Hay Rake Tines Used To Feed Big Bales

Hay Rake Tines Used To Feed Big Bales HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 17-6-10 Tines from old dump rakes can be used to make low-cost big bale feeders, says Matt Fordyce, Alta, Iowa. Fordyce mounted the rake teeth inside a frame made from square tubing. The frame is 5 1/2 ft. wide, 9 1/2 ft. long, and 5 ft. high and has vertical steel bars spaced 8 in. apart on the sides and steel mesh panel on both ends. The rake basket is 4 ft. wide (Fordyce cut the teeth in half and welded 8-in. extensions between each split tooth) and 8 ft. long and sits about 1 ft. above a wooden floor. "It keeps feed waste to a minimum," says Fordyce, who built the bale feeder last fall. "I had been using a conventional round bale feeder, but I didn't like how much hay my cattle wasted. There was twice as much waste with the round bale feeder. The basket tines are only about 6 in. apart so they keep cattle from taking too big a bite. There's 18 in. of space between the bottom of the rake basket and the frame so any hay that cattle drop falls onto the floor where they can eat it up later. I got the rake from a neighbor and spent less than $100 to build the feeder frame. I can use it to feed out round bales and 4 by 4 by 7-ft bales." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Matt Fordyce, 413 Peterson St., Alta, Iowa 51002 (ph 712 284-1052).

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