Round bales vs large squares?

[Vodkagirly]

I may be getting some large squares off a local farmer, what is the normal difference in weight/price?
I normally get 12-15 rounds and wondering how many I will need and how many will fit in the shed!

 

[Midlifecrisis]

We re estimating 300kg for a large square but of course it depends on how compacting the baler is set. Squares fit spaces better but need machinery to move whereas rounds can be manhandled.

 

[ycbm]

Square every time! They peel off in leaves. Top tip, tie the bale back together at the top or the leaves will flop over and make the next one difficult to get at.
.

 

[meleeka]

A friend says there's more in a large square. Sorry that's not very scientific . I don't like squares as I use them far too quickly. I don't weigh hay and because they are in folds, it's easier to give too much.

 

[Honey08]

We found squares bigger, but struggled to fit them in our hay shed and they were so hard to move around, so we went back to round.

 

[Jambarissa]

How big a square?

With ours the 4' round are equivalent of 10 small bales and the square (8 string maybe?) are equivalent of 2 rounds.

At Cheshire Royal they demonstrated a bale spreader with a large square then a round baler which made 2 out of what had been spread so appears to check out.

I'm sure there'll be a producer along to answer properly!

 

[gallopingby]

Square are so much easier to use. My supplier says his weigh around 300kg l think they’re maybe slightly heavier but weight depends on so many things. We had to have round bales two years ago and we’re delighted to go back to the square ones, so much easier to keep tidy as long as you’ve machinery to handle them.

 

[PurBee]

The large squares we’ve bought in the past were 7’x3’x3’ 4 string (roughly) and their weight was @180kg
It wasnt highly compressed, each large flake could be scattered easily. 1 flake = 20kg roughly.

4’ rounds can be tight heavy, or loose fluffy, but again roughly they were 150-180kg.

It varies so much depending on how tight they’re compressed and baled.

 

[Highmileagecob]

I used to use the four string quadrant bales for one horse. 17 or 18 leaves in a bale, and as long as the bale was wrapped and tied each time it was used, the bale would last 17 or 18 days.

 

[Birker2020]

I may be getting some large squares off a local farmer, what is the normal difference in weight/price?
I normally get 12-15 rounds and wondering how many I will need and how many will fit in the shed!

A big round bale costing £35 5ft x 4.5ft used to last me 2.3 weeks in winter for one 17hh horse. Approx 3 medium sized nets daily.

 

[holeymoley]

I’ve only used the large squares once and I found them really difficult to shake out. We must’ve been doing something wrong. Thankfully we don’t really get them up here!