Hay storage?

[mydaddysjag]

Like a lot of other people, I dont have a seperate hay barn, and have very little room to store hay. We have a 3 stall shed row barn, and I do have one spare 8x12 stall that I could store hay in, but then again, Im so worried about a barn fire. I do plan to keep at least a few bales in my tack room.

We're not in a position to build another seperate wooden barn for hay at the moment, but hubby said we could get a small metal storage shed. Ive found a few cheap, ($200 for an 8x10) but Im worried that it wouldnt be suitable to store hay.

Can they be used to safely store hay? Where I live you buy your hay straight from the farmer, not the feed store, so I would like to have some hay put back for winter. The farmer with the GOOD hay thats cheaper per bale will not store it for you. If I want someone who will store it for you, you prepay, and they charge $5 per bale, versus the $2.75-$3.50 from other farmers, and I would be driving over an hour to get it each time.

 

[happy appy]

I store my hay (rounds and squares) on pallets under special hay tarps. I keep a about 25 at the barn for daily use but that's it. You need to make sure that you buy the tarps with the silver outside and the black inside. They are expensive but worth every penny when in the spring the hay isstill as green as the fall. I have never had a problem storing hay like this in the 4 years that I have done it.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I don't see a problem in using the little metal sheds for hay. As long as the hay stays dry and you can get at it easily it should be fine. The size of the doorway could be a consideration tho since a tight door is going to make putting the bales in the shed a pain the neck. Another thought is snow load, if you get a lot of snow those small metal garden sheds will crumple under the weight so it will need too be cleared away promptly.

One thing I found about the hay tarps (they are pretty commonly found on ranches around here too) is they are hard to get the hay out from under in mid winter when there is a foot of snow on them and ice build up. That may not be a concern for you depending on the climatic conditions where you are at. I also find they are hard to pin down effectively so wind storms don't uncover my hay. That said, while I dislike them they are very popular and many seem to use them.

 

[kaykay]

Make sure you stack it up off the ground and stack the bales alternating so air flows around them. Also be sure the hay is dry/cured.

We had one time years ago a hay supplier swore the hay was cured. We stacked it and by the next morning I had smoke coming from 3 stacks of hay. Thank god I found it in time.

Wet hay plus heat equals fire.

Another fyi its not just baled fresh hay that can combust!

A few months ago I ran down to feed a friends horses. She had left the manure wagon full of manure and wet straw mixed with hay inside the barn. Even though it was morning it was horribly hot temps. When I got there the whole wagon was smoking about to flame.

Always be careful!

 

[Marty]

Please, please, please! Do not buy a metal shed for your hay. They are really bad about condensation and holding excessive heat. The condensation will actually make it "rain" on the inside of the shed and wreck your hay and that in turn will make it really combustible. The heat in them during the summer will also be horrible. Do not go there! No on the metal shed.

The best thing you can do at the moment to work with what you have is to lay pallets down in your stall. Double them as a matter of fact if you think there is ANY chance that water is going to get in there and flood it. Better be safe than sorry. THEN, stack the hay in but do not jam it in really tight against the walls so it can still breathe. I leave spaces like tunnels and the cats live in there in the winter! I can get 60 bales of hay in a 10X10 stall.

I lay some 4X4's along the top rows of mine and GENTLY drape a tarp on top along it. That will catch the dust and also give a little protection should your roof leak or if the driving wind and rains come in. OR, you could add a top door to that stall.

Getting barns ready for horses is sooooo fun and exciting! You're nesting!

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Good point on the sweating Marty. Another option if you don't want to store your hay in the barn is to build a shelter like some do for their horses, out of cattle panels and tarp that in. Altho I haven't tried it, posters on here claim they are inexpensive and simple to construct.

 

[minifreishorsefarm]

We have a metal building for our hay. But it is 20X40 and a big opening on one end and an exhaust fan on the other end for when it gets too humid or rains. We also stack our hay on 2 layers of pallets that are on top of plastic sheeting. When we put it in fresh from baling, we stack it very loosely for air to get around it then stack it up tight later on. I Dont know how much air can get in a 8X10 shed though so it might get damp in there and the condensation on the inside of the roof.

Marsha

 

[ruffian]

I never use pallets as they can "wick" water up into the bottom bales. I used old tires! I have never ever had any wet or moldy bales on the bottom, and only need one layer of tires. Plus they are easier to move around, and don't break under foot. They also allow move air movement around the bales.

I lay the tires out in a staggered pattern, which is easier because I can lay them out as I need when the first bales are stacked, and add rows whens starting new stacks. Then when you use the hay you can easily remove the tires as they are exposed. You don't need any tarps underneath the tires or on the tires, because the moisture won't wick up the tires.

Plus they are pretty easy to come by.

 

[shorthorsemom]

somebody probably already said it, but metal sheds sweat like the dickens sometimes. It will rain on your hay and make it mouldy. Storing hay can be such a challenge. I do think that well vented wooden sheds might work a bit better, but don't quote me on that.

good luck.

 

[mydaddysjag]

I was thinking they might sweat and heat up, like my old horse trailer tack room. If you slept in the gooseneck, you could see condensation on the roof. I'll use my extra stall for hay, and put some in the tack room. If I run out of room in the tack room, I could probably get a metal shed cheap and store supplies in there in rubbermaid bins.

Next year we want to build a wooden hay barn, but it just wasn't possible this year.

 

[minifreishorsefarm]

I never use pallets as they can "wick" water up into the bottom bales. I used old tires! I have never ever had any wet or moldy bales on the bottom, and only need one layer of tires. Plus they are easier to move around, and don't break under foot. They also allow move air movement around the bales.

I lay the tires out in a staggered pattern, which is easier because I can lay them out as I need when the first bales are stacked, and add rows whens starting new stacks. Then when you use the hay you can easily remove the tires as they are exposed. You don't need any tarps underneath the tires or on the tires, because the moisture won't wick up the tires.

Plus they are pretty easy to come by.

We put plastic under the pallets and it sure has helped with the bottom pallet being less damp. We also run a barn fan in the hay shed to keep the air flowing and cooler in there so there is no condensation.

Marsha

 

[Marty]

That's right marsha. Moisture can come up from the ground.

I have an old shed I use for the bulk of my hay storage. It has a wood plank floor and is up on concrete blocks. I put plywood and OSB board on the floor before I put my pallets down for that very reason.

A good load of hay to me is like spun gold. I have to protect it!

don't worry Daddysjag.....time time time and you'll get it eventually. Took me a lifetime to get everything i needed the way I wanted. And money too! You'll be ok!

 

[mydaddysjag]

I like the idea of tires! I too, have put my foot through wooden pallets/skids. Actually, Ive done it twice in a month and a half while building the barn (he have some supplies on skids under tarps. Tires are fairly easy to get free, and when Im not using them I could store them outside without worrying about them rotting like pallets would. I was thinking along with not packing the bales tight, It might be helpful to maybe put something like 2"pvc pipe or 2x2 lumber between each "layer" of hay to help the air circulate more. We stick and stack lumber to dry it out, thought it might work on hay. I'll defiantly tarp it, Im going to try the pelleted bedding and I heard that some brands are dusty. Now I just have to figure out economical dividers for my stalls. They are 12' deep, so plywood wont be big enough. I was going to use 12' pipe gates, but I would like something solid atleast part way up so my hay pile isnt a buffet for the horse stalled next to it.

 

[Marty]

PVS pipe will probably make your hay stack wobble and 2X2's aren't hardly wide enough to cause any significant breathing and its really not necessary to do that between each layer. Go for a 4X4.

Doesn't matter about the wood being 8'. You have to build a frame around the top and bottom of the stall where you want the divider using 2X4's or whatever. Then you cut your plywood to fit and nail it up. There will be a seam of course.