Hay Cradles

Hay cradles are built from heavy gauge galvanized pipe and designed to accept large round bales. The bale sits down in the cradle instead of being pushed across the ground, and the pipe frame keeps the herd from pulling the whole bale apart.

That is the point: less waste. Hay trampled into the mud is hay that was paid for and never eaten. A cradle holds the bale up and lets cattle eat from the sides, so more of what is put out actually goes into the animals, and input costs come down.

Galvanized pipe means the frame stands up to weather and to being moved with a tractor or a truck from pasture to pasture. Cradles are usually set out on high ground and rotated through the winter, which keeps the feeding area from turning into a bog.