Hay used to be cut, raked, and stacked by hand. This process was labor intensive but the only way farmers could feed their animals through the winter. Mechanized mowers began to make the task easier around 1930, and the baler was invented by the 1940s. Now huge round balers have cut the labor even farther, but the big bales have a few drawbacks which a round bale hay net can mitigate.
Horses, cattle, and sheep are grazing animals, and goats are browsers. All of these can be fed individually, which takes time and personal attention, or they can be left on their own with an ample supply of hay. They need grass forage, but hay means they can be kept off pasture in stalls, barns, or paddocks.
Winter also means limited pasture, since grasses go dormant and snow may make grazing impossible. The forage that these herd animals need to stay healthy is easily supplied with hay, which can make up 100% of their diet. Breeding stock, growing youngsters, dairy cows, and horses under heavy work may need grain supplementation.
Dried grasses can replace pasture, providing the roughage, the vitamins and minerals, and the slow intake of nutrients that is most natural for grazing animals. Grains are too concentrated to be a sole source of nutrients; the animals need roughage for proper digestion and elimination. Hay is an important part of the diet of the domesticated grazer.
Big round bales of hay make feeding animals less labor-intensive, which is important these days when labor can be the greatest cost of raising animals. However, animals with free-choice baled hay may eat more than they need for daily nutrition or desired weight gain. Unlimited hay may be all right for beef cattle, but higher than necessary consumption reduces the profit margin. Horses will get too fat on an all-they-can-eat program.
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.
Horses, cattle, and sheep are grazing animals, and goats are browsers. All of these can be fed individually, which takes time and personal attention, or they can be left on their own with an ample supply of hay. They need grass forage, but hay means they can be kept off pasture in stalls, barns, or paddocks.
Winter also means limited pasture, since grasses go dormant and snow may make grazing impossible. The forage that these herd animals need to stay healthy is easily supplied with hay, which can make up 100% of their diet. Breeding stock, growing youngsters, dairy cows, and horses under heavy work may need grain supplementation.
Dried grasses can replace pasture, providing the roughage, the vitamins and minerals, and the slow intake of nutrients that is most natural for grazing animals. Grains are too concentrated to be a sole source of nutrients; the animals need roughage for proper digestion and elimination. Hay is an important part of the diet of the domesticated grazer.
Big round bales of hay make feeding animals less labor-intensive, which is important these days when labor can be the greatest cost of raising animals. However, animals with free-choice baled hay may eat more than they need for daily nutrition or desired weight gain. Unlimited hay may be all right for beef cattle, but higher than necessary consumption reduces the profit margin. Horses will get too fat on an all-they-can-eat program.
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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