TheFarmOfDreams- a long awaited adventure
- Thread starter Thefarmofdreams
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Thefarmofdreams
Loving the herd life
no idea!! It looks ok? From what I can make out? It's super hard to see it way up in the ceiling with no lights. I can barely make out what they're talking about 😆Oooooh!
Still in working order?
Baymule
Herd Master
Hay! Wealth in string. A winter supply of hay is a good feeling. It's like a laid in store of food for your own family.
Bruce
Herd Master
I would be too!!!! Very cool. My barn was built before that sort of thing was done ... or since there is no loft, only a ground level mow next to the drive bay, maybe they saw no need.
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- #75
Thefarmofdreams
Loving the herd life
yes!!! It is such a relief. I got enough that honestly, it could potentially last a full year. By next year it'll be great for donkeys, or bedding, or whatever. Just in case we have trouble getting hay in the spring, i wanted us overstocked. 😁
farmerjan
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Hay will be good for several years if it is well made and of good quality. If there are no wet or moldy spots, we have hay keep good for over 5 years in the hay mow. It will get a little drier but still very edible. There will be a little loss of quality, but it will be slight. There may be some loss of color and bleaching if it is exposed to light. There is no reason to think it will only be bedding quality in a year.
Your best bet is to get more 2nd cutting than first cutting if possible as the stems and all will be finer and more palatable for smaller ruminants. Also higher protein quality if made right. It is often hard to get hay made for first cutting in a timely manner as it is growing so fast that optimal quality widow is very small. 2nd cutting is slower and so there is a little more window for quality.... as well as the weather/time of year is often better for getting enough good drying time. I am originally from CT and used to help neighbors make hay as a kid and we worked our butts off to get hay made in the spring/early summer due to the frequent rains and all. July was better for hay making, if there was enough rain to get enough growth, because you had more lengths of time/days to get hay dry.
There didn't need to be separate raised hay mows on the sides in order to use the old rail and hook to unload the old wagons. Having a set that is still workable is really nice but it is unlikely you will use it much. Still, it is a part of history. Hay was put up loose and was lifted off the wagons, run along the track and then dropped to where other people would distribute it into the area they wanted it stacked. Hay was spread and more piled on top so that it could be packed down. It took alot of time to fill a mow or section or barn.
Hay was also fed out back then by pitchfork full, and animals were often kept in stalls in the winter and fed what they cleaned up, not allowed to feed free choice. Please they were fed in accordance to what work they were preforming on the farmstead. Honestly, we all feed too much hay to our animals.... allowing them to waste more than they need to instead of them actually cleaning it up as they used to years ago. Most full size cattle need 35-40 lbs of good hay a day, for their rumen to efficiently operate also. That is one sq bale a day per 1,000 lbs of cow.....
Again, quality is a key also.
Congrats on getting hay in the barn for the winter. It is like money in the bank and as you said, it is insurance against a bad year next year; no rain, too much rain, poor hay, too much hay and wet crummy hay....
Your best bet is to get more 2nd cutting than first cutting if possible as the stems and all will be finer and more palatable for smaller ruminants. Also higher protein quality if made right. It is often hard to get hay made for first cutting in a timely manner as it is growing so fast that optimal quality widow is very small. 2nd cutting is slower and so there is a little more window for quality.... as well as the weather/time of year is often better for getting enough good drying time. I am originally from CT and used to help neighbors make hay as a kid and we worked our butts off to get hay made in the spring/early summer due to the frequent rains and all. July was better for hay making, if there was enough rain to get enough growth, because you had more lengths of time/days to get hay dry.
There didn't need to be separate raised hay mows on the sides in order to use the old rail and hook to unload the old wagons. Having a set that is still workable is really nice but it is unlikely you will use it much. Still, it is a part of history. Hay was put up loose and was lifted off the wagons, run along the track and then dropped to where other people would distribute it into the area they wanted it stacked. Hay was spread and more piled on top so that it could be packed down. It took alot of time to fill a mow or section or barn.
Hay was also fed out back then by pitchfork full, and animals were often kept in stalls in the winter and fed what they cleaned up, not allowed to feed free choice. Please they were fed in accordance to what work they were preforming on the farmstead. Honestly, we all feed too much hay to our animals.... allowing them to waste more than they need to instead of them actually cleaning it up as they used to years ago. Most full size cattle need 35-40 lbs of good hay a day, for their rumen to efficiently operate also. That is one sq bale a day per 1,000 lbs of cow.....
Again, quality is a key also.
Congrats on getting hay in the barn for the winter. It is like money in the bank and as you said, it is insurance against a bad year next year; no rain, too much rain, poor hay, too much hay and wet crummy hay....
farmerjan
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Either get some of the larger longer pallets to make a semi-solid barrier... or use combination cattle panels, or just the 16 ft panels that are designed for sheep and goats, from like TSC and put them at least 4-6 ft from the hay to keep the animals off of it. Also, stack the hay in as small a stack as possible, to keep the quality better by not exposing any more than necessary to sunlight and such. Like a pantry, kept in the semi dark will preserve the quality better. Most hay barns/hay mows do not have a bunch of windows... they have some louvered sections to be able to breathe and keep the air moving without getting "weather" (rain-snow) on the hay.
Bruce
Herd Master
Certainly true of my pseudo ruminant alpacas. They think first cut is bedding or pee/poop worthy.
Alaskan
Herd Master
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- #80
Thefarmofdreams
Loving the herd life
Thank you! Extra ideas are great to have. I wonder if I can get some pallets cheap... If not panels it is. Luckily the hay is upstairs and horses are down, but I need my qh to stay where the ceiling is higher and not brain himself. 😆
That would be amazing. But honestly, a decent chunk of this load looked sketchier than I liked, and it was dustier than it should've been. I'm going to try to sort it a bit and get the iffy stuff out sooner, but I'm mentally preparing myself for the possibility of quality loss. There wasn't time to get a trial bale and choose a supplier for quality.
Storage wise it should be great though. It's in the top of the barn, only a few small windows, and we'll almost never be even opening the doors to there, since we can just go up the stairs from the dairy to get it.
