A stupid question that needs a stupid answer

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kogia

kogia

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
112
Location
Texas
I need to get some more hay soon and i've been using the (expensive) oxbow hay. I did some price checking (I live in a very horse-y area). Timothy + Orchard grass hay bales are $2.50! :banana:

(Why the heck was I paying $10 at petsmart for 40OZ?! :banghead:)


Now, the thing is, what bahjeezus do I do with 50LBS of hay? I think that may be a year supply (or more) for my two boys. I live in an apartment (its the 2nd floor of a 1850's house), and my roommates would have my head if i was dragging a bale of hay up 2 flights of stairs into the apartment.


Should I just go a head, get a bale, and keep it in the back of my SUV (baaad idea)? And take what I need? Or split the hay @ the farm? :wacko:

Any creative solutions?


I have an attic I can store stuff in...but I still would have to drag the darn thing up all the flights of stairs...

Is there anyone in the Rochester area interested in splitting the bale?
 
I'm in the same boat. I live in a historical home that's separated into two apartments. While my 1 bedroom apartment is on the large side (about 1000 sq ft), I have never been able to figure out where to keep a bale of hay, other than in my shed (which I won't do since FL has high humidity).
 
You could just take what you want where you buy it and leave the rest with them. They may think you are weird, but I think they'd be happy to let you leave whatever you can use. OR, just take all 50 lbs and use it for bedding and whatever else you can. Here 50 lbs would scarcely last maybe a week. You can always break it up and put it in a few cardboard boxes and use it over the next few months and just overload the chins on it! Seriously...that's about a year's worth of hay...maybe more.

Just make sure that it's hay that you can use. I hope it's been properly dried and doesn't have a lot of weeds and unusable parts to it. Sometimes with the cheaper bales a lot of the hay will end up being wasted. That's why what I buy is expensive...it's good hay that I don't have to pick through too much to pick out any bad parts.
 
Thing is, I work at a stable.. The woman I work for is a little off the deep end, and I really would rather not bother her about hay.

Theres an alfalfa processing mill near by too... when they process it, it makes the whole town smell like weed... (TMI...but true..)


Just make sure that it's hay that you can use. I hope it's been properly dried and doesn't have a lot of weeds and unusable parts to it. Sometimes with the cheaper bales a lot of the hay will end up being wasted. That's why what I buy is expensive...it's good hay that I don't have to pick through too much to pick out any bad parts.
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What constitutes "bad" weeds? Is there anything in particular that has to be avoided?

I know what good bale of hay looks like for horses, wouldn't it be similar for chins?
 
Now, the thing is, what bahjeezus do I do with 50LBS of hay?
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You box it up, along with another 50 pound bale of hay, and you sell it to ME! I miss being back east, where hay actually doesn't cost more than what it costs to raise a child.

There is no way NOT to have weeds, bugs, and other things in hay. You cannot keep a hay field pristine unless you spray the crap out of it, in which case you would harm your chins anyway. Generally speaking, I would think if it's going to hurt your chin, it's not going to be healthy for your horse. I would check the center of the bale, make sure it was dried properly, no dust or mold to it. Make sure it smells fresh and mold free. Check the bale to make sure it's not all but stems. My chins generally like the tufty part at the top of the hay the best, then the leafy part, and then they might munch on the stems, but not happily like the other parts. Check it for feces (rat, mouse), bird feathers, bird poop, etc.
 
I get a bale and only have one chin. Idgie can't even eat half of it in a year. Fortunately I have a house and a basement where I store it.

You can store it in a big rubbermaid garbage can on wheels. The thing is that you need to drill tons of big holes in it so that the hay can breathe. (You can use a 1" drill bit or a door hole bit. Maybe someone you know has a drill, if you don't.) Or they make some pretty good sized laundry baskets/hampers that already have holes in them.

Go to the farm and fill your can/hamper up with as much as you can carry and store in your apartment. At that price, whatever amount you get is going to be way cheaper than a bag at the pet store.

Good luck.
 
When I lived in an area where I could find timothy bales, I bought a whole 50 lb bale for my 5 girls. And I lived in an apartment at that time too on the second story of a early 1900 complex.

I was lucky though that I had a 2 bedroom and the second bedroom was my chin room, so I just stored the whole bale in there with them. It made the room smell like hay, but I didn't have any roommates so it didn't matter.

If I were you, I'd buy one, then check if there's any rabbit or other small animal rescues or shelters in the area that would want the rest.
 
Thanks! I think what I'll end up doing is asking the woman I work for at the barn to find out who has the best hay, and maybe she'll let me take a half-bale off of her.. :angel:

OR just give her the half bale, if I go somewhere else.


Tunes, I would totally ship you hay..
 
Maybe you could take a picture of the quality and then sell it on here for inexpensive and make your 2.50 back! haha
 
Maybe you could take a picture of the quality and then sell it on here for inexpensive and make your 2.50 back! haha
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I may just do that... perhaps just charge the shipping cost..
 
I have a question... doesn't keeping hay for that long render it dusty and gross?
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Not if it's stored well. I just finished feeding the last of the hay to my horses from two summers ago and now they are digging into last summer's hay. It was stored in a barn, with good air flow, and no exposure to the weather and other than the outside (which we peeled off, as we use 1200 pound round bales), the inside was just as nice as the stuff from last season.
 
tunes said:
Not if it's stored well. I just finished feeding the last of the hay to my horses from two summers ago and now they are digging into last summer's hay. It was stored in a barn, with good air flow, and no exposure to the weather and other than the outside (which we peeled off, as we use 1200 pound round bales), the inside was just as nice as the stuff from last season.
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Oh, okay. Thanks. ;)
 
Since you said you had an attic, you could always buy some BIG storage tubs and separate the bale into those, just make sure they are as air tight as you can get :) dunno if that would work but it is an option...
 
Hay should not be stored in airtight containers. Ask any horse person or just read above what tunes said. Hay does not "expire".
 
No airtight containers for hay. If you have to put it in a bin, make sure there are large holes poked all through the sides and lid so there is air flow. If you stick hay in an air tight container, and there is even a touch of moisture, it's going to sweat and it's going to mold. Get a hay bag. It has vent holes all through it to allow air flow to reach the hay.

What I meant by storing properly is in a clean, dry, well ventilated area. Out of the weather, out of the sun, etc. The sun dries it out and burns it. Rain, obviously, will cause the hay to mold and rot.
 
I suspect you can get hay sacks like we have here? They are made of strong, breathable material & they take an entire hay bale (the rectangular ones, not the huge round ones :wacko: ). They save on mess & make handling the bales much easier. I just leave the top open as well when it is in storage.

Like this
964La.jpg

(http://www.barnstormers.co.uk/acatalog/Barnstormers_Feeding_and_Watering_40.html)


I have to lug my hay up a flight of stairs & then up a set of wooden loft (attic) ladders as well - it can be done & if the hay is good it's worth it. Much better than trying to get a 50Lb box of Oxbow up the stairs & ladder!
 
Yah this bale of hay I got this time is way better than the last bale I got - tons of weeds. You will know what they look like vs what you are used to seeing with the oxbow. I keep mine in my garage.
 
A couple years back, I bought 4 bales and put them in black plastic garbage bags before putting them in my Blazer, hoping to avoid a mess! [It really helped]
Put some holes in them, in a covered porch, and they lasted a couple of years - also easier to carry!
 
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