[Fleecewife]

Isn't it great when you've got your hay in, all stacked and safe, and your winter feed assured?   We've had the best haymaking weather we've ever had since we started making hay here 19 years ago.  No rush, wall to wall sunshine, light breeze, hardly any dew.  We got more bales off our little meadow than in any previous year.  About a month ago there was also a suitable opportunity to make the hay, but there wasn't enough bulk to it, so we took the risk and waited.  In most years here you have one weather window per year, so it was a risk to wait but it's paid off well.  A lovely friend even came to help us cart and stack it and has gone away with bags of eateable goodies.  Now it's all stored away, sweet smelling and well made, and our sheep will eat well this winter.

I hope everyone else has had the same great haymaking year.

[madcat]

  : pleased for you and your sheep. It's a lovely summer. 

[SallyintNorth]

Great stuff, FW 

Similar story here, although we've grabbed a few fieldsworth of silage earlier on just to be on the safe side.  We've got more big round bales of hay than we've ever had  .  Now we want some more nice weather to get a couple of nearby fields into small square bales; that'd be the icing on the cake.

[Lesley Silvester]

Wish I could say the same. We are nearly out of goat food and my supplier has had banking trouble which is now sorted but they have to wait a couple of weeks before their suppliers can deliver. I am on my last bale of hay - not even enough to fill a big rack and it could be another week before I can get any delivered.

[Fleecewife]

Oh no MGM.  If only you were closer you could have some of mine, some willow too if that would help eek out the hay.  Is there nowhere else you can buy a bale or two?

[Lesley Silvester]

Thanks, FW. If I get desperate, I'm sure the farm will let me pick one up to keep me going. My big concern is not being able to get any of the other feed. I use Allen and Page Dairy Goat Mix and thought I had a spare bag but the people who looked after the goats while I was away had opened it and put half into the bin that I take the days' feed from so I had less than a half bag. I'm upped the amount of sugar beet (which I did manage to get a bag of) and cut down on the Dairy Goat. I am also right out of Graze On and they were getting through four buckets of that a day. A friend is planning to clear her jungle garden today and let me have the contents for them so that will do them for green stuff. My roses are getting a good pruning as well. Yesterday they demolished a rowan sapling that was cut down for them.


I daresay we'll manage but it's knowing what to give them in place of the Dairy Mix. I have ordered a bag from Allen and Page but that will take a few days to get here (and cost a fortune in carriage). I don't know anyone else that uses is and you know what goats are like if you give them something different.


Sorry to bring down your lovely positive post. I'm delighted for you and all the others who have managed to gather in your hay in this glorious weather. 

[faith0504]

Well done, theres no better feeling than seeing your hay all safe and sound, oh and the smell, nothing beats it 

[goosepimple]

That was a perfect story Fleece.  I was with you on every word and had lovely pictures in my head reading it.  Ahh that did me good.  Thanks.

[Fleecewife]

Here are a couple of pics of our hay coming in.  The tractor is a David Brown 995, the baler a New Holland 276. The Landrover is a 1952 80" which we brought back from NZ, and the trailer is our sheep trailer doubling up for other duties, complete with Mr F and friend in their wurzel hats, plus Lucy and Rip (can't see Rip but they both spent all day in the back of Kiwi the Landy)

[goosepimple]

Satisfied workforce and a lovely day all round, you can't beat that 

[Brucklay]

My Mandy the Landy is a youngster then series 3 (74) should be another 20 years in her - yippie. Fantastic pics Fleece wife. We don't do our own hay but bartered a few sheep for a load and helped my neighbour and got another load so we're all stacked up too - it's a god feeling like the coal bunker/log store being full. 

[Fleecewife]

......and our nice neighbour gets very excited when his silage pit is finally full and covered 

[Bramblecot]

Lovely photos .  Your baler looks about the same vintage as the one we use.  It is a lovely feeling seeing it all stacked safely in the barn.  Always want to squeeze in a few more bales  - just in case...

[Sudanpan]

We did our hay last week as well 
Our neighbour's grandson cut it on Sunday, then we spread it several times, intending to bale on Tuesday..... but there was one raincloud in the whole of Cornwall on Tues morning and it was right over our field 
We spread again a couple of times then 'drammed 'up (cornish for rowing up!) on Weds, and baled in the afternoon. We collected all the bales off the field and stacked them in the leanto area of our barn, all done by 8.30pm. We got 300 bales from 2.5 acres 
I then managed to get a single outlet for all the bales    - we are keeping about 20 for our chickens, pigs and maybe sheep if we get 6 or so for the winter    How many bales would I need for 6 sheep BTW?

[Lesley Silvester]

Lovely pictures, FW and well done on making hay while the sun shone.