Building A Cheap But Effective Poly Reel

One of the most common pieces required to practice any form of rotational grazing is a poly reel. In this video, I show how to setup cheap but effective poly reels. These reels work very well for no more than they cost to put together and when one breaks it's a lot more forgiving on the wallet. Sure, it's no 3:1 geared poly reel but those things are pricey. I actually have one of those fancy reels and it's nice but it's also broke 3 different times just this season. I will continue to use these cheap reels even if it's for short runs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PowerFlex Fence Supply: powerflexfence...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grazing Acres Farming Channel: www.youtube.co...
My Organic Holistic Farming Blog:
jcsorganicfarmi...
Facebook Page: / jcsorganicfarming
Email: [e-mail]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like what I'm doing? Help support our farm
www.paypal.me/...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grass Fed Cattle Playlist: • Grass Fed Beef Cattle
Pasture Raised Poultry Playlist: • Raising Non-Medicated ...
Organic Fly Control Methods: • Organic Livestock Fly ...
My Beekeeping Channel: / jasonchrismanbees
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[@johnbeckman8916]

Good stuff! I really like the looks of your herd now. They look very healthy, happy and energetic. Those Buckeyes sure looked good these last 2 weeks too! Overall, a good year.

[@HumphreyFamilyHolsteins]

We are just a small 5 acre place and we have it fenced with barb wire. As we grow I will buy more land and mob grazing will become part of our program. Love these tips Jason!! I learn a lot from your videos!!

[@GrazingAcresFarm]

Nothing wrong with starting small! My home place is 5 acres and I am trying to turn it into a small farm. We've had chickens for 5-6 years, ducks for 3 and just got our first cow. Since I am used to high tensile wire at the lease farm, that's what I installed here at home but only have 1 acres fenced in so far. I plan to fence in each acre and create paddocks that way and have gates connecting them. My problem is that half of our land is young forest, so I either cut it out or deal with it and fence it in. As of now, I am cutting out all wild cherry trees and anything else that may cause troubles down the road.

[@JamesOBrien2253]

Good video Jason I might try this trick myself this summer

[@iwantosavemoney]

If you have to choose that makes perfect since to me get the year out of them and then get the good reels.

[@larsonvalleyfarm]

I normally get three years out of my extension corn reels. Too bad they aren't UV stabilized! 9 wire is great stuff! With mine, I just use the handle to hold the length on my poly wire run. I have some video's of how I set mine up. Keep up the great work Jason

[@GrazingAcresFarm]

Where are you getting your cord reels from? I would love to try them out if they last that long. I will have to search for your videos on this topic. Thanks for watching!

[@larsonvalleyfarm]

No, I'm using the same reels as you, I get them from Fleet Farm or menards for $6

[@GrazingAcresFarm]

Wow! So mine must get more UV than yours or something. At the most, I get 6-7 months each then they need replaced. I was told by another farmer that the black cord reels hold up better in the sun. They must have more UV protection.

[@larsonvalleyfarm]

Grazing Acres Farm paint them with cheap spray paint

[@screamingreen524]

Hey Jason, Enjoy your video keep up the good work. I use the same reel and they also work very well with 17ga. steel wire, I run 300' to 400' feet and it is not as heavy as you think it would be,1/2 mile roll is $23 at TSC, I will tie white ribbon on it for visibility, but works well.

[@GrazingAcresFarm]

@Screaming Green I would have never thought wire would work on those reels, very interesting. I'm a huge fan of the ply braid I'm using in the video so I don't see me switching. I imagine the ribbon is a huge help to not only the cattle but the deer. Deer are great about knocking my stuff down on our farm.

[@LOOPPEY]

Maybe some black or white Plastic coat paint would help the reels last longer?

[@PANTTERA1959]

Maybe you could spray the spool with Rustolium type product. Weather proof it.

[@Digger927]

Try using 303 UV protectant on those reels Jason. It's sold on amazon for ~$13 for a 16oz spray bottle. I have not tried it but I imagine it would get some extended use out of those for you. Stop being so cheap and go buy about 20 of the good Teregate reels...it's just money, lol. ;)

[@GrazingAcresFarm]

I never thought bout trying a protectant, worth a shot though. I think for now I am gonna try the black cord reels that another person shared in the comments. I've heard black plastic contain some protectant already because of their dark color. I actually have 3:1 geared reel for long runs but they they all have faults.

[@ChicagoDoItYourself]

Ever try using something like Armor All or another uv protectant for the reels.. probably cost a few pennies but might get you some more life out of them... j/w

[@GrazingAcresFarm]

I haven't tried a protectant but like you say it could be worth while. Thanks for sharing the idea.

[@blackcatbarnyard584]

We've been using the same cheap reels. Although we have been using polywire and it doesn't do the best. Although my main issue is that I always seem to cut the wire and make knots. The poly braid i couldn't do that with. How many reels do you have for each paddock if you don't cut and tie?

[@GrazingAcresFarm]

In most cases, 4 reels keeps me ahead of the game but I have more if needed. Usually there is a reel used on each side of the paddock the cattle are in, then I use the other to setup the next paddocks. I cut and tied for 3 years until I was let with a roll of knots and wire that didn't carry a good charge, so I stopped cutting and using the trick I showed.

[@blackcatbarnyard584]

Yes sounds like you have found the fix for sure. So you have about $300 or so in poly-braid? How did you get the one reel to be up and down how is it attached to the fence?

[@GrazingAcresFarm]

Yes, I have at least $300 in poly braid but this stuff last years, it's very, very durable. As far as you question, I'm confused to what you mean about UP & DOWN. If my pasture fence (high tensile) run north & south, I would use 2 reels running east & west (one reel on each side of herd). If I have to attach to poly braid instead of fence, I hang it the same way as I do on the fence but I loop the braid around the handle end twice so it doesn't come un-hooked. I hope that makes sense... It works very well.