Why don't they sell round bales where I live?

Question

I have lived in central CA my entire life (27 years) and have never seen round bales sold or used out here. I have heard they are very popular in the midwest. Why are they not sold out here?

Answer 1

I'm from Indiana and have never met anyone who feeds round bales to their horses. Round bales usually mold before they can be eaten by the horses. The hay in square bales is typically better quality also.  

Square bales are typically from smaller fields. In Indiana we have lots of sprawling fields, hence more round bales. So I would guess that there are just smaller fields in California.

Answer 2

It may be a stretch... but it would be more difficult to detect blister beetles in a large round bale.  In the Midwest, we hardly ever see a blister beetle, so no one is really concerned about them.

It may also have to do with moisture content and living in a coastal area.  Round bales are tricky as far as moisture goes - too much and horses won't be able to eat more than the outer layers.

Answer 3

well good im glad to hear that they dont sell them...they are very bad for horses as there is no BALANCE and  they can eat all they want and not one kind of hay can be suited to several horses.i know i didnt answer your questions but whatever

Answer 4

The round bales that I've seen (in pictures) reminds me of long grass clippings all rolled up.  Here in Florida we get this "hay" called Pangola which looks like what is in the round bales but these are square bales and is used as filler hay.  Believe it or not, I've seen some people feed it just to keep the horses busy in some pastures.  I think I've seen the big round bales in the background of rescue sites in the west and midwestern States that have big pastures for the horses.  Maybe that's what all those hay bellies are from!!

So, maybe the round big bales are located in areas that produce hay for local areas because shipping them would be difficult..and it is harvested from big fields to feed big cattle ranches?

That's my take..curious to see the real reason.

Answer 5

I'm surprised the cattle ranches don't have them....they are baled specifically for cattle.....just hasn't caught on out there?  They aren't good for horses unless you have huge storage capacity and under cover feeders to keep them dry, or enough horses to eat a whoe one within 3 days or less.

Answer 6

It depends on the area in which you live and what is more commonly found in your area and what type of hay they are baling.

We have tons of rounds here. That is what we feed and have for many years to our horses. The hay is cut and dried just like small squares and then inside of small bales they use a bigger machine and put it into rounds. They are harder to handle and you must have a tractor to move them Many do not like them for horses as if you do not put them under a shed or somethng and have only a few horses they can mold before the horses can consume the hay.

We put a round bale in a run in shed and the horses have free choice grass hay 24/7.

Alfafla is most often done in small squares if meant for horses so the average owner can move and handle the bales however if they are doing it for cattle they do that in rounds as well.

In the south west i never seen round bales but here in the midwest we have them all over the place. We had our pasture cut this year and it was round bales.

They are sold by the ton rather than by the bale. It is cheaper to buy if you are paying by the ton.

Hope this answers your question.

Answer 7

Round bales are more commonly used for cattle than for horses. As far as I know (being from the eastern side) central California isn't as big on cattle farming. There may be some places that make round bales in California, but round bales aren't considered to be as good for horses because they can mold much easier.

Edit: Then I have absolutely no idea... That was really the only reason that made sense to me. So the cattle get square bales too? Those are some pampered cattle.

The smaller fields thing was another thought of mine. But if they have cattle, they can't have fields that small? Or can they? ... I'm stumped.

Answer 8

That's weird.  My answer was the same as the others--they are for cattle because they are usually poorer quality and moldy.  It's actually harder to find small square bales here (Wyoming) because they are so much more work (they call them idiot bales).

California is just weird, although that's not news to anyone.  That's my answer.  LOL!!!