How do you move round bales?

[liannexsx]

Looking for suggestions on how to easily move round bales... I have no access to a tractor or quad. Trying to get enough people together to roll a bale of haylege across the yard can be difficult and also I feel bad asking when I need one every 2 weeks. It's quite a distance with a few turns. (haylege is made on yard)
Been looking at the lbt100 but cant find any used ones and something on YouTube called a bale master - hay bale trolley but can't seem to buy it anywhere.
Heard of car bonnet acting as a sledge but don't want to spook others horses.
Can anyone help?

 

[Orangehorse]

Can't help sorry. A big bale is made to be handled by farm machinery, not people.
There must be some way of moving them or no-one would buy them.

 

[Hippona]

Hay....I flip n roll myself.
Haylage....you team a team for that me thinks...

 

[liannexsx]

Yep two or three of us can manage it but it's a pita - just looking to make life easier. There's a gap in the market I think

 

[Cath&Vinnie]

I've not got access to tractors either I'm very lucky for the dad,brother & oh that I have ! They will roll them for me - between us we roll 50 of them over the winter - they have even rolled them up a short, steep drive for me !

 

[buzzles]

Before we got the tractor I had an old pajero. Into four wheel drive and I used to use a long tow rope, attach it to hitch and wrap around the bale and drag it down from pile (make sure the rope is long enough and no ones in the way!) Then would either drag it or else unhitch it and push it with the jeep to where I wanted it in the yard. However the jeep was pretty ancient (20 years old) and I didn't mind a few bumps in it, though remarkably there was never any damage to it - they don't make them like they used to! I would never use my current jeep to do it! Plus it's much handier with the tractor, just not as much fun as shoving haylage bales around with a jeep and you get pretty good at it after a while! Just an idea - guess it depends what sort of jeep you have and how much you like it!

 

[Dry Rot]

Before we got the tractor I had an old pajero. Into four wheel drive and I used to use a long tow rope, attach it to hitch and wrap around the bale and drag it down from pile (make sure the rope is long enough and no ones in the way!) Then would either drag it or else unhitch it and push it with the jeep to where I wanted it in the yard. However the jeep was pretty ancient (20 years old) and I didn't mind a few bumps in it, though remarkably there was never any damage to it - they don't make them like they used to! I would never use my current jeep to do it! Plus it's much handier with the tractor, just not as much fun as shoving haylage bales around with a jeep and you get pretty good at it after a while! Just an idea - guess it depends what sort of jeep you have and how much you like it!

This ^^^^ but I used to use a quad. Should be able to get an MOT failure 4x4 quite cheaply for use on private land to do the same job. Then with a long rope, bales can be moved anywhere. If you can't manage a straight pull, don't forget a decent pulley (from a ships' chandlers?) will transmit the pull around corners and into confined spaces if you have something solid to secure it to.

 

[Copperpot]

Me and OH have to do it. I pretend to put effort in

 

[pec]

We bought an old Massey 165 with a front loader, it cost us about £2000 but we have been using it for 7 years now and touch wood it's been very reliable, it simply moves bales accross the yard and into our stables. I fitted a back spike onto the three point linkage and we can easily move the bales further if we need to. We have also moved to 6 string heston bales for straw (much cheaper than small bales). We split the bales into half ton feed sacks then hang them onto the front of the loader to move them. We have definitly saved money and the tractor has actually appreciated.
Our neighbour bought a Siromer with a back spike, while it will just about move a bale on the back spike it cannot lift them off a stack and is really on the limit.

 

[Spring Feather]

I use tractors with spikes on the front to move bales however as you don't have a tractor I'd use some tie-downs wrapped around the bale and then tow it with your vehicle to where it needs to be.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

We do have a tractor on the yard but sometimes its not available. The yard has a good concrete surface so we role a bale onto a pallet & then use a pallet truck to move the bale to where we want it. You have to have a good surface to use the truck on though.

 

[tinap]

Me & my hubby used to manage rolling them ourselves. Wasn't easy as they had to go down the drive, around a corner, onto the field then about 100yrds before having to be crammed into my barn which had a door exactly the same width :/ x

 

[flirtygerty]

We also use a 4x4, a tow rope and drag it to the barn, then use the 4x4 to push it in, it takes longer to manhandle the bale onto the pallet, but the neds appreciate our efforts

 

[Alphamare]

Hubby and I roll them between us. One bale of haylage every five days. It can be done.