Tips for Surviving the Winter

[cairnhill]

Anyone got any good tips to help get through the winter?
My best change for this winter is for feeding round bale silage. In order to take the wrap of we used to put the bale down on the ground and cut around the ends and a single cut along the top then lift the bale and remove the wrap, the wrap then gets muddy and if the bale had not got good structure might fall apart. Now we:
1. Keep the bale lifted on the loader so that it is just off the ground.
2. On the end of the bale (thick part of the wrap) cut a horizontal cut and a vertical cut and peel back the 4 corners so that no wrap is at the end of the bale.
3. Drop the bale into the ring feeder so that it lands on the side without wrap.
4. lift the spike out and then use the loader spike to spike the top of the wrap (where it is thick) and then lift the loader up and the black wrap should come away from the sides leaving the bale with just the net wrap, the black wrap will be on the end of the loader and will be clean and easier to handle.

[Rob R]

We cut a cross in the round of the bale, spike it, lift and peel back the wrap. The net wrap can then be unwrapped without cutting, either in situ or, if travelling far, on arrival at the destination.

Here is the best bit of kit though, a double-spike with a 'grab' spike that has made handling both round and square bales a lot easier. Originally it was a trip-loader so the ram is a later addition too.

[Louisa Gidney]

The best innovation I have come up with is to make "curtains" out of old dumpy bags to go on the sides of the pen with the boss cow in. She can still see everyone from the front but has stopped trying to continually dominate the cows on either side. There really has been unwonted peace and harmony in the barn over the festive season.