Wagon-Mounted Bale Feeder Reduces Waste

Wagon-Mounted Bale Feeder Reduces Waste BALE HANDLING Mounting a round bale feeder on a wagon frame saves a lot of hay says Peter Donnelly Newark N Y who mounted a conventional round bale ring on a wooden platform that he bolted to an old wagon running gear “It cuts waste to a minimum It always annoyed me to see all the feed our cattle were wasting around the outside of our conventional slant bar bale feeder After much thought I came up with the idea of mounting the bale feeder on a wagon that I already had ” says Donnelly He started with an 8-ft dia commercial bale ring and a 10-ft wagon running gear To make the platform he first placed a pair of 10-ft long 4 by 8 wooden beams lengthwise onto the running frame one on each side The beams set inside angle iron brackets welded to the wagon frame and are bolted to the frame He then screwed a series of 2 by 6’s across the beams spacing them 3 in apart He wrapped short lengths of chain around the bottom of the ring and bolted them down to the platform  “There is virtually no hay waste compared to feeding bales on the ground ” says Donnelly “because with the bale up on the platform cattle have to work harder for the hay so they waste less The 3-in spacing between boards allows water and snow to drain The angle iron brackets allow the beams to flex as I move the wagon ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Peter Donnelly 3082 Maple Ridge Road Newark N Y 14513 ph 315 879-9988; peterdonnelly9988@gmail com

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