The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Pasture Farm on March 19, 2013, 09:05:19 am
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Following on from Rosemary's post regarding Sheep housing I to am considering it for next year but my problem then woul;d be how to store my Fourfoot round Hay bales because they would have to go outside as i wouldnt have enough barn space. Im wondering how it would be best to store them I would have around thirty/forty im guessing. I do have a huge Tarpauline (good thick quality) any ideas??
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I have the same dilema. I harvested 40 large bale off two fields last year and took them as silage, as it was very wet. Wrapped and fenced off it worked well enough, but I'd prefer hay if I can get it.
To build a shed to house that lot will cost me around £1000 doing it myself, so need to re-think it before harvest time.
I could again go silage.
I can make haylage and both of these are wrapped, but you have to have enough sheep to eat the bale before it spoils.
I had thought of wrapping the hay once it dried out, but I'd still need to sheet it against bad weather.
Or I could save my grass and buy it in as I need it.
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Do you make your own? If not perhaps your contractor would be amenable to swapping out for small bales. I would recommend storing on top of pallets if you have to keep them outside and baiting underneath in proper bait stations - small birds will go under to eat grain-based bait. If the grazing continues to be poor you may not have enough excess for anything at all! If you tarpaulin over the top try to put something (old plastic milk crates perhaps) on top to keep the tarpaulin off the bales and encourage some air flow.
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If storing outside, I would store on pallets so they are off the ground and a large tarpaulin over the top. Or do you know a contractor with a round bale wrapper? You could make turn and bale the hay as normal, and once you're sure it's 100% dry wrap it as soon as it's baled, as the hay is dry it should not ferment. You don't even need to wrap it as much as silage, just a single or double sheet should do the trick.
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not got any suggestions for large bales but for small bales I am going to buy a second hand gazebo (with side panels) and putting pallets underneath.
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not got any suggestions for large bales but for small bales I am going to buy a second hand gazebo (with side panels) and putting pallets underneath.
Thanks! You have just given me an idea for the ridiculous party gazebo I bought (cos it was cheap ::) with some hurdles)
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We were worried the place we get our hay from would run out this year so we got 100 small round bales delivered, but no shed to store it in.
We have a small area of trees and I put down pallets and stacked them in a triangle with a big tarp over and tied to the pallets at the bottom - so far so good, all have stayed dry and I don't have to worry about the goats running out of hay.
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Having had to stack a load of our small bales outside as couldn't get permission for a barn, I don't recommend tarpaulin. We put on pallets but even strapped down the wind got under and tore the tarpaulins plus water seemed to get through anyway and ales got soaked and rotted. Managed to salvage about half but lost a lot.
Big bales might be different.
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Agree with Scotsgirl if we didn't have the tree area to protect them, really breaks the wind.
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Hmmmmm me thinks im going to have to ask my farmer nieghbour for barn rental.. My fear was not so much the wind but the bales sweating and rotting... thanks all
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This may be worth a consideration - you get double sized rectangular pallets from some factories - we have some, can't remember where we got them though sorry, but with some posts from a fencing supplier and positioned in a vertical way (short side to the ground), a bit of plastic stapled to the roof or roofing felt nailed it may work, or if you are considering felling a large fir tree, the greenery can be used as a kind of thatch. Would have thought it should have some kind of cross ventilation to avoid mould.
It doesn't have to look like shanty town if you take a wee bit of time with it. :thinking:
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Just thought of another thing after I'd pressed 'post' - a TASer I know of uses the trailer bit off the back of an old lorry for housing goats, you could always take a side off for access, would work the same for storing hay I should think. You could paint it or plant willow around it.
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Have your bales wrapped silage tight by a 170+up tractor (heavy and tight) and they will be fine out in open. We are up in the highlands and our June hay is still green sweet and delicious (and great quality, we have three ponies who havnt needed hard food at all, nor have the cows and sheep) it looks black on the outside but its only 5% of the bales mass and if you have pigs you will have no waste. Sitting them on pallets is a good idea though, just don't bother with the tarp. As soon as the snow stopsill take a photo.
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Hmmmmm me thinks im going to have to ask my farmer nieghbour for barn rental.. My fear was not so much the wind but the bales sweating and rotting... thanks all
I reckon you will conclude the rental was money well spent tbh, provided it is reasonable, nothing so dispiriting as finding your forage stocks spoiled and with the price of bought in stuff....
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Your hay won't go off from the outside if you wrap them heavy and tight, if they go off from the inside because the grass wasn't hay yet it won't make a difference if they are inside or outside.