What is the Ultimate Feed Windrow Size?

Published 27th March 2018
New Zealand

Well, there, is not a one size fits all answer… various factors you may have will determine what thickness you feed and how much waste you want. We look at different variants, that will help you determine what will be best suited to your situation.

Following our blog last week with John Corvill and how he likes to feed out thin windrows with his X2000 on his farm in Southland, if you missed it read here:

John Corvill Pic-1.jpg

Here are some basic guide lines on windrow size:

For a Dairy herd where time is of the essence, a thick windrow can save time especially when all cattle can reach the balage without competing for access. Whereas a narrow windrow will reduce the risk of trampling which is especially important in wet and muddy conditions as waste can be a lot more in these conditions.

With saying this, when feeding highly nutritional feeds, such as alfalfa, you need to be careful not to give cattle too much nutrition as this can be fatal which is where a thin windrow can be a lot safer for your herd and bottom line. When feeding sheep you need to feed thin to give sheep equal feed access so each sheep gets equal portions not allowing them to overfeed increase consumption for little weight gains.

Depending on various factors you need to be able to control the size of the windrow easily.

  • Breeding Cycle stock
  • Weather conditions
  • Feeding conditions in pasture
  • Type of stock
  • Type of feed

The ultimate windrow feeding solution

With all these factors taken into consideration, our New Chainless X Series feeder has a unique 3 to 1 ratio twin rotor design. The feed is teased apart rather than just unrolled or chopped to bits losing its nutritional value. Because it’s teased apart with these rotors, it retains all the nutrition in the bale but allows you to have infinite control over the size of the windrow, should you want it thick or thin.

No other bale feeding system gives you this flexibility which is why the world’s best farmers are choosing Hustlers patented Chainless X Series bale feeders.

Watch how you can do thin or thick windrows easily with our bale feeders.