Why not just use a spear?

A spear is simple, cheap and fast, and for dry hay it works well. So the question is fair: why would anyone buy an attachment that grips a bale from the outside? The answer sits in the plastic wrap. A bale handler that squeezes instead of stabbing leaves that wrap intact, and for wrapped bales that difference decides whether the feed inside keeps through a Canadian winter.

A skid steer bale spear punches a hole in the silo

Wrapped round bales, often called baleage, are stored wet and sealed so that fermentation preserves them, much like silage in a bunker. The process only works while air stays out, which is why the wrap is applied in several overlapping layers.

A spear pushed through the wrap opens a path for oxygen. Mold starts around the hole and spreads inward, and a bale that looked sound in October can be spoiled at the core by February. Taping holes helps, but a spear used on every move adds holes faster than anyone patches them.

Dry, net-wrapped hay is a different case. It is not relying on a seal, so a spear does little harm, and many farms keep both attachments. A bale handler earns its place wherever wrapped feed is moved more than once between the field and the feeder.

Grip hard enough, but no harder

Squeezing arms hold a bale by friction, so the grip has to be firm enough that the bale does not slide out when the loader tilts or brakes. Too little pressure and a bale can drop onto the ground or roll toward the operator.

Too much pressure causes different damage. Clamping a round bale hard enough flattens its sides, stretches the wrap until it tears and can split net wrap on dry bales. The practical target is the lightest grip that holds the bale steady through a slow test lift, which a round bale handler with smooth hydraulic control makes easy to find.

Carry low, stack deliberately

A heavy bale held high on a loader raises the center of gravity and blocks the operator’s view. Keeping the load just high enough to clear the ground, and traveling slowly on rough fields, keeps a skid steer bale handler stable.

Some operators call these attachments a bale hugger, and the name fits the way they cradle the bale during stacking. Wrapped bales are often set on their flat ends, where the wrap is thickest, and kept on well-drained ground so standing water does not freeze them in place.

Slopes and trailers call for extra care. Driving straight up and down a grade with the bale uphill keeps weight on the loader’s wheels, and loading a trailer from level ground avoids the sideways lurch that can shift a bale out of the arms at the worst moment.

Winter adds its own challenges

Bales left touching each other in wet weather can freeze together into a single block. Pulling one free with a spear tears the one beside it, while a squeeze grip can twist it gently loose. TMG Industrial’s 72 inch model grips round bales hydraulically, suited to moving wrapped feed from field to yard before snow arrives.

The same care carries through to feeding. Setting the bale in the feeder with its wrap still whole, then cutting the plastic away once it is in position, keeps spoilage out until the last minute, and a bale handler makes that final placement gentle enough to keep the bale in one piece.