Rolling Cart Spreads Big Bales On Long Feeder

Rolling Cart Spreads Big Bales On Long Feeder BALE HANDLING Bale Handling 31B An 8-ft round bale feeder wasn t big enough when Frank Thompson wanted to stretch one large bale to feed 40 calving heifers So he built a 32-ft long feed bunk with an unrolling cart on top that makes it easy to spread out a big bale
     The cart was made with axles from an old grain drill Wheel rims roll on the two 32-ft pipes at the top of the feeder says the Springer New Mexico farmer
    Thompson welded V-shaped brackets out of 1 1/2-in rod to each side of the cart to support a 2-in rod through the center of the bale Thompson s bales have soft centers so the rod goes in easily
    Thompson lifts a bale up onto the cart with a loader with a fork and grappling hook dropping the rod onto the V-brackets
    He manually rolls the cart along the feeder and peels hay off the bale with a bent pitchfork
     Solid core bales spin like a top Thompson says They can roll too fast and unroll hay in one place so they require a little more care
    The cart rolls so easily that it can blow right off with a wind so Thompson added short upright pipes at each end of the top rails He also slips a U-shaped piece of metal on a rail to stop the cart where he wants to stop spreading hay
    He s used the feeder to handle 1 600-lb 6-ft dia bales for about five years and it has held up well
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Frank Thompson Box 351 Springer New Mexico 87747 ph 575 483-5541

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