AHHHH! Wet Hay! Help!

secuono

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Ugh! I didn't realize that in a few places in our barn, the freaking roof leaks! And guess what I found?!
I'm so screwed now! Basically half of my hay is now trash, some of that may be used as sheep hay/bedding.
I can't believe this...how on earth do you fix metal roofs? I need help fast, I moved 15 bales, all trash. Covered one section, 8-10 of those are highly questionable. Another 6-8 are questionable.
What do I do now? How do I know what is salvageable and what I need to toss..??
Some are just a little wet and are on their sides leaned on a wall to dry. I'm so freaking mad at myself for not noticing this issue sooner!
I need to buy more hay, but no room for it really, since those areas leak!

Help me....
 

20kidsonhill

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Sorry, I don't have a magic answer. Just wanted to say I feel for you. In all honesty our hay stack sits under an over-hang, and one whole side gets rained on, and snow can blow in on it. Air circulation is the key in this case. it is never moldy when we open up the bales. In your case, clearly some of the bales are going to be moldy. You can get a bag of salt from the farm store to spread on your hay, that will help with some of it, wont get rid of the mold already there, but will help in the future. Obviously your roof needs to be fixed. or you will have to come up with another storage area. So sorry for the wasted hay.
 

ksalvagno

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You also need to store the hay cut side up so the bale can breathe. Also put pallets or something underneath so air is getting underneath too. Obviously use wet bales first to salvage some of them.
 

Avalon1984

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We have the same problem. Cover your hay with a tarp so that any rain coming through the roof lands on the tarp. Store the hay on pallets for ventilation. Check all bales for moisture. Have rood fixed. Good luck!
 

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Got out 3 bales and spread them in and around the coop, duck and dog yards. Gave a bunch to the rabbits and sheep that looked fine.
I'm not seeing or smelling much, I mean, the really wet, black mushy stuff has the mold smell and powder going into the bale some. But others I'm not getting that. I'm hoping those are fine. They are at the bottom of the pile and hold the rest up, can't move them w/o caving in. No place for all of it either. Going to seal up what I can and wait for rain again before I move the bales back or add more...
 

amenfarm

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I'm posting a bit late.. From the book stable secrets you can use a cup of rock salt per 6 square bales, to dry it out--Not if it's rotten or black just to dry damp bales--stack with space on all 4 sides. try setting a spacer on top so you can drape or hang a tarp for protection from moistue--don't let it touch or it will cause condensetion while the bales dry.. The horse will just urineate out the extra salt. for your metal roof my husband found small pinholes around the fasteners on ours, we used a elastic roofing compound (like for a moble home) sliverish colored. you need a small cotton string mop to apply it. Works great, we did the saddle house side last year and the stable side this year--No leaks. Yes, our hay got wet last weekend(stack fell over outside during a rain storm) and we are in saving the hay mode ourselves.
 
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