I’ve never put a tool on this bale processor, apart from an oil can

Beef and dairy grazing near Norswood in Hawkes Bay, Cameron has run Hustler bale feeders now for 7 years, both 3PH and Trailing models. Take a look at what he has to say about his trusty Chainless 4000 round & square bale feeder…

Cameron feeds between 600-800 bales each year and even more during the dry seasons, utilising a combination of round and square bales of balage, straw and hay. After experiencing the success of his first Chainless 2000 3 point linkage mounted bale feeder for 3 years, he decided to upgrade to the 2 bale capacity trailed Chainless 4000, having really appreciated the way it feeds out with rotors teasing apart the bales rather than just unrolling them like the conventional chain and bar setup of others. 

“We’ve owned this machine since 2013, and never 

put a tool on it, apart from an oil can“

Cameron’s trusty 4 year old Chainless 4000 has been very reliable, despite the muddy conditions.

Ability to mechanically feed squares:

Prior to investing in his first Chainless bale processor in 2010, the previous feeder Cameron had couldn’t handle the square bales which meant he’d have to feed them out by hand off the back of a trailer. This was hard work and posed a safety hazard that wouldn’t be accepted these days. 

New Model Differences

Cameron “always thought that the 4000 couldn’t be improved” so he decided to give the new Chainless X5000 a go to see if it worked any better than his current bale processor. Cameron noticed a lot of differences right away, some of the most appreciated changes were: 

• They way it teases tight bales apart better
• The position of the bale when feeding out is improved with more contact on both rotors, meaning the bales turn much easier
• Lower, longer and wider bed which can handle bigger bales especially square bales

“I always thought that the 4000 couldn’t be

improved, but Hustler have gone a long way to

make adjustments which I noticed straight away“

The latest Chainless X5000 feeding out square hay bales:

See what Cameron has to say – 

The X5000 Bale processor, laying down a perfect windrow of balage: