Hay storage.

[thegriffiths]

I am about to get some hay from a friend and store it in the upper floor of my barn where it will be completely dry and protected. They are the regualar old "square" bales. My question is...

How long will the hay stay viable as feed?

Does it lose nutrient value quickly? Or can I store it for 6+ months without worrying over ruining it.

I ask because if it will degrade to quickly I will just sell it and get more when I am ready.

thanks much.

[jnap31]

It will keep a year with out losing to much nutrient it will lose some but still make "ok" feed as long as you keep it dry.where you have it should be fine.

[APPway]

Alot depends on the freshness of the hay when you store it. Hay will lose nutrients daily. Also beings you are putting it in your hay loft make sure it was baled when it was good and dry and does not have a high moustiure content and that there are no hot spots in the bales as they can catch fire.
I store my hay in my loft about 900 bales and I check daily for any heat

But as for your question yes you will do fine with it still being good after it is stored for the 6 months.
If you do get more hay after this remember to rotate and feed the older hay first.
Just my 2 cents

[uncle Will in In.]

Yes it looses nutrients daily. However it is so minimal that you will not be able to see any difference it the feeding quality of the hay, even if it is left in a dry place for 3 or 4 years. I've bought hay for my beef cows that was stored in a barn for 23 years. The smell of the hay was very good, and the cows licked it right up. I'm not trying to tell you it was as good as fresh hay, but it still had value for roughage for livestock.

[thegriffiths]

Thats the information I needed.

I am concerned about the fire possibilities though.

How should I make sure they dont combust?

[APPway]

Originally Posted by thegriffiths

Thats the information I needed.

I am concerned about the fire possibilities though.

How should I make sure they dont combust?

Make sure they were not baled wet and that they have not been rained on.
They say if there is alot of green weed matter in them that can cause them to heat up. Alfalfa not baled at the right dryness can get hot.
If they are nice dry bales you should have nothing to worry about.
What are you feeding and How many bales are you getting?
Also With all the bales I have in the Loft I check them everyday when i feed I stick my hand in them and between them and we also have a Temp probe that we use.

Like I said you sound pretty safe but the only reason I brought it up is alot of people don't think about it with hay storage.

Also make sure nobody smpkes around the hay and that there is no bare elec. wires by it or hot elec. outlets
Like I always say this is just my 2 cents But I hope it can help in someway

APPway

[uncle Will in In.]

The only time there is a chance of spontaineous combustion is when the bales are hauled directly from being baled too wet into the barn and stacked up. To combat this problem some farmers stacked the bales on edge, then sprinkled a hand full of salt on top of each bale, also taking care to not put the bales real tight against each other. If the hay has been baled for a couple weeks, it has already gone through the "sweat" as we call it. If it was dry enough to bale in the first place, the sweat it goes through isn't much danger to start a fire. Hay that was baled wetter than it should be will mold inside the bale. When ever you are looking at hay to buy always check the center of a couple bales for mold. You will be able to smell the mold even if it isn't visable. Having a little hook made on the same principle as a crochet hook is great to pull some hay from the center of a bale to inspect the quality.

[westfive]

Curious how do you check it for heat? I am new at this, thanks

[Michael W. Smith]

As has been said, you only have to worry about the hay catching on fire if it was just baled - and more of it being baled too wet and creating heat than anything. Usually when my Dad bales hay, even when it is baled dry, when a layer of bales is put down, we throw around some salt before starting another layer.

My Dad recently cleaned out the one side of the barn of "old" hay that was the loosely thrown in and stomped hay. This hay was put down before my Grandparents quit farming in the 60's. Those beef cows ate it like it was freshly mown hay - they loved it. Don't know much about what the nutrient value was, but being they ate it like candy - it must not have been too bad. I've heard that as long as the hay is stored inside, where it is kept dry, you really don't lose much nutrient value.

This old hay had straw bales piled on top of it - again put in by my Grandparents - so it could be that the straw "sealed" the freshness in the hay. You wouldn't think 40 or 50 year old hay would be very appetizing, but the beef cows ate it - and it wasn't because it was the only thing to eat!

[minnikin1]

Originally Posted by westfive

Curious how do you check it for heat? I am new at this, thanks

Cornell university sent out a newsletter about how to make a thermometer for your hay, and how to read it.

They recommend that if you are buying in hay (and so you don't know how it was made) and it's been a wet year, you should monitor for temps.

Someone found a link, it was listed on a thread about homestead safety not too long ago...

[comfortablynumb]

anyone else use salt?

I sprinkle salt on each layer of hay as I stack it, it seems to keep the hay fresher and the musty smell from developing.

Ive also found that a layer of pallets isnt enough to stack ground contact hay on, I use old paper feedbags [I have tons] on the pallets first then a thin layer of fresh hay.
this seems to keep the bottoms very dry and fresh.

in an upper floor barn, I dont think thats a worry if the air is flowing under the floor, but you might want to salt the floor a little.

[fantasymaker]

Originally Posted by thegriffiths

Or can I store it for 6+ months without worrying over ruining it.

I ask because if it will degrade to quickly I will just sell it and get more when I am ready.

Unless you are going to wait till next year were are you going to buy freaser hay? It would have just been in someone elses barn and they probably dont care as much as you do!
It Gonna be fine just keep it dry.

[rambler]

You only have to worry about hay combusting if it was just baled, you picked it up & put it in your barn all right now. After 5 days, the hay will be stable & there is nothing to worry about. Hay goes through a 'sweat' when it is baled, and if it is over 20% moisture this sweat causes mold & other bad things to grow. The heat feeds itself, and the temps go up quickly - which dries out a bit of the hay. This can spontainiously combust of the conditions are just right.

I don't know any of you that would actually buy hay in such a bad condition that you would ever have to worry about it. Hay that damp is pretty heavy, wet bales. You can just look at the bale & tell. I've had bales get hot enough that you can't keep your hand on them. That's getting pretty risky. Cattle like them, death to horses & other such fussy critters. No one normally wants to try to bale such stuff. If one puts the bales on their side, & leave a few inches of room between for air to curculate, they typically will dry out. Will not be good hay, but for cattle fill. Salt can help, as do the acid treatments or microbal treatments applied with a baler. Salt and some of ther acids make a lot of rust, I wouldn't want to do that to my buildings.

Anyhow, if you buy hay that was baled more than 5 days ago, just don't even worry about it one little bit. A non-issue.

As to age, like others I cleaned out loose hay from the barn for the cattle, found a 1950's newpaper in it. If stored well, hy stays good for a long long time.

Think about it - if you buy hay now, but need some in 6 months - where would the hay come from? We don't cut hay up here in MN until the last days of May, more likely fist week of June. All baled hay is going to be 8 moths, probably a year old. It's not like they will go bale some for you in the middle of winter.

--->Paul