# J&L Haysaver feedback



## JD3430

Just put first 4x5 round bale in my neighbors new J&L Haysaver feeder. He had me go pick up the "standard" 8' feeder for him. 
He has 4 Irish Dexters and 2 donkeys.
Although its too early to say for sure, So far they seem to like it and the waste factor is very low.
I need to report back after we put 10 bales through it and see what's on the ground. 
Feel kinda sorry for the dexters. They really have to twist their horns thru the bars and they can't really get a good "gulp" of hay. They have to work for it. 
I guess that's the objective of the feeder. Kinda worried they'll get their horns stuck?!?


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## mlappin

Let us know how it works and a few pictures would also be nice. I occasionally have people tell me they would like to goto round bales but haven't because of the waste.

If your feeding enough animals I don't think it's possible to beat a vertical tmr wagon, has taken our waste to practically zero.


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## JD3430

Your wish is my command:


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## Bgriffin856

Always wanted a feeder like that. Any idea of a price of one?


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## JD3430

We paid $1100. 
They are a little cheaper direct from factory. Maybe $50.


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## Bgriffin856

Had an idea they aren't cheap. Prolly way better than the flimsy ones from tsc. I'd rather go without than buy one of those overpriced feeders from there. Wouldn't take long for the cows to destroy it, they are hard on everything


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## JD3430

Bgriffin856 said:


> Had an idea they aren't cheap. Prolly way better than the flimsy ones from tsc. I'd rather go without than buy one of those overpriced feeders from there. Wouldn't take long for the cows to destroy it, they are hard on everything


Yep, they destroyed the previous one he had. It was just a ring feeder bolted together. I was constantly replacing or tightening bolts.
One thing that has me worried is that the cattle seem to have a tough time getting to the hay.


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## GawasFarm

I got distracted from the feeder by looking at that HUGE house sitting behind it!!


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## JD3430

That's a average house in my area.
I'm not an owner of a home like that, but I live among them. 
Crazy, ain't it? There's homes 5x the size of that one all over the place around here.
N. Wilmington, Delaware suburbs. That house is actually in PA, right on the PA/DE border.


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## PaMike

I have a bale boss hay feeder by Steinway Equipment. If you crank your baler tension to the max and use a haysaver style feeder the cattle will literally have to bite off the hay. I have walked up to the feeder and there is literally a side of the bale that is chewed off. Its that tight the cant pull the hay out. The only down fall on my feeder is that it has a floor in it and it is very difficult to clean out. The new models have the inner bars that fold down so that you can clean it out. My feeder fits 2 bales and I paid $1100 for it used 8 years ago. No issues, and it will easily last another 8 years. If it lasts 16 years, that's a yearly cost of $68. Try to get one of the cheap $200 rings to last more than 2 years.....


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## JD3430

Bgriffin856 said:


> Had an idea they aren't cheap. Prolly way better than the flimsy ones from tsc. I'd rather go without than buy one of those overpriced feeders from there. Wouldn't take long for the cows to destroy it, they are hard on everything


Ok so we got 3 extra days out of a 900lb bale compared to a the ring he used last year. He's real happy he took my advice and got the hay saver. VERY little waste on the ground.


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## JD3430

I just found this old photo of the bale ring. Notice the waste piled up around the ring?


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## wheatridgefarmMD

I bought one of these feeders about 4 years ago. Heavily built so the cattle cant move them. Mine has the plywood floor to catch whatever the cows drop and allows them to clean it up. About every 5 round bales (5x6) or so I take a pitchfork and clean out the bottom of the trash that they refuse to eat. Its never more than a half a small square bale. Well worth the money and will not buy anything else.

Ben


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## Bgriffin856

JD3430 said:


> I just found this old photo of the bale ring. Notice the waste piled up around the ring?


Might as well feed them without one. We feed a couple bales every year that have been stored outside without a feeder usually just make them eat until its cleaned up good but still have waste. Been feeding some outside bales in the barn,big difference they pretty much clean it all up except the layer of spoiled black stuff on the outside but it gets used for bedding so it doesn't go completely to waste.

Now if we fed all the time out of one i could see it making sense to spend the money on one


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## JD3430

That customer buys 20-24 round bales off me per year. When he calls me in April to clean up the waste around the feeder ring he used to have, I used to clean up about 6 bales worth of rotted hay on the ground. HUGE waste. I bet hell use less than 16 bales between now and April.


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## Bgriffin856

JD3430 said:


> That customer buys 20-24 round bales off me per year. When he calls me in April to clean up the waste around the feeder ring he used to have, I used to clean up about 6 bales worth of rotted hay on the ground. HUGE waste. I bet hell use less than 16 bales between now and April.


Wow that's a big savings pay for itself quick. We just keep moving around where we feed bales out in pasture, actually it helps fertilized and reseed some or we feed in a cornfield close by and just plow in the waste so not all is a loss. But its the idea that you worked so hard to put in good hay just to be wasted. Plus the extra hay needed that could be saved or sold or less to buy.

Read an article comparing feeders and those type of ones had the lowest waste and trailer types had the highest. Can't remember the exact percentages


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## JD3430

I always found it funny how customers will hammer you to death on bale price are the same ones that will break bales open and throw them on the ground. 
Lady next to one of my hay fields pays another supplier $8.50/ 50lb bale and throws the hay on the dirt!
I showed her how round bales and a hay hut would pay for itself in about 2 years and then begin to pay her savings for many years after, but she is content to just throw hay on the ground and overpay for little bales. Lol


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## Bgriffin856

Lol have the same kind of neighbors. Always come to us when they're running short. Sorry its not for sale and its prolly too dusty anyhow. Im not fond of horse people


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## JD3430

Update: 
Just fed a bale this morning. We're about 6 bales into the new feeder. 
I am really pleased. There's no more than 1/4 of a small square on the ground.

when we used a ring, there was hay stomped down shin-deep around the ring. Couldn't be more surprised at the hay savings.


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## Dill

I'm really surprised how short animals eat so well out of that feeder. I'm really on the fence about getting one or some sort of haysaver. It seems so expensive but I hate pushing the hay wasted into the manure pile.

How do calves do with the feeder? Are they stuck only eating the stuff that falls down? Right now I'm also using a cheap TSC ring, I'm getting 2 days out a 4x4 silage bale with 10 full size animals and 2 calves. The other thing I'd be worried about with a bale lasting longer is will it go bad in bad weather?


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## JD3430

Dill said:


> I'm really surprised how short animals eat so well out of that feeder. I'm really on the fence about getting one or some sort of haysaver. It seems so expensive but I hate pushing the hay wasted into the manure pile.
> How do calves do with the feeder? Are they stuck only eating the stuff that falls down? Right now I'm also using a cheap TSC ring, I'm getting 2 days out a 4x4 silage bale with 10 full size animals and 2 calves. The other thing I'd be worried about with a bale lasting longer is will it go bad in bad weather?


Don't have calves, so I don't know, but you can order a lower model for shorter animals. The mini donks are little bigger than a big dog and have no trouble. They seem content to pick thru the trough hay or reach in and get to the lower part of the bale. 
The hay savings is incredible. There's no more than 20lbs of hay on the ground. This time last year, I bet there was a full 850lb bale already wasted. Clean up is going to be done with a springy leaf rake and about 1/2 hr of time this spring rather than a tractor & bucket and a dump truck and a full day.


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## Dill

Well I figure my calves are same size as the donkeys, so that should work. Those guys seem big for dexters, or the perspective is just way off. Maybe its a mini house as well. Have you had to clean it out? That would seem like the only problem.

So do you sell him hay and fill the feeder as well?


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## JD3430

Dill said:


> Well I figure my calves are same size as the donkeys, so that should work. Those guys seem big for dexters, or the perspective is just way off. Maybe its a mini house as well. Have you had to clean it out? That would seem like the only problem.
> So do you sell him hay and fill the feeder as well?


Haven't had to clean it out. The boss is afraid they'll run out of hay, so the herd isn't forced to clean out the trough when the bale is gone. Donks seem to like to nose around in the trough. Might be a small square or 2 total in trough. 
I sell him hay, feed the bales to his little herd, clean up, snowplow about 2 miles of private lanes and bush hog fields for him. 
I want to get about 5 customers like him and take the heavy lifting off their hands for a reasonable fee. 
I think between that and selling 400-500 tons of good hay per year, I'll have the job I always wanted to coast into retirement with and have a heck of a lot of fun, too.


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## Ironhorse98

I don't recommend thishay saver for feeders. I don't usually complain but when this is a daily occurrence it gets frustrating


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## paoutdoorsman

Well hello there Ironhorse. Welcome to haytalk. You revived a 2 1/2 year old thread here. What is the daily occurrence that is frustrating you?


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## Northeast PA hay and beef

Saw this post and have to say we love the haysaver. We now have three of them and our beef cattle have no issues. We tend to make them clean up the bale before we add another. If bales are kept in shed there will not be a piece of hay left. If outside bales only thing left is some of the bottom that was wet/moldy. Even then ours have the tires on the bottom. All we do is lift them up and move twice a winter. No manual clean out. We added 15 animals the year we got them and only fed 50 more bales that winter, over year before with ring feeders.


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## JD3430

Northeast PA hay and beef said:


> Saw this post and have to say we love the haysaver. We now have three of them and our beef cattle have no issues. We tend to make them clean up the bale before we add another. If bales are kept in shed there will not be a piece of hay left. If outside bales only thing left is some of the bottom that was wet/moldy. Even then ours have the tires on the bottom. All we do is lift them up and move twice a winter. No manual clean out. We added 15 animals the year we got them and only fed 50 more bales that winter, over year before with ring feeders.


The one I have out my window is still in good shape. It does have a treated plywood floor that's probably going to need replaced every 5 years, but it's better than rusted metal.


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## wheatridgefarmMD

JD3430 said:


> The one I have out my window is still in good shape. It does have a treated plywood floor that's probably going to need replaced every 5 years, but it's better than rusted metal.


I pulled mine out when it started breaking up... makes clean outs alot easier.


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