In the old days, haying was a labor-intensive business of hand mowing, raking, and stacking. Since the 1930s, the process has become more and more mechanized. Today, farmers can make huge round bales weighing from 600 to 3000 pounds, which feed many animals on a free choice basis. However, this system has some drawbacks, which are solved by using a round bale hay net.
Cattle, horses, and sheep are grazers, so grass is their natural food. Goats, who prefer to browse on bushes and trees, will do fine on grass if they must. Today many of these animals are raised in confinement, where pasture is limited. Hay supplies the roughage that animals in stalls or paddocks need on a daily basis.
Hay is also fed in many areas in winter, when pasture grasses go dormant and when the ground may be covered in snow. Animals like cows, sheep, horses, and goats need ample forage to stay healthy. Even animals in heavy work - dairy cows or hunting horses - need at least 50% of their ration as forage. Others should have at least that and do best on 100% good quality forage.
Forage should not be replaced by grain. In addition to vitamins and minerals, hay also provides the roughage grazing animals need for proper digestion and elimination. When pasture is not available, hay is used to give grazers the next best thing to natural grass. Grain in large amounts is not a natural diet; animals in the wild get grain only as seed heads on the grass they eat.
Feeding large round bales makes life easier for those who care for these animals, but there are drawbacks to this system. Cattle which are being raised for meat can have hay before them all day and night. However, the economics of raising beef dictate that the amount of hay any one animal consumes be limited to what will translate into weight gain. Horses, in particular, may get too fat on unlimited hay.
In the process of eating, animals pull off more than they can chew and drop the rest of every mouthful. This feed is tromped into the mud, used for bedding, and covered with manure. If over half of every bale is wasted, the cost of feeding goes way up.
Putting a hay net around the bale solves both the problems of waste and over-eating. Having to pull the hay out through the small openings in the mesh means that an animal gets one mouthful at a time, not big clumps. There will be less dropped on the ground and wasted. The consumption is slowed, as well, since it takes more time and effort to get the hay out. The animal will eat less before getting satisfied.
As far as horses go, there are even slow-feeder nets, which reduce the ease of getting to the hay even more. This is a great way for owners to make hay available at all times - like natural pasture - but still limit consumption. Nothing is worse than putting a horse on a diet; both horse and owner are miserable and it doesn't work very well, anyway. Using a net is an easy solution that helps eliminate out of control weight gain.
Cattle, horses, and sheep are grazers, so grass is their natural food. Goats, who prefer to browse on bushes and trees, will do fine on grass if they must. Today many of these animals are raised in confinement, where pasture is limited. Hay supplies the roughage that animals in stalls or paddocks need on a daily basis.
Hay is also fed in many areas in winter, when pasture grasses go dormant and when the ground may be covered in snow. Animals like cows, sheep, horses, and goats need ample forage to stay healthy. Even animals in heavy work - dairy cows or hunting horses - need at least 50% of their ration as forage. Others should have at least that and do best on 100% good quality forage.
Forage should not be replaced by grain. In addition to vitamins and minerals, hay also provides the roughage grazing animals need for proper digestion and elimination. When pasture is not available, hay is used to give grazers the next best thing to natural grass. Grain in large amounts is not a natural diet; animals in the wild get grain only as seed heads on the grass they eat.
Feeding large round bales makes life easier for those who care for these animals, but there are drawbacks to this system. Cattle which are being raised for meat can have hay before them all day and night. However, the economics of raising beef dictate that the amount of hay any one animal consumes be limited to what will translate into weight gain. Horses, in particular, may get too fat on unlimited hay.
In the process of eating, animals pull off more than they can chew and drop the rest of every mouthful. This feed is tromped into the mud, used for bedding, and covered with manure. If over half of every bale is wasted, the cost of feeding goes way up.
Putting a hay net around the bale solves both the problems of waste and over-eating. Having to pull the hay out through the small openings in the mesh means that an animal gets one mouthful at a time, not big clumps. There will be less dropped on the ground and wasted. The consumption is slowed, as well, since it takes more time and effort to get the hay out. The animal will eat less before getting satisfied.
As far as horses go, there are even slow-feeder nets, which reduce the ease of getting to the hay even more. This is a great way for owners to make hay available at all times - like natural pasture - but still limit consumption. Nothing is worse than putting a horse on a diet; both horse and owner are miserable and it doesn't work very well, anyway. Using a net is an easy solution that helps eliminate out of control weight gain.
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