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06/19/07, 08:05 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Maryland
Posts: 896
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Getting Rid of Used Hay
I have been having an 'issue' with the goats used hay. I have piles and piles of used goat hay and it is not decomposing like I thought it would. What do you do with used hay? Would putting a tarp over it to make it decompose faster?
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The more people I meet, the more I like my chickens
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06/19/07, 08:12 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Attica, IN
Posts: 317
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We give ours to the cows. They will eat almost anything. When we had over 300 rabbits, we threw the shavings, etc from the trays into the cow pasture and they picked through it and ate out spilled food, etc.
Carisa
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Carisa Engel
Lyceum and Engel Farms Dairy Goats
Attica, IN
www.teamplayerusedbooks.webs.com
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06/19/07, 08:15 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: northcentral MN
Posts: 14,344
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Wet hay will break down faster than dry hay so if you wet it and then turn it every few days it will break down pretty fast.
You could always list it on freecycle for garden mulch or composting. I could use a couple of ton just on my place.
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06/19/07, 08:21 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Maryland
Posts: 896
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Good idea fishead. I will list it today! Wished you lived closer 
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The more people I meet, the more I like my chickens
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06/19/07, 10:09 AM
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Cashmere goats
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: CO
Posts: 2,023
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Be very carful witht he wet hay. I have had friends hay start on fire because it got so hot, and that wet hay in the bottom is just enought to cause that to happen
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06/19/07, 10:17 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: CO
Posts: 601
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If our pile gets out of control, we burn it.
We take a small portion of it and lite it up, then add small amounts to it until it is gone.
It stinks when it burns, but it gets rid of it and what's left works great in the garden.
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Shelby
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06/19/07, 10:21 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 7,412
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add fresh grass clippings to it, some goat or chicken manure. Mix it up with some light soil if it's around. Cover with a layer of grass clippings and a light layer of soil on top. Wet it down. Let it compost, Cover from the rain or pests if necessary, or better yet in a bin. It should heat up to about 150 degrees or more killing most weed seeds. In a week of this action, turn it with a pitchfork or manure fork to fishing the composting.
It'll be great for your garden!
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06/19/07, 10:28 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: NW OR
Posts: 2,314
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We spread ours over thin patches in our pastures. I also advertise the "piles" in the fall (on craigslist) as cover for gardens. We also save a percentage for use in winter garden cover. The trick to decomposition of hay bedding is spreading it out instead of piling it, but patience will also yield a good crop of compost from piled hay - it simply takes several weeks/months. There's an old barn on my property with a layer of hay bedding in it that after 20 years.. is still a thick layer or hay bedding. It needs exposure, which like previous posters said, requires turning.
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06/19/07, 11:27 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: northcentral MN
Posts: 14,344
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by moonwolf
add fresh grass clippings to it, some goat or chicken manure. Mix it up with some light soil if it's around. Cover with a layer of grass clippings and a light layer of soil on top. Wet it down. Let it compost, Cover from the rain or pests if necessary, or better yet in a bin. It should heat up to about 150 degrees or more killing most weed seeds. In a week of this action, turn it with a pitchfork or manure fork to fishing the composting.
It'll be great for your garden!
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Yes. Add some nitrogen source (grass clippings or fresh chicken manure) and water to it. Turn it a few times as it heats up and breaks down. Then you can spread it anywhere without worrying about weed seeds.
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06/19/07, 03:21 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: North of Houston TX
Posts: 4,817
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Those piles are why I moved to alfalfa pellets
Manure piles should be just that manure....adding some green for turning it into compost is fine...but expensive hay in compost piles...nope it would be cheaper to buy it! I know our TSC also sells hay pellets. Vicki
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Vicki McGaugh
Nubian Soaps
North of Houston TX
www.etsy.com/shop/nubiansoaps
A 3 decade dairy goat farm homestead that is now a retail/wholesale soap company and construction business.
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06/19/07, 03:25 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,107
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I put mine in the chicken pen and feed the rest to the cows.
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06/19/07, 03:39 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 474
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians
Those piles are why I moved to alfalfa pellets
Manure piles should be just that manure....adding some green for turning it into compost is fine...but expensive hay in compost piles...nope it would be cheaper to buy it! I know our TSC also sells hay pellets. Vicki |
You don't feed any hay?
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06/19/07, 05:10 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: North of Houston TX
Posts: 4,817
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Only during hurricanes, the worst of winter and when it rains. I don't even have a hay barn anymore, just picking up small square bales from my feed dealer as I need them. Vicki
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Vicki McGaugh
Nubian Soaps
North of Houston TX
www.etsy.com/shop/nubiansoaps
A 3 decade dairy goat farm homestead that is now a retail/wholesale soap company and construction business.
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06/19/07, 05:49 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NC
Posts: 139
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I now do what Vicki does, the pellets are more money, but I dont look at it wasted on the ground, like I did hay!
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06/19/07, 08:22 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Maryland
Posts: 896
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians
Those piles are why I moved to alfalfa pellets
Manure piles should be just that manure....adding some green for turning it into compost is fine...but expensive hay in compost piles...nope it would be cheaper to buy it! I know our TSC also sells hay pellets. Vicki |
Hmmm..... Ya got me thinking! So, my 3 goaties would be totally fine on alfalfa pellets? If so, it is worth a shot seeing how much hay they waste  Keep in mind, I only have 3 wethers.
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The more people I meet, the more I like my chickens
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