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Hay Hooks

3

37chief

Well-known Member
Location
California
It never fails when there a farm seen on TV when hay is being moved, the person always grabs the bale it by the twine. When Dad raised hay the bale was tied by wire. It didn't take long to figure out how to use hay hooks. I started by dragging hay bales. When Dad sold hay he always delivered and stacked it in barns. Not too many years later I could lift the bails with hay hooks. Always had a scratched up belly, from pushing the bale up higher on the stack with my belly to Dad at the top. To get higher we would hook two hay hooks together to pull a bale higher. To this day When I pull down a bale to feed daughters horses. I still need to use the hay hook. Would love to deliver a load of hay with Dad now, with the old chevy flat bed, but that will never happen. Stan
 
We had a bone headed now citiot neighbor one time who thought he needed to use one. He and Dad were riding the wagon together the first load one day until we got one baled to switch wagons. This knot head tried to grab a bale real quick off the baler chute using a hook,didn't have a good hold and swung back with the hook and came way too close to planting it right in Dads head.
 
We always handle twine bales by the twine. Wire bales were always to tight so hooks came out.
 
I use hooks on my twine bales sometimes, if I am loading hay off the ground onto a wagon I use a 4 tine manure fork as it keeps me further from the hay and I can put a bale up as high as necessary. It is fast, too, since I can just jab it in the middle of the bale.
Zach
 
I grew up working with wire bales. I always wore a pair of leather gloves. They were my designated wire bale gloves. Twine bales I didn't need the gloves. I have used hooks, but was always more comfortable grabbing them by the twine. It's what ever works best for each person. I do use hooks when working with the AC roto bales. Easiest way I've found to deal with them.
 
I always use a hay hook to pull bales off the baler. I then pick it by the strings to stack it. I'm using hooks my Dad had back in the 50's. I remember once when I was about 7 trying to help pull bales - the baler went over a bump which moved the bale and I went to stab a bale put the hook in my other hand. I wasn't too coordinated in those days at that age. I can also tell you about blisters between my fingers in my younger days as the old hay hooks were T shaped instead of the new ones you find now.
 
I used a hay hook on the wagon and to pull off the elevator in the loft but never in the barn to feed. I never handled wire tie bales though.
 
I always used hay hooks. In my area we use bigger balers, most are 3 tie with bales around 115 lbs or higher. I have worked with guys wh tried to handle bales by the wire/twine and quite often it ended up in a pile. We try to keep the bales pretty tight so hooks hold well in them.
 
Yes, I also remember the blisters between my fingers. My uncles had that T style hook. As I remember all others were the D style handle.
 
never used a hay hook when I was hauling hay professionally in high school and college. all wire tied and just wore gloves. my question is, "How high can you jump when you pick a bale up and there is a snake coiled underneath"? or half a snake in the bale
 
The problem with hay hooks is when they get lost, and then found again stuck in the tractor tire. Or in my uncle's foot. We rented a farm and the guy that was there before us must of lost one. My uncle found it when he stepped on it running back to grab a bale that missed the wagon.
 
Good memories--had "my own" small T-style hook from when I was old enough to be on the wagon, and got blisters from it until they calloused up. Once I got older I graduated to the D-style pulpwood hooks that always hung on the bale tightening screws on the old NH baler. The baler got upgraded, but the same two hooks are still on the new one, with the handles worn smooth from untold numbers of hours of use. Always used a hook while loading, as we never had a kicker baler and it's lots easier to pull them off the chute with a hook. Past that, if I have one I'll use it but with twine-tied bales it's not usually a necessity.
 
lots of memories my folks didnt use them but neighbor did.always had t handle and keeped them sharp slipped once had a funny thumb since. unloaded throw box in 7 mins back in the day
 
Grandpa carried a hay hook and a set of scales in his twine box. The scales were there to keep the bales at that 55-60 pound range. He was a firm believer that no one should have to work any harder than he would, and he was a hard worker. I remember those days all to well, taking that hay hook grabbing a bale off the chute and dragging it back.

Another side note: there was a trick stacking square bales on a wagon wasn't there?
 
Always had twine bales, never used hooks, or even gloves, when I was making hay. I still have the hay hooks dad used with wire-tie alfalfa bales from eastern Washington when we had the dairy. Sold the cows when I was 12, so the alfalfa quit coming before I was big enough to rassle them.
 
A Nice 8inch t handle hook with a 2-3/4" circular hook Tempered 5/16 steel. Nice. Pigskin gloves were really necessary, but a T handle was way better than the D handle. For one thing you always knew where the point was located in relationship to your hand/fingers. Second you could easily twist up and out to "release" on the way up.
The D handle was slower and less precise. Pretty good for dragging to the back of the wagon or loft, not much good for precision movement, or release. The d handled hooks with straightened point on the hook stayed red from lack of use on our operation. Jim
 
In my days of running the baler and doing custom work there were some that were realy good using those hooks. We always had wire tie balers had the first New Holland Model80 west of the Mississippi made great 100lb solid bales in those days customers wanted the wire tie bales as lots of twine balers just didnt make a quality bale mostly because driver went too fast for the machine to do a good job.
 
I make a purty tight bale and had to educate my Son and Grandaughter a number of years ago.

Feedin I kept seein a trail of hay from the overhang pile to the corrall. Turns out both of them were dragging the bale out of the pile all the way to the pen. Constant hay being dribbled all the way and on a gravel yard. Don't take too long for that to turn to mud!
 
Depends on how we are stacking them but, I used to never use hooks. Now, after back surgery, I find it a LOT easier to lift using the hooks. Sure glad we don't do very many anymore.....
 
I have never seen hay hooks used here. Didn't know what is was until I saw them used in an American movie. We always use a pitch fork if possible or grab them by the twine.
 
I stack multiple semi loads of hay a week. Always use hay hooks. It's just too slow trying to find and grab strings.

David
 
I always used a hay hook and still have several of them somewhere..Between 1961-1985 I probably handled at least 600,000 or more bales of hay..

For years I and my brother hauled hay for two neighbors that put up 10,000 bales each..One baled with twine and one with wire..We also helped several other neighbors quite a bit.

Between 1961-69 Dad had 18 acres of alfalfa that we baled with an AC round baler..When I was 12 I was riding a bale sled behind the neighbors 116W JD baler...I also rode a bale sled behind another neighbors 68 New Holland...I also rode bale wagons behind several neighbors that had 77 New Holland balers..

Every neighbor that we hauled hay for is now dead...I'd gladly go back in time to haul bales one more time for these great neighbors...RIP Doyle,Elmer,Cecil,Lavon,and Leonard...Those were some fun times.
 
No hay hooks, but a good pair of leather gloves. Only use a hook to pull them out of bale chute on baler. At least that is the way they do it here.
 
Handling little rounds used two short T hooks. Square bales used one long D handle hay hook. Then little misery makers, glad the big ones come along. Used to be a blacksmith in my wifes hometown that made hay hooks.
 
I can't stack hay without the hooks, use my thigh to throw the bales up higher. I would be worn out in short order using the strings, no leverage, hard on the fingers. And bust a lot of bales the few times I do.

Others see me with hooks, and think I'm odd, don't know how to use them.

Paul
 
I'm 6'7" and line hooks for picking up bales off the ground, or for pulling off the baler. Don't have to bend over so far.
 
There is a pair of hooks in my tractor and a pair in the pickup. I an not fond of the D handle, I prefer the ones that have one side open so the glove works or even your mitts if it is extremely cold outside. Bud
 
We had the AC Roto-Baler, so Dad made bale hooks out of the teeth from a horse rake. He made one about three feet long, used it to snag bales off the ground while riding the hay wagon as I drove.
 
I always used one hook to pull bales from the baler when loading the wagon. Never used a hook unloading or in the mow. This was with twine tied bales. Plain old D handle hooks worked fine, have one in the twine box of the baler now. By the way, most knotters don't work well with a hook tangled in the twine cause some one forgot to get it out of the twine box. Ask me how I know!
 
How were those bales handled? Only saw one of those balers ever operate, from a distance.

Seems the bales would be awkward to handle.

Was the baler basically a small version of a big round baler more or less, or did they work differently?

Paul
 
The only time I ever use them is for starting to unload a wagon, there throwen in from the baler and sometimes it's hard to open up a hole to get the bales out the side door, only other time is when trying to pull one out of the stack in a new row. I always just wear thin leather gloves to stack. To many times I had hay get under my fingernails! Ouch!
 
That's pretty unique. I wonder if you were the only ones to have thought of that. Allis had a tractor mounted pick up elevator for picking up free dropped bales which I thought was pretty neat. Only saw pictures of it. We were lucky to have a New Idea elevator to get the bales up into the mow. Some folks struggled to do that by hand. It worked great for small grains and ear corn, too.
 
I made my own after using some T handles my dad had. The hooks I made were right and left handed because I offset the hook part, I used them between my first and second finger, so I made the handle longer on one side. It sure helped with the control of the bale. Stacked plenty idiot blocks, once ran a wire that stuck up over an inch into the knuckle of my middle finger, went in the knuckle and straight down the bone I guess, didn't hurt till I pulled it out and saw how deep it went!
 
Dad always had our alfalfa wire tied bales so tight you had to use hooks. No way you could pick them up all day by the wires at 80-100 lbs ea. We were sure glad when he got the Farmhand bale accumulator and F-11 loader with the grapple!
 
When I worked as a hay farmer we used D hooks. We got them from a truck driver from a store in pa. They were the best hooks I have ever used. They were painted red and the hook part was curved like the top 2/3 of the letter s. Anybody knows where I can get a pair would be appreciated. My old boss wouldn"t mind having a couple of pair too.
 
You must have been a weight lifter. No way could I or Dad or Grandpa lift a bale with a fork and they were the smaller bales at perhaps 50# and twine tied. John Deere when they first came out with the kicker thought 18" long bales was the way to go and those probably could have lifted with that fork.
 
Ain't that the truth, non lined leather drivers work great for this, there were always hooks around, but I seldom used one too, just that stubble chaff, get one of those under your fingernail just one time, you'll find some gloves right quick LOL !
 
Growing up, I moved a lot of hay. I started at the age of about 8 or 9 and was not a big kid at all. We had wire tied bales in the early years, and sometimes the bales were heavier than I was. It was a real chore to lift a heavy bale up on the trailer deck where my brother would stack, but somehow we got it done. Over the years we had a number of hay hooks. I tried the D handles, but preferred the T handles. We wore gloves whenever we were moving hay, and I don"t see how someone could move very much without gloves--there would be LOTS of blisters.

One time somehow or another, a hay hook was found stuck in one of the tractor"s back tires and calcium was spraying all over. No more haying that day, but the next day we got going again after the tire was repaired. I think my younger brother forgot what he was doing and just dropped the hook. My Dad was not pleased!

Later we had twine tied bales, which were not nearly as tight as the wire tied ones had been. I moved some twine bales by the ties, but occasionally had trouble with the tie coming off. Usually we used hooks on the twine bales.

My favorite hooks were homeade by someone and were all metal. The hook part would not turn like some that we had with wooden handles.

I hadn"t thought about hay hooks for years! I probably still have some among the old equipment I took out of the barn before we sold the buildings.

Do I miss moving small bales by hand? Not on your life! But hooks and the hay conveyor made it a lot easier than not having them. Good luck!
 
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