Dang Rain, Wet Hay

Pony · #1 09/29/13, 10:12 AM

Tarp blew off the hay overnight, and it rained. How nice that the tarp held the rain in one spot so it could soak through the bales - not! Does anyone know of a way to reclaim the wet bales? Or is it a waste of time to try to salvage it?

Pony · #2 09/29/13, 12:17 PM

Well, looks like none out of 15 have a response, so I'll just try to dry it out and use it as bedding...

Fooey.

Minelson · #3 09/29/13, 12:24 PM

Spread water softener salt pellets on them to draw out the moisture.

Sorry this happened. ugh!!

Pony · #4 09/29/13, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minelson

Spread water softener salt pellets on them to draw out the moisture.

Sorry this happened. ugh!!

Cool. Will it still be edible after the salt?

It's a bummer, but it happens. I feel badly that I didn't think to add another bungee cord or two - and that I've misplaced the number for the fellow who sold us the hay. I'd like to get some more so we're sure to be set for Winter.

Backfourty,MI. · #5 09/29/13, 12:46 PM

I never heard of the water softner pellets but I'd sure give it a try!

I was going to say open the bales(I'm assuming square bales) & lay the flakes on a tarp or anything in the barn where they can dry out.
So sorry it all got wet, such a bummer but I'm hoping you can salvage most of it still for eating.

Minelson · #6 09/29/13, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pony

Cool. Will it still be edible after the salt?

It's a bummer, but it happens. I feel badly that I didn't think to add another bungee cord or two - and that I've misplaced the number for the fellow who sold us the hay. I'd like to get some more so we're sure to be set for Winter.

Yes I would think that it would be still edible..it's just salt. Check the ingredients to make sure there are no funky chemicals. It is safe for people to drink the water that has gone through softeners. They shouldn't dissolve unless they are soaked. May taste a little salty but they would probably like that.

Pony · #7 09/29/13, 01:14 PM

Oh, I think they would LOVE the salty flavor, especially Trub. If we don't put out what she thinks is enough baking soda for her, she'll look for a sweaty person to lick clean.

Weird goat. LOL!

onebizebee · #8 09/29/13, 05:23 PM

I second the salt idea. My dad on his farm would load the hay in the barn and sprinkle a layer of salt over each load of hay before the next load was brought in. It absorbed the moisture. The hay did not mold.

Copperhead · #9 09/30/13, 03:38 AM

I'd save it for the pigs this winter, especially if it does get moldy. Pigs will eat what they can and use the rest for bedding. The mold will actually make it more digestible -- to a pig!

If you can separate the square bales and let them dry without them getting "hot" and starting to compost themselves, they should be good, even for goats.

Of course, if they start to compost, make compost!

o&itw · #10 09/30/13, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebizebee

I second the salt idea. My dad on his farm would load the hay in the barn and sprinkle a layer of salt over each load of hay before the next load was brought in. It absorbed the moisture. The hay did not mold.

This was done if one was afraid the hay was put up too moist. It will help prevent mold (and fires) Separate the bales and put them on boards, fence posts, anything that will get them off the ground so the air can get to all 6 sides. Do this in an area that gets sun all day. Sprinkle salt over all the bales; whatever is the least expensive. Rock or regular salt is best. Water softener salt is too large and while it may work in stacked hay will take to long to spread out in this situation.

You may not know till you feed (open up the bales) whether it worked or not. If it molds, cows, and hogs can still eat it, although hogs would be best.

Doug Hodges · #11 09/30/13, 01:48 PM

We used to salt every layer with rock salt when we put it up green.

Pony · #12 09/30/13, 07:48 PM

Ah, well, I wish I could use this as an opportunity to talk Nick into some weaner pigs, but... we've been cutting back on the livestock, so it's probably not the best timing.

If nothing else, we'll have good compost, but I will dig out the bag of rock salt he uses for hides and sprinkle the bales.

THANKS, EVERYONE!

Bret4207 · #13 10/01/13, 07:26 AM

If it got soaked, if you bust a bale open and it's wet down inside the bale, the all the salt in the world is wasted. All salt does is absorb water and it can only absorb so much. If it's just the outside that got damp you can spread them out to air and slat them. Otherwise the only way to save it is to break the bales open and fluff it up in long windrows in dry, preferably breezy, weather. Then you can rebale or store it loose under cover.

Tarps are lousy for protecting hay in squares.

o&itw · #14 10/02/13, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bret4207

If it got soaked, if you bust a bale open and it's wet down inside the bale, the all the salt in the world is wasted. All salt does is absorb water and it can only absorb so much. If it's just the outside that got damp you can spread them out to air and slat them. Otherwise the only way to save it is to break the bales open and fluff it up in long windrows in dry, preferably breezy, weather. Then you can rebale or store it loose under cover.

Tarps are lousy for protecting hay in squares.

Chemicals that absorb water are desiccants, such as silica gel, certain clays and some other chemicals that chemically bond with the water and remove it from the substrate. Salt does not "absorb" water. It dissolves into the water and prevents a certain amount of mold and bacteria growth (ie composting) from taking place. It is the yeast/ mold/bacteria digesting the hay that causes the hay to heat up.

The spoilage is due to the "waste" of the bacteria/mold which is toxic to some animals. Since mold and common bacteria need oxygen, they attack the outside of the hay first because there is less oxygen inside the bale. The salt dissolves into the moisture that is on the outside of the bale first (because that is where the salt is), then after it is dissolved in the moisture it moves slowly into the moisture inall the bale (remember when you studied osmosis in grade school?) . Salting hay is really not much different than curing a ham, except much less salt is needed.

Pony · #15 10/02/13, 07:25 PM

I learn so much when I ask questions!

LFRJ · #16 10/02/13, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pony

I learn so much when I ask questions!

No kidding! THIs thread has been great. Thank you so much O&ITW, for explaining this. It makes perfect sense, though I'd never have thought if it myself - and in our wet part of the world, this is a very handy thing to know, indeed!!!!

Bret4207 · #17 10/03/13, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by o&itw

Chemicals that absorb water are desiccants, such as silica gel, certain clays and some other chemicals that chemically bond with the water and remove it from the substrate. Salt does not "absorb" water. It dissolves into the water and prevents a certain amount of mold and bacteria growth (ie composting) from taking place. It is the yeast/ mold/bacteria digesting the hay that causes the hay to heat up.

The spoilage is due to the "waste" of the bacteria/mold which is toxic to some animals. Since mold and common bacteria need oxygen, they attack the outside of the hay first because there is less oxygen inside the bale. The salt dissolves into the moisture that is on the outside of the bale first (because that is where the salt is), then after it is dissolved in the moisture it moves slowly into the moisture inall the bale (remember when you studied osmosis in grade school?) . Salting hay is really not much different than curing a ham, except much less salt is needed.

I won't argue the "dissolving" thing, but I can absolutely guarantee that if the bales are wet through, salt is a complete waste of time and money. The only way to assure the hay will not spoil if they are wet though is to dry it.

o&itw · #18 10/03/13, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bret4207

I won't argue the "dissolving" thing, but I can absolutely guarantee that if the bales are wet through, salt is a complete waste of time and money. The only way to assure the hay will not spoil if they are wet though is to dry it.

If they are sopping wet, I agree with you 100%.

If they are damp, there is a chance salt will work. Rock salt is pretty cheap when compared to the cost of a barn... or even alfalfa hay. Alfalfa hay that had been cured once would likely not retain many leaves if torn apart, dried, and re-baled. And that would work only if the OP had a baler. At the price and increasing rarity of non-GMO alfalfa, It would at least be worth a try. If it molds badly it will only be good for the garden.

Bret4207 · #19 10/03/13, 06:51 PM

There's a chance I suppose. Seems like quite a risk if the bales are really wet though.

I can't imagine anyone leaving alfalfa under a tarp and depending on that to keep it safe.

Pony · #20 10/04/13, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bret4207

There's a chance I suppose. Seems like quite a risk if the bales are really wet though.

I can't imagine anyone leaving alfalfa under a tarp and depending on that to keep it safe.

Wow.

Well, if you can't put yourself in someone else's shoes by imagining why they may choose to tarp their hay, that's your boggle, not mine.

Many people actually do keep alfalfa under tarps quite successfully. We have done it for years.

Not everyone can afford outbuildings and such right away.

How nice for you that your world is so well-ordered that you needn't worry about such things.