Storing hay

gabbyraja · #1 08/21/12, 08:18 PM

I expect to have 20 or so square bales I need to store through the inter for feeding over the winter. I have done animals before, but had a large barn. Now I do not. It's possible I could store it in the garage, but I have no other outdoor building for storage. Are there other solutions that would be adequate? Can you just put it up on boards and tarp it? What else may I not be thinking of?

FYI, I live in lower MI, and even with the very mild winters the past several years we do still get a 3 or 4 good snows with up to 6 inches or so standing through at least a couple of months of the winter.

rancher1913 · #2 08/21/12, 08:24 PM

are you talking small bales or large. 20 small bales should fit on a couple of pallets and can be tarped easy.

PNWest · #3 08/21/12, 08:32 PM

If your garage is connected to your house, you will regret bringing the hay in. It attracts mice, and the animals that eat mice.

Stack it on pallets, tarp it and watch the stacks for seepage.

siberian · #4 08/21/12, 08:35 PM

skid and tarp ?

sidepasser · #5 08/21/12, 09:26 PM

If you tarp hay, you should be aware that if the temps rise outside that the hay will heat up and cause the tarp to "sweat" which will make your bales get wet/damp. Be prepared to pull back the tarp on hot/sunny days so that the hay can "breathe" and dry out, and don't forget to retarp it before nightfall. It may not be so much of a problem up north, but down in Ga. where it can be 30 at night and 70 the next day, you can lose a lot of hay to damp rot.

If you decide to put the hay in your garage, put it up on pallets if your flooring in concrete, otherwise the moisture may seep through to the bottom of the bales (warm hay, cold floor). With 20 bales, I doubt seriously that you will need more than two pallets if it is stacked properly. I am thinking these are small bales rather than the large rounds?

I wouldn't worry too much about mice if you have a way to close off the garage (doors?), I've stored hay in a garage before and never saw the first mouse, but mine was a totally sealed garage with the pull down doors and was on a concrete foundation. Your situation may be different so take that into consideration, but if I had a choice, I'd put the hay in the garage rather than tarp it and leave it outside. Just for peace of mind and reduced worry about tarps leaking, blowing off, getting a hole in it, sweating, etc.

rambler · #6 08/21/12, 10:37 PM

I would not like it in the garage. In adtion to the critter issues, I assume you will still put a vehicle in the garage, and a gasoline motor and hay isn't always the best idea - gasoline engines do throw a spark now and then.

Pallets and a tarp can work well, but the hay needs to breath. you don't want it sealed up tight. And a pallet on top of the hay to give some airspace on top is good. You want it to breath.

--->PAul

where I want to · #7 08/21/12, 10:42 PM

Having to store hay in my garage off and one for years- I have 15 bales of overflow there now, I can tell you that the mice issue depends to a large extent on the type of hay. Anything with seed will spontaneously generate mice, I don't care what science says.
Also, I found that putting hay on a pallet allows mice to find nice homes under the hay. If the hay is well cured, I prefer a tarp on the ground with the hay directly on it. The tarp keeps the concrete from getting the hay damp on the bottom.
But if your hay is something like oat hay with seed heads, I would risk having it outside. That is the only time I ever had a really serious rat problem. Even now I can't look at oat hay without shuddering.

silverseeds · #8 08/21/12, 10:45 PM

Just a thought, but with hay in a garage on pallets, the pallets would offer a great spot to stick lots of mouse traps.

where I want to · #9 08/21/12, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverseeds

Just a thought, but with hay in a garage on pallets, the pallets would offer a great spot to stick lots of mouse traps.

Been there, done that. But unfortunately pallets mostly don't offer enough room for the arm on most traps to snap. Especially rat traps.

BlackWillowFarm · #10 08/22/12, 06:44 AM

Put it on pallets and tarp it. Make sure you let it breathe all the way round. Put something underneath the tarp that goes over the top of the stack to allow airflow to keep it from getting damp/molding. Make sure it's good, dry hay to start with.

Callieslamb · #11 08/22/12, 06:54 AM

Tarp on the ground, pallets on tarp. Hay on pallets. Cattle panel hooped up over it. You can cut the panel so it won't be so big with that small amount of hay. Tarp over the panel.

blooba · #12 08/22/12, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rambler

I would not like it in the garage. In adtion to the critter issues, I assume you will still put a vehicle in the garage, and a gasoline motor and hay isn't always the best idea - gasoline engines do throw a spark now and then.

--->PAul

This reminds me of one day I was stopped at a red light and look over at the pickup truck next to me. He had a lawnmower buried in hay (guessing landscaping)and I noticed some smoke just as the light was turning green, by the time I got the guy to pull over(he never noticed) it was fully engulfed. I had a little fire extinguisher in my vehicle but it was no match to the pile of hay. Needless to say, the guy's truck was a total loss by the time the fire department got there.

geo in mi · #13 08/22/12, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

Tarp on the ground, pallets on tarp. Hay on pallets. Cattle panel hooped up over it. You can cut the panel so it won't be so big with that small amount of hay. Tarp over the panel.

This one is the best idea for S Mi, coming from one who lives there.....it also leaves room for kitty kat to sleep and do guard duty.

geo

Space Cowboy · #14 08/22/12, 09:29 AM

I do 50 large bales a year. I always put down some pallets. I have done the tarp thing, but found it unnecessary. If you get a lot of rain, you might want to tarp it, but the snow doesn't seem to be a big deal.

SC

warnimct · #15 08/22/12, 09:50 AM

If you are going to be getting hay every year you might invest in one of the portable carports with walls. Put the bales up on pallets still but you can close it off when bad weather hits and leave the end open when it is hot out. This looks like a good solution... http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...0-x-8-/48654/&

where I want to · #16 08/22/12, 10:32 AM

The various techiques in this thread show the differences in the environment where the hay is to be stored.
In some places, the air is dry and any source of dampness come from the ground and very little there.
Around here, the air and ground will both be sopping all winter. So putting on a pallet outside only keeps the hay from contact with the bacteria on the ground- it will not keep the hay from molding in the damp. Even my hay stored in a pretty tight shed will send up clouds of "mold dust" by summer next year.
You have to know your own situation to chose what will work for you.

sammyd · #17 08/22/12, 08:49 PM

we've done both garage and pallets.
I will say that stored on their sides on a cement floor in the garage was far better than on pallets, even when the pallets were inside a decent dirt floored shed.
Every bale I have ever stored on a pallet whether inside or outside a shed is a moldy mess on the bottom layer. I have had bales stored on a cement floor in the garage for 2 years and they came out far better.

julieq · #18 08/22/12, 08:59 PM

We buy stacker loads of small square bales. They sit the load on pallets and then we tarp it partially. We do have snow here during the winters, but most of the hay does fine. If we run across any mold, then that part goes to the garden. The big cow dairies around here don't even bother to tarp their stacks of large square bales.