Hay loft question

[Minelson]

We want to do what is best. Last winter (the worst in 10 years with blizzards here) we had a lot of snow get into the hay loft. It blew up through the open under eaves. It covered all my nice, dry hay and I freaked out. I was told that it would be fine...snow is dry enough, just brush it off. So now I am thinking ahead for next winter. I was thinking the best way to avoid snow getting in is to close off the under eaves. But..I want the ventilation so I was thinking of just cutting some wood to fit between each rafter and closing it off just during the winter months. I'm doing it from the inside because to do it from the outside would be too high up. But now we are still worried about ventilation. And now hubby walked in and said maybe we should just stuff the openings with insulation. I guess what I'm looking for here is advice and comments about how important ventilation is in a hay loft. It does have 2 vents on the ridge. Our hay was ok for the most part after last year...about 5 moldy bales out of 100. This is hay for horses and I am VERY picky about it being good. Does anyone store their hay in a hayloft without under eave venting??? Sorry so long.

[uncle Will in In.]

If you had a door in each end that you could have open during hay making season you wouldn't need the eaves ventilation. As soon as the hay is cured out, and past the stage of getting hot from the moisture in the bales, very little ventilation is required.

[plowjockey]

Old barns always have enough cracks for ventiliation.

I have the same problem, on the east side of the barn. It does not have wood pieces covering the openings to the eaves (west side does). A strong wind through many 2x12" openings, can get a lot of snow in there.

Just cut up some thin wood to cover most of the opening. It will still get the air that it needs, but will keep most of the snow out. Insualtion is not needed, as you don't want it air-tight anyway.

As you know, snow melts and becomes water. Water plus hay equals mold.

[Minelson]

Originally Posted by uncle Will in In.

If you had a door in each end that you could have open during hay making season you wouldn't need the eaves ventilation. As soon as the hay is cured out, and past the stage of getting hot from the moisture in the bales, very little ventilation is required.

Thank you...that is the information I am looking for. We have a door on the south and a smallish window on the north. I wonder if that is enough. WE have put a new roof on since this picture...it's old so it's not like it's real "tight" to begin with...

[Kris in MI]

Our property was vacant land (field & woods) when we bought it, so all buildings here are less than 8 years old, and build by us. My barn has ventilated soffit, just like my house. The hay mow has doors on each end, which are kept open during hot, dry weather.

[uncle Will in In.]

It looks like a couple vents in the roof. I'd plug the eaves and not worry about ventilation. More important is how damp the hay is when it's put up there. It can be next to impossible sometimes to get the bales as dry as we'd like. In such cases stack the bales on edge, and criss cross the bales to allow little air passages up between the stacks. Also get a hand full of salt and sprinkle it over the top of each bale as you store them in the mow.
Also damp hay that is damp from the moisture in the plant itself may have a moldy odor when feeding but still makes good feed. If the hay is damp from rain the mold may be white and ruin the feed value.

[tinknal]

An old barn like that is going to be leaky enough that you have nothing to worry about. Plug up the eaves.

[Sanza]

Or just throw a tarp over the bales to protect them from the little bit of snow blowing in.

[motdaugrnds]

I understand the concern for ventilation as I know of fires and moldy hay being caused by improper storage.

Your barn looks old but tightly constructed. Yes you have a couple of vents at the top; but that is not always good enough to vent the heat appropriately.

I can share with you what we did and not once have we had a bale of hay to ruin. First off our loft has one entire side open inward to the barn, even wire above that next to rafters; on the oher side is a foot of wire all across under the rafters. One end is entirely open facing inside the barn and the other has the large entrance door with the 3' x 6' double steps leading up to it. Yes we have plenty of ventilation; but we also protect from weather by setting all bales on their narrow sides "on top of 2'x 4's", giving ventilation room under the first layer of bales. Each layer in turn is crisscrossed and stacked loosely on each other. Still during bad weather when snow is expected to blow, we take "mesh sheeting" (purchased at Lowe's) and throw over the top layer of bales. Any snow getting on those can be easily taken off, the sheets shaken and set up for use at anytime.

I would suggest you leave the air space between your rafters, set your bales on 2x4s and get some mesh sheets to throw over when neccessary. This should save money and time and work well in your barn.

[wwubben]

Make sure your hay is baled dry and you will have no trouble.If your hay is not baled dry it will not matter.Plug the leaks I say.

[tinknal]

If you are still worried about it tack up some window screen over the openings. That will keep out nearly all the snow and still allow air flow.

[FarmboyBill]

All I can say, is, if you had a chicken full of feathers, and I had your barn, wed both be tickled. I had a barn that had a shed off on one side which might make it bigger than yours. It might have been 40 sq. I thought it was too small. Sure wish I had it now, Does yours have seperate lofts on either side of the driveway in the side? or is it a solid floor?

[Minelson]

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

All I can say, is, if you had a chicken full of feathers, and I had your barn, wed both be tickled. I had a barn that had a shed off on one side which might make it bigger than yours. It might have been 40 sq. I thought it was too small. Sure wish I had it now, Does yours have seperate lofts on either side of the driveway in the side? or is it a solid floor?

It is a semi solid floor.. Meaning the floor has planks with lots of spacing and missing pieces. We thru sheets of plywood, OSB, (whatever we could find) down to make it safer to walk on. There is a handy opening to throw the hay down and there is an opening with ladder type to access the hayloft from the inside.

[fishhead]

Some lumberyards will save you the plastic tarps that come on bundles of lumber. You could always cover the hay in the winter to keep the snow off the hay.

[o&itw]

The barn you have is actually quite tight. Many "hay" barns have vertical boards for siding with a 1/4" or so left in between each board, plus loose or spaced floor boards. Both were done intentionally to let the hay breathe and prevent fires. The cracks were seldom a problem as the hay stacked against them prevented a wind from blowing through and bringing in rain or snow. The little bit of snow that would sift in, would evaporate directly and never reach a liquid state in the cold of the winter. With hay-bines etc, most hay now can be put up somewhat drier. Still, there is no controlling the weather, and there is still hay that isn't as dry as it should be. Since your barn walls are relatively tight, I would be hesitant to block off any ventilation, though it might be OK if it was only on one side that you have trouble.

You should definitely take the sheet material off the floor of the loft, those cracks between the boards are important. While most boards will lie flat and not move much, you can nail any that are too loose, and replace boards that are missing. Otherwise, you are taking a chance on loosing your barn and maybe some of your animals to a fire.

[FarmboyBill]

I take it then, that your loft floor is one solid floor going completly across the barn with hay bays to pitch hay down onto the firsat floor.

Most of the old barns that had a large door in the side, on the bottom floor, had a loft either side of the barn comeing from the back/front of the barn to a place even with the width of the big door. Those bank barns that could be drivin into in the 2nd floor, or hay loft had a solid floor. I once saw a 3 storie barn. Bottom story was for livestock, and opened up in the back of the barn. 2nd story opened up from the front, and was flush with the ground around the front. 3rd story was a hay loft.

[o&itw]

http://www.myhorse.com/barn-ventilat...-health.html-0

I find all kinds of stuff today that doesn't work. It is almost impossible to find a little single hand garden cultivator or trowel that is of any count. Most hand tools are a joke. I just purchased a pair of pruners to replace ones (from the same company) i had used for 30 years.... they were a joke and the handles bent (really, no kidding) after just a few uses. Try to find a decent metal colander. One can find all kinds, but on most, the legs fall off, or the holes are too small or too few, etc, etc. We have my moms from fifty years ago, works great, but to find one anywhere near as good we had to go to a restaurant supply, pay a great deal, and it still leaves things to be desired.

Old things usually worked. People depended on their stuff back then, and didn't buy it for looks or "coolness" value. For the most part buildings were the same way. Many of us have "pole barns" but they often leave things to be desired as far as animal comfort and utility. Most old barns were built "right". The cracks and crevices and spaced boards were there for a specific purpose. We tend to try to "improve" things sometimes that are better left alone. For almost any animal, the purpose of shelter is to keep wind and rain of the animal, not to keep them warm. In the winter, moisture buildup in a barn or shed is much more harmful to the animal than the cold, likewise ammonia build up from their manure.

http://www.myhorse.com/barn-ventilat...-health.html-0

If you only have a few bales getting snow on them, and the snow is not drying by itself, try feeding those bales first. If the temperature is cold enough to snow, there isn't going to be much mold forming on them then.

[SGFarm]

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

I take it then, that your loft floor is one solid floor going completly across the barn with hay bays to pitch hay down onto the firsat floor.

Most of the old barns that had a large door in the side, on the bottom floor, had a loft either side of the barn comeing from the back/front of the barn to a place even with the width of the big door. Those bank barns that could be drivin into in the 2nd floor, or hay loft had a solid floor. I once saw a 3 storie barn. Bottom story was for livestock, and opened up in the back of the barn. 2nd story opened up from the front, and was flush with the ground around the front. 3rd story was a hay loft.

My uncle had a three story barn that you could drive into with a tractor on all three levels.

The bottom level was animals, mixed herd, pigs, cream quota at the time. Middle was a grainery and had the reminants of a horse powered mill, 12" hole in the floor and a circular groove worn into the floor by the horses hooves. Then on the 3rd floor was the mow and it still went up at least 30 feet. Really cool place, well except in the summer when it was really hot up there in the mow.

Back to the original question, fill in the holes and have no fear. Hay made with haybines and modern equipment does need the ventiliation that was required back in the day. For the fall just leave the end doors open and come winter time it will be all good.

Mike

[rambler]

If you have your livestock on the bottom floor with the hay overhead, you need the upstairs vented. Moisture will rise from the critters & get upstairs.

Your bottom layer of bales is far, far more likely to mold from this, than your top layer ever will from the snow.

It's really a non-issue, but I remember it really bothered you.

Are those 2 vents on top from the bottom floor up through the roof? Best thing dad ever did was throw those vents out. Made more problems upstairs with condensation than they ever solved.

You need some ventilation upstairs. A vent on each end of the upstairs will likely be enough, if you have that. You need it any time you put fresh hay in; or any time critters are living & splashing water & p below. Temperature differences are the problem - if the upstairs is cooler than the downstairs, the moisture & heat move upwards & condenses water out.

How much is enough? That's the question.

A blizzard from the right direction will get into just about any ventilation.....

You could block off the eavs with screen or cheesecloth type material that slows the wind but allows air/moisture movement.....

--->Paul

[Minelson]

Thanks all. We decided to not do anything yet. I survived the worst winter in a long, long time...Our first winter on this homestead...so I was on learning overload. I just have my 3 mini goats in the lower level. We didn't have very many bad bales and they could have been bad before they got snowed on them. If we do anything it won't be "tight". The vents on the roof are just regular roof vents...I like them because they turn with the wind and make a haunting noise. One of them is gone now because we found out it was wrecked when we had the new roof put on.
Thanks again for all the insights! So many knowledgeable people here...I am truly blessed