Side discharge bale feeder

[unlacedgecko]

I'm needing something to feed bales to sheep in the paddock. Like the look of these side discharge feeders (Keenan). I've got some good red clover silage.

Would I need one with knives or would a mixer suffice? Maybe knives would be best as then it could feed finishing cattle inside as well?

 

[AngusLad]

To be able to feed a tmr or just straight silage?

 

[unlacedgecko]

To be able to feed a tmr or just straight silage?

Just silage at the mo. Maybe tmr in future.

 

[milkloss]

Something simple.... a hustler maybe? Never seen or used one myself though.

 

[bean]

I've got a hustler bale unroller and it's the best thing I've bought for a long time, simple easy to work. Can easily feed 1 bale 120 feet up feed passage

 

[AngusLad]

As above hustlers are hard to beat. I've had some success feeding bales through an old sr feeder wagon. Bales need to be chopped though or it just wraps around the beaters.

 

[HarryB97]

Hustler chainless bale unroller will deal with square and round bales I have a Wessex crosssfire which unrolls round bales one way and blows straw when you move the bed the opposite way, would be worth a look as a future proof machine if you house cattle going forward.

 

[DrDunc]

Bought a hustler unroller last winter. Quicker and much less diesel to feed 150 cattle compared to using the (now starting to get tired) straw blower.

There's been snow lying during this tupping time, and using the hustler to drop a couple of bales off to the 900 ewes was an absolute doddle

I'm still thinking that rather than using the unroller, I'll continue to use ring feeders to give the ewes adlib hay mid pregnancy (everything ovine is outdoors here). However I can definitely see how easy the hustler would be if I wanted to feed every day on a clean bit of ground.

Something like a Keenan here would need much more diesel, would leave a horrific mess sinking in the fields, and take far too long each day, possibly resulting in suicidal tendencies in the midst of winter when you want to be getting on fixing fences and sorting dykes instead of continuously feeding bàstard sheep

 

[Old Tip]

Hustler chainless bale unroller will deal with square and round bales I have a Wessex crosssfire which unrolls round bales one way and blows straw when you move the bed the opposite way, would be worth a look as a future proof machine if you house cattle going forward.

I have the Blaney version which has chains but can unload either side so great down passages or can switch sides and leave two rows in the field

 

[DanM]

If your having to fund the machine yourself and/or feeding bales isn’t to be a long term feeding option, then driving backwards with a loader, whilst shaking a bale held by a muck grab, is just as effective as a bale unroller and far easier on the pocket

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I really like my little combi wagon, it's a Robertson (bought out by Hustler) but does a great job of everything, even if you were mixing limeflour in with silage it would do a fair job of it.

I'd recommend the tilting elevator model although you can retrofit a cylinder to do that, means feeding into troughs or over fences is pretty simple.

(not the big super-comby with the tandem axle, ours is only about 4.5-5m³ full, not sure if Hustler still make them or just the bigger ones)

 

[M-J-G]

Bought a hustler unroller last winter. Quicker and much less diesel to feed 150 cattle compared to using the (now starting to get tired) straw blower.

There's been snow lying during this tupping time, and using the hustler to drop a couple of bales off to the 900 ewes was an absolute doddle

I'm still thinking that rather than using the unroller, I'll continue to use ring feeders to give the ewes adlib hay mid pregnancy (everything ovine is outdoors here). However I can definitely see how easy the hustler would be if I wanted to feed every day on a clean bit of ground.

Something like a Keenan here would need much more diesel, would leave a horrific mess sinking in the fields, and take far too long each day, possibly resulting in suicidal tendencies in the midst of winter when you want to be getting on fixing fences and sorting dykes instead of continuously feeding bàstard sheep

Diet feeders are a great way to kill time

 

[beardface]

Hustler

 

[ollieN4]

Ifarmwefarm posted a demo / review of the Hustler on YouTube in the past few days - might be helpful.

 

[Whitepeak]

If your having to fund the machine yourself and/or feeding bales isn’t to be a long term feeding option, then driving backwards with a loader, whilst shaking a bale held by a muck grab, is just as effective as a bale unroller and far easier on the pocket

That's all I do when we feed the cows for a couple of weeks before they come in. But no muck grab, just on the forks

 

[sidjon]

We purchased this one in 2018, fed couple of thousand bales with it without any problems, first winter with it mounted on the loader with a offset bracket, which has made feeding into though a doddle.

 

[FG.]

We purchased this one in 2018, fed couple of thousand bales with it without any problems, first winter with it mounted on the loader with a offset bracket, which has made feeding into though a doddle.

Got similar machine, I run on the back of a tractor.
Use for feeding sucklers along hedge line in autumn before coming in.
Bedding up the more lively cattle and feeding a mates small baler with either hay or straw, when the need takes.
The latter, I sit with the windows shut and some tunes playing, feeding the baler.
While he dons the the mask and ear defenders

 

[Heatgereater]

Think one the Irish unrollers comes with an optional weight system if you want more accuracy when feeding out.
I run a Wessex and it is cheaper but not as well built as the hustler. Feed ewes outside with ours means we can have big batches without endless feeders downside is they are to feed every day to make them clean up.

 

[Xiaomi]

What about a mounted diet feeder:

 

[Fendt516profi]

Good look getting a bale in without breaking it up first