like it.

[rambler]

Originally Posted by Spamela

So I had no idea what a stackliner was so I looked it up on youtube.

Holy Cow! It looks like a rube goldberg machine! Never seen nothing like it.

They were very very popular around here in the 1980s, if you wanted to be something you had one on the farm.

(We didnt.....)

Then round balers came on, and small squares are left to the horse people.

Now the deal is to hire a big square balers fella to bale for you, and just worry about stacking and storing the big squares.

Paul

[Jennifer L.]

To use the Stackliner effectively you need two tractors working, or it's too slow. I went to round bales a couple of years after my dad died and I was tired of starting milking at 10 PM after haying all day.

COWS, that's kind of what I was thinking about, premium pricing for a small square. I don't see any anymore that aren't pretty high priced: No one wants to do the work for the small squares and they go to the small livestock people who don't need too much hay around and don't have the equipment for the larger bales. Thanks for letting me know how the bales look. That's kind of what I was wondering about. I figure with grass hay they should still look pretty good, but was wondering if there is a really big down side that I'm not thinking about.

Coolrunnin, I figure that extra fuel cost goes right onto the customer, so I'm not so concerned about that. I wouldn't spend the money for my own use doing something like that, but if someone wants to fork over for a small square, sure, they can pay for extra fuel.

Thanks, everyone.

[brianw68]

Saw your add asking about the Altec bale unwinder. I have one that we used to unroll round bales into our square baler and re bale the hay. Allowed us to run both round and square baler in the summer to get the most hay off when the weather was good. Change low value rounds into high value squares. We have cut back on our hay production and are not using the Altec bale unwinder any longer. If you are still looking for one email me. I am located in Ontario close to the NY boarder. My email is bayviewfarms1@gmail.com. Thanks

[Awnry Abe]

$35=1500
1500/70=21.4
21.4*5=$107
$35=$107
It might work. It's not for me, though.

[Gravytrain]

Originally Posted by Awnry Abe

$35=1500
1500/70=21.4
21.4*5=$107
$35=$107
It might work. It's not for me, though.

$45=800#
800/70=11.5
11.5 x $5 = $57.5
$57.5 > $45

Around here anyway. Unless we are talking about 5x5 or 6x5 which are pretty uncommon here. A 1500# bale will run you $100 or more. A 4x5 will weight around 800 maybe 900# and goes for $40 for so-so hay and $60 for the good stuff...even on a good hay year.

[Awnry Abe]

Definitely, Gravytrain. I think that device was invented to take cheap rounds, make them stackable as large squares for shipping, and sell them for much more in places such as yours.

[Gravytrain]

Originally Posted by Awnry Abe

Definitely, Gravytrain. I think that device was invented to take cheap rounds, make them stackable as large squares for shipping, and sell them for much more in places such as yours.

You can really buy a 3/4 ton horse quality round bale for $35 ???

[MDKatie]

I can buy a 1200 lb (6'X5') bale of horse quality grass hay for $40. That's a good deal though, most people sell the smaller 700 lb (4'X5') round bales for about $50. Small squares of first-cut grass hay sell for $6.50 around here!

[Awnry Abe]

Originally Posted by Gravytrain

You can really buy a 3/4 ton horse quality round bale for $35 ???

Brome, yes. Horse quality? Maybe/No. But I can't buy horse quality small bales for $5, either. $25-$35. Tonnage not specified, but they are 5x6 netwrapped. Grass grew like weeds this year.