Splitting a round bale

[SteveO]

has anyone ever split one in half I have an area that needs input badly. But the ground is to soft for the tractor. I could put a half a roll on the mule and dump it out there. I wasgoing to try and cut it with a chainsaw. these rolls are tied with regular baling twine.

thanks
steve

[postroad]

Just go for it. And make a video for us to watch.

[ksfarmer]

I've cut big bales of alfalfa with a chain saw. It works if the hay is very tight. Not good for the saw and watch to make sure no sparks set the bale to smoldering.

[Oakshire_Farm]

Do you have a covered barn area??? You could just for as much as you need into the mule and haul it out?

As much as the chain saw idea and making a youtube video sounds like a GREAT idea! I think just forking it off would be a much easier method.

[francismilker]

Chainsaw works good.

[genebo]

Stick a long piece of pipe through it, hook a rope around the ends of the pipe. Loop it around the Mule's trailer hitch and roll the whole bale out there.

[ihuntgsps]

chainsaw doesnt work and is potentialy dangerous. pulls hay into the rear sprocket area and gets super hot. hard on saw and serious fire danger.
unrolling bale is fairly easy and using a sharpened machette works also if you just want chunks of hay off a bale.

[Belfrybat]

When I used the round bales, I unrolled them, and then cut into managable chunks and loaded on the pickup--mule would work as well.

[springvalley]

When I feed round bales and don`t want to use the whole bale I just set them on end and peel them off the same way they were rolled up. I have used a chainsaw and while it will work, it is very hard on the saw, and the bales work best if they are rolled very tight. I also have used the old time hay knives they use to use in the barns when they put up loose hay. The kind that works best is the serated edged ones that are very much like a saw blade, and the teeth are around an inch deep. But you have to be in pretty good shape to use one as they are man killers. So let us know what you end up doing and good luck. > Thanks Marc

[akane]

I've worked at several places where the bails are set upright and layers peeled off to load in vehicles like a mule and throw over the fences every day.

[Tom in TN]

SteveO,

I have no idea if it's possible to buy a new one, but before there were balers farmers used a "hay saw" to cut pieces out of a hay stack.

I've never seen one in person, but I've seen pictures of them and read about their use.

You might google "hay saw" if you haven't already done so. Maybe Gemplers?

Good luck,

Tom in TN

[springvalley]

I found the old hay knife online, heres the link. www.antiquemystique.com/pages/9546_jpg.htm This is the very kind that I have used. They do work pretty good, but are not for the faint of heart. > Thanks Marc