Round Bale Feeder For Free-Stall Barns

Round Bale Feeder for Free-Stall Barns HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 15-1-25 A Pennsylvania farmer has designed around bale feeder that lets you easily feed round bales inside free stall dairy barns without taking up a lot of space. Jonas Stoltzfus, Loysville, Penn., says the 8-ft. wide feeder installs just inside the barn wall. The bottom end of the feeder rests on blocks. Cattle feed through double wall bars spaced 18 in. apart. The feeder is loaded with a front-end loader from outside the barn. "Most dairy farmers feed round bales outside in the feedlot. That often wastes feed and animals can get hurt by the tractor when bringing in bales. Unrolling bales inside the barn is labor intensive. My feeder reduces labor as well as feed waste, and takes up just two free stall spaces. What's more, the double wall design of my feeder keeps cattle from dropping loose hay out-side the feeder and trampling on it. Dropped hay falls into the 18-in. gap between walls, inside a skirt. One customer says my feeder reduced waste by 75 to 90%," says Stoltzfus. The sides and bottom of the feeder are made from 1/4-in. steel plate, the slanted bars are made from 3/4-in. dia. steel pipe, and the horizontal pipes above them are made from 2 1/2-in. steel tubing. Sells for $750. Stoltzfus makes five other bale feeder models for different types of barns, and for outside feeding. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jonas Stoltzfus, RD 1, Box 196, Loysville, Penn. 17047 (ph 717 536-3618).

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