How much hay?

[darbyfamily]

how much hay would two or three Dexters need for a winter that runs from December to about March.... if those big things are 1500lbs and around $40 here in my area, how many would a person need to put up to have enough for the winter months?

[travlnusa]

They will need 2-3% of their body weight per day.

[ebook]

A couple other things to figure with the big round bales is how are you going to move them? Do you have a tractor that can move them or do you have a neighbor close by that can move them for you? Also, I'm not a big fan of round bales, but that is just my preference. I don't know about your growing season, but are you sure your hay feeding time would only be December to March? You need to factor in the early very wet spring season where you may not want them out on pasture because the cattle could pug it up pretty good. Those are just a few things to think about. I'm thinking about a lot of the same things in my situation!

[darbyfamily]

I guess Im not totally sure on growing time...I just kinda go by mowing season here we're about 45 miles north of where we will be eventually, but we usually mow til the end of September and then leave it until about late march. it doesnt get too cold here and we dont 'normally' get much snow.... but its really anybodys guess.

I have no idea how to figure these things...I just dont want to get caught off guard.

With the round bales, couldnt you just clip the wires and haul what you need out to the pasture with a Gator or 4 wheeler? and then keep the rest in the barn where its safe and dry?

we have plenty of working hands, so the chores arent that big of a deal for us....the kids will think its 'fun' for the first few years at least! LOL

They still love feeding the chickens, of course that is a lot of fun.

We have about 35 chickens now, and go through about 200lbs of chicken feed a month.

Thanks for the input...I'll keep thinking on this and taking notes

[JulieLou42]

My cow eats about a small bale per day...40-50lbs. But then, she's a big girl @ 1400lbs. And, she'll be on hay until about mid-April.

[travlnusa]

Originally Posted by darbyfamily

I guess Im not totally sure on growing time...I just kinda go by mowing season here we're about 45 miles north of where we will be eventually, but we usually mow til the end of September and then leave it until about late march. it doesnt get too cold here and we dont 'normally' get much snow.... but its really anybodys guess.

I have no idea how to figure these things...I just dont want to get caught off guard.

With the round bales, couldnt you just clip the wires and haul what you need out to the pasture with a Gator or 4 wheeler? and then keep the rest in the barn where its safe and dry?

we have plenty of working hands, so the chores arent that big of a deal for us....the kids will think its 'fun' for the first few years at least! LOL

They still love feeding the chickens, of course that is a lot of fun.

We have about 35 chickens now, and go through about 200lbs of chicken feed a month.

Thanks for the input...I'll keep thinking on this and taking notes

If you wanted to take hay off of a big roll you would be unrolling it. If you only need a small amount a day, buy small bales.

Call the extention office in your area, they will let you know the normal grazing dates in your area.

[sammyd]

We kept 2 Holstein crosses last winter and ended up feeding 5 big squares and 1 big round. Plus a few small squares now and then when I didn't feel like digging in the snow to feed from the big bales. I kept the bales seperate from the lot and fed the big squares in slabs in a feeder I built and peeled the big round and fed in the feeder as well since I don't have the machinery to move those big bales.

[Up North]

Originally Posted by darbyfamily

how much hay would two or three Dexters need for a winter that runs from December to about March.... if those big things are 1500lbs and around $40 here in my area, how many would a person need to put up to have enough for the winter months?

35 pounds hay per head per day. So if you figure Dec.1 to March 15 that's
105days X 35 pounds = 3675 pounds hay. Then figure to feed 40 days in July or August Summer Flat spot when it's dry and all vegetation is either dormant or burning up. So add 40 days X 35 pounds = 1400 pounds.
So then 3675 plus 1400 pounds = 5075 pounds of feedable hay per Dexter per year.
Since round bales will have some waste due to weathering and shrinkage, 4 1,500 pound Round Bales per Dexter per year would be a reasonable approximation.
This assumes you have enough quantity and quality of grass to graze them the remaining 220 days of the year.

[jerzeygurl]

small squares would give you less waste and more control over eating.

[HazyDay]

I can tell you this. My uncle and aunt run a dairy. (Where I get all my hay for the goat gals a.k.a my BABIES!) In the winter the cows go in the barn (Not Free Stall.) Mid October, Early Nov. To keep milk up they feed 1 1500lb bale at each milking to 41 cows. So thats 2 bales aday or 3'000 pounds of Silage daily!

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by darbyfamily

With the round bales, couldnt you just clip the wires and haul what you need out to the pasture with a Gator or 4 wheeler? and then keep the rest in the barn where its safe and dry?

Yes, you absolutely can. We feed whole round bales to our cows(rolling them out in the pasture from the barn by hand, we don't have a tractor), but we open the bales in the barns and haul it around in the wheelbarrow for the goat herd. Round bales are much, much cheaper to buy around here and if you keep the round bale in the barn as you feed it, there is very little if any waste. I highly reccomend it if your on a budget.