Will this work? Storing hay

[Maura]

I've been putting the winter hay, in rectangle bales, on pallets and covered with a huge tarp. It is unweildy, and I'm spending a hundred bucks a year on a new tarp. I figured something more permanent would save me some money and be easier on my old body.

For our sheep/donkey shelter, we used two cattle panels side by side, arced over and covered with a tarp, like a hoop house. Could I use two panels end to end to make a larger, higher hoop house? Premier has a wire palnel connector which I thought I could use to sew the top seam of the cattle panels. I'm figuring if I used six panels, 2, 2, and 2, I could make a hoop house big enough for a half year's hay. I buy in November, and again in February.

[SherryR]

Hi, I'm no expert, and am looking for alternate ways to store hay, with little or no money. Looking forward to reading the rich and numerous postings on here . . . . . .
Come on, share the wisdom . . . . . Maura and I need to know.
Sherry

[CIW]

Maura,
You may be putting up a sail. We have alot of winter wind here and would have a hard time securing something like that.
Have you ever thought about using bilboard tarps. We use them sometimes as many as 5 years. They used to give them away at te sign companys because they can only be painted on once. The 30' x 50'ers are costing me $20's.
They come with a loop along all four sides. Apipe can be slipped inside and tires hung from it. the weight keeps the air from getting under it and wearing the tarp out.

[DaleK]

By the time you do all that and find a way to anchor it and hope it doesn't flex too much in the wind, you might as well just look for one of the portable garages on sale instead. They were on sale here for $150 last week for 10'x24'.

[hintonlady]

Originally Posted by Maura

I've been putting the winter hay, in rectangle bales, on pallets and covered with a huge tarp. It is unweildy, and I'm spending a hundred bucks a year on a new tarp. I figured something more permanent would save me some money and be easier on my old body.

For our sheep/donkey shelter, we used two cattle panels side by side, arced over and covered with a tarp, like a hoop house. Could I use two panels end to end to make a larger, higher hoop house? Premier has a wire palnel connector which I thought I could use to sew the top seam of the cattle panels. I'm figuring if I used six panels, 2, 2, and 2, I could make a hoop house big enough for a half year's hay. I buy in November, and again in February.

Wish I had the same problem, I love smaller bales.

We have no hay storage so use large round. Storing is the one nice thing about those. covered in the netwrap they stay fine all year. Add a bonnet and they look nice too!

oh well

[Jennifer L.]

Or find a greenhouse frame and cover that with a tarp. I used one of those for years and I'm in a very windy location next to Lake Ontario. I used firring strips and nailed the bottom edge of the tarp (one of the silver covered ones) down. Whatever you do, don't try and use those electic blue tarps, they simply won't hold up for anything. The silver tarps held here for two sometimes three years.

Jennifer

[Freeholder]

Anything you build that needs to be covered with a tarp isn't going to be a whole lot better than what you are doing now, as you'll still have to replace the tarp frequently. The heavier-duty tarps will last longer, but they are also, well, heavier! My step-father has a bill-board tarp that he has on top of a shipping container he uses for storage, and it was a major job to get it up there.

I'd like to have an answer to this problem, too. I have hay stored in the garage (not too great since it is attached to the house, but there's not really enough hay in there to heat up much), and more stored in one end of the goat shelter, which is an expensive agricultural version of those portable carports. There isn't room in there for more than a ton, and the goat shelter has the same problem as everything else temporary -- the tarps will need to be replaced in a few years, and I'm still trying to decide how to do it. If I was going to stay there permanently (don't know yet if that's going to happen, but probably not), I'd cover the shelter with several layers of chicken wire and ferrocement it. That would cost, but it would last forever. At least it's something that a middle-aged lady like myself could do without much help, though.

Another possibility is to grow vines that cover the shelter and protect the tarp -- that wouldn't make it keep forever, but would probably add some years to it, as it's the sun that breaks the material down so badly.

Kathleen

[Maura]

The heavy silver tarps hold up in the wind. It's the mice. As the hay is used up, the tarp naturally comes down, and I end up with holes in the tarp. I've used tape for tarps to cover the holes, but it doesn't work. Not to mention the weight of it since I have to burrow under, dig around, and drag bales out. I've used those blue tarps on the donkey shelter and they don't last long. Right now, it has a silver tarp. I use rope and bungee cords over the top of the hoop house to keep the tarp firmly in place.

[gccrook]

You can do it. You have 2 problems that can be solved. To maintain the hoop, you need to overlap the ends of the panels by one square, and wire that together good or you will just get a triangular building. If you overlap them, you now have some sharp points at the top that can tear your tarp. You need to cover that with something sturdy like heavy cardboard or some such. The truth is that your tarps will only last slightly longer this way. The wind and snow and all will wear on the tarps against the panels.

[comfortablynumb]

use a schoolbus.

[fishhead]

The initial cost is high but pond liners are guaranteed for 20 years out in the sun. Plus they have the added benefit of being heavy and less likely to blow off.

I paid $.40/sq.ft. wholesale price. If you are thinking long term that comes to $.02/sq.ft.

[Scrounger]

If you get the plastic that is designed for trench silos, it will last for years. It is fairly expensive, but it comes in 100' x 40' rolls (also other sizes). Just put your hay on the pallets, cover with the plastic and throw tires on it, and 2x4's around the base. The trick is to not let the tarp flap in the wind. You can also lay the back edge of the tarp under the bottom row of bales. Stack the hay and then fold the tarp over the top. You can also throw a couple of sheets of plywood on top of the hay, but under the tarp. This will help keep the tarp tight without worrying about the hay poking through.

[TxAprilMagic]

Maybe this will help with your hay storage problem.


http://www.portablesheltershops.com/

[clovis]

Can you just build a simple pole barn?

Sometimes a person can find and salvage free or super cheap materials.

I haven't checked in a while, but I think some electric co-ops sell old telephone poles cheap. I have even heard of them giving them away.

Depending on how you want it to look, and if you don't care, there are tons of free materials out there for the taking.

Clove

[Scrounger]

You can also build a small 15' x 15' shed out of pallets. I built a shed that was 26' x 14' out of used tin and lumber. It cost me $18 TOTAL, and that was for screws to hold the tin down. I have one room in it that I stored hay in. It is 14' x 10' and will hold 100+ square bales. Look around for small buildings falling down and scrounge the materials. Even if you have to buy a few parts, it can be done cheaply. Look around - there might even be a small shed you can move onto your place. It is suprising how much a even small shed will hold.

[Ole Man Legrand]

A semi truck trailer, closed in,40 feet long and holds about 350 bales of hay. It keeps the hay dry all year.

[uncle Will in In.]

Semi trailer would be great for your setup. They take the wheels out from under them and put some RR ties crossways under them for foundation. It would be easy to build a shed on the side when you wanted to expand. Two spaced apart with truss rafters over them makes a good barn/garage.

[bbbuddy]

The hay only needs a roof to keep heavy rain off. A simple pole roof is easy. In a pinch, if you have metal shade panels, just put them up over the hay, on pipe or 4x4s, and use pipe connectors.
We have a shelter roof made out of old shade panels with corrugated tin on top, been fine for years.
Once you have hay under a roof instead of tarps, you'll never go back to tarps, much easier to feed from under a roof and not mess with wet yucky tarps!
By the way, an old hay farmer told me alfalfa doesn't start to mold unless it gets an inch of rain on it at once. I tested that, and it's true, anything less than an inch doesn't hurt it a bit, provided it has a chance to dry out before the next rain! So here in Arizona I hardly even think about it when the hay gets wet!

[DocM]

I put up one of those portable garage things, a frame with tarp material. Luckily I didn't have my hay in it, it collapsed under the weight of ice build up (maybe an inch). Any frame you build needs to be able to withstand whatever snow or ice load you put on it.

[Scrounger]

Originally Posted by bbbuddy

By the way, an old hay farmer told me alfalfa doesn't start to mold unless it gets an inch of rain on it at once. I tested that, and it's true, anything less than an inch doesn't hurt it a bit, provided it has a chance to dry out before the next rain! So here in Arizona I hardly even think about it when the hay gets wet!

Where I live, it can rain a 1/2" and spoil alfalfa! It's the HUMIDITY that kills ya here, not the rain. We get it under cover and keep it there.