Made a mistake stacking my hay

[mydaddysjag]

This is the first year for me keeping my horses at home in over 10 years, and years ago when we had horses at home, we only bought 10 bales at a time.

Well, I didnt want to run out of good hay, so im putting up 100 bales for my two horses for the year. I bought half timothy, and half alfalfa. My hay guy had a field that was supposed to be a mix, but said it came up mostly timothy. Finding good hay around here is hard, a lot of people just bale whatever grass and weeds grow. The hay man I got my hay from seeds and fertilizes his fields, and cuts before the hay gets too mature. Since his hay is the nicest within about 2 hours of me, it also sells out fast. I actually missed out on his previous cutting of alfalfa (second cut) because it sold out in 2 days. This time, I was on the ball, and we got our hay right away. The alfalfa had been baled for 4 days before I picked it up, and the timothy only 2 days. Obviously, its not "cured" yet.

I have my hay in a house trailer that is used for storage. Its completely dry inside, no rodents or anything. I put tarps down, then pallets, then stacked my hay, stacking each layer the opposite direction. I just realized though, I stacked it wrong. I have the "twine side" facing up, instead of the cut side. Im worried that my hay is going to mold now.

Ugh, I dont look forward to restacking 100 bales of hay. I know thats nothing for you guys, but im allergic to hay, a self admitted "weakling", and its so hard to find a babysitter so I can stack hay.

So, if there are any newbies out there, dont make my mistake, make sure you stack your hay right so you dont have to do twice the work!

Anyone have any hay storage tips?

 

[AnnaC]

Hey! Dont panic!! You have done nothing wrong! When stacking hay, the bottom layer is usually put down on its cut side because mostly hay is stacked straight on to a barn floor. From then on the hay IS stacked string side up, flat to the layer below and above.

The only 'problem' you might have is the tarp on the floor - tarps can cause sweating, but as long as you dont put one over the top of your stack you should be fine. We always presumed that we would lose the bottom layer of bales in our barns because hay is notorious for 'sucking up' moisture, but to put a tarp over the top of a stack is really a no no beause as the hay 'makes' the warmth generated needs to escape via the top of the stack. Always allow at least a foot of air space at the top of the stack preferably with the ability of circulating fresh air. If your trailer is one that shuts completely, then I would open the door/s daily to let the air in and the growing warmth out, until the hay has completely dried or it is going to sweat and you may well lose quite a bit of it. Good circulation is always the answer to successful hay stacking!

 

[LittleRibbie]

And a strong back or helpful husband....or a cute stable boy!!

 

[Eagle]

Cute stable boy

I am going to put that on my Xmas list.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Hay has...sides?

Urban horse owner here- I go to the feed store and buy it from a nice man who bought it from another nice man who trucked it over the mountains from a third nice man who presumably baled it. I'm not sure I could get further from the production side of hay unless I bought it cubed and vacuum-sealed!

I would have no freakin' idea how to stack hay. Glad someone here does! I learned something new tonight.

Leia

 

[weerunner]

If you have some old boards to lay down with afew inches between them as the 'floor' of your hay area, that would greatly reduce any hay loss due to mold. I made the mistake of putting my hay down on the floor of my barn once and lost almost all of the bottom level. In my loft it doesn't matter as it is all up in the air and there is lots of air circulation via vents and gaps in the loft floor. I love my loft but I guess the insurance companies here in NS wont insure new barns being built with lofts as they are a greater fire hazard!!! sheesh, people have had hay lofts forever, give me a break.

 

[Minimor]

Having the bales flat, twines down, won't cause your bales to mold. We stack the bottom layer on edge for a couple of reasons--if they are right on the ground then when the very bottom does get moldy, the twines won't 1)rot & break - bigger problem in the old days when twine was the old hemp type & would rot easily 2) in winter they won't freeze down & have to be cut before the bale can be pulled out.

If stacking on the ground it is easier to pull off the moldy edge if the bales are on edge--a little harder to do if the bales are flat on their twine side. Since you're stacking this hay in a trailer that is dry I wouldn't expect any mold problem even if you didn't use pallets. I stack mine in my hay shed without pallets & the bales don't mold on the bottom unless they are close to the edge of the shed (open sides) and rain cause the ground to be wet on the outer edges of the shed.

I am not of the belief that hay needs time to "cure" once it has been baled. If it is dry enough to bale then it is cured & can be baled & stacked (and fed) immediately.

 

[LindaL]

I've always stacked my hay exactly as you have and never had a problem with it going bad (this is when I lived in Oregon), so I don't think you should have to re-stack it.

 

[little lady]

I wouldn't worry yourself about re-stacking, should be fine. Only thing, as stated above, is the tarp may cause sweating and the possiblity for mold. When you get to a bottom bale check it over good before feeding. I think 100 bales should be more than enough for two minis. Last year we put up 150 bales for 1 Paint mare and 3 minis and I had over 40 bales left and fat horses!

 

[mydaddysjag]

Leia, you cant buy anything in the feed store here except pellets, cubes, and chopped hay around here. My neighbor is a hay farmer (but he bales field grass, not what I want to feed, so I go elsewhere). The hay I just bought I bought straight out of the wagon within days of it being baled. The man said he leaves it on the hay wagon for a few days because as long as the weather is nice, he can pull the wagons out of the barn for the day which helps with the air circulation.

Someone please send me a cute stable boy! My husband is on his 11th day of a 12 hour shift, and isnt off for another 4 days. He works in a steel mill and has mandatory overtime. I dont think theres any way I can convince him he has to help with the hay. I did tell him Im gonna have bigger muscles than him by the time im done.

The hay isnt right down on the tarp, I have the tarp on the floor, then the pallets, then the hay is on top of the pallets. Next year when the hay is all used, I'll pull up the pallets, then roll the tarp up, take it outside, and shake all the old hay off of it. The trailer still has carpeting, so I figured it would make it easier to clean next year, and if there was moisture in the hay, I figured the carpet would soak it up like a sponge, then hold moisture under the hay.

Im still on cloud nine that I got third cut timothy and alfalfa for $3 a bale for 60+lb bales (my timothy really is about 60lbs, but my alfalfa is about 75lbs)

 

[SampleMM]

No matter which way you stacked your hay there is always a chance that your bottom row will get moldy. Some years, I get lucky and will have no mold on that bottom layer and some years I do and it's always stacked on it's side. I really wouldn't worry about it.

 

[chandab]

I wouldn't worry about restacking the hay. Most of my stacks are string side down, there are no problems stacking this way when under cover on pallets.

 

[a mini dream come true]

OMG! $3 a bale!

What a wonderful price. We're paying nearly $20 around here when we can find it. I'm currently trying to find enough to get us through the winter and running into dead ends. I don't need a semi load and that is basically how they want to sell.

Trying to talk hubby into taking the trailer and going to pick some up in another state.

That hasn't been too successfull so far either.

Thanks for all the informative posts about stacking hay. This is something that is new to me also.

 

[Sandee]

You shouldn't have any trouble no matter which way the bales lay if you have them off the ground or floor on pallets. The whole idea is to let air circulate under and around them. I am assuming the trailer isn't heated as hay does generate a certain amount of heat when stacked tight. That's one of the reasons for using pallets.

Only time I had trouble with molding was when I didn't cover the top layer of hay as my barn's aluminum roof sweats and drips on the hay. When I complained about the bottom ones molding the farmer told me that moisture goes right down thru all the layers and will cause the most mold on the bottom where the heat is held in.

 

[Genie]

We stack in the top of our old bank barn and always stack with twine showing.

I actually hadn't heard of stacking it on the sides before???

We never have moldy hay unless the hay has hat wet spots in it when baled.

We use the timothy alfalfa mix and only buy first cut, but every part of the world is likely different. Second cut around here is too rich and we have had problems using second cut.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Supposedly stacking it on its sides lets any moisture or possible heat escape easier, to help prevent mold or combustion. I was also told that if you stack "flat side down" on pallets that mice will try to pull the hay from underneath through the pallets to make nests, and will often "snip" your hay twice while doing so, leaving a mess when you need to use/move those bales.

I dont go through hay fast with only two horses, so want to make sure I do everything I can to keep my hay as fresh as possible. I know Im overbuying hay, but I feed it year round, less during show season as I supplement regular hay with chopped hay and beetpulp. Im curious to see next summer how much I over bought.

Our second cut around here is rich, but our first cut is usually really coarse. I did grab a few bales of last years second cut to feed until Ive had this hay put up for a while, since last years second cut wont be as rich since its been put up for a year.

I wish some of you could get some hay from back here. If you want just regular grass hay, there's no shortage. I can find first cut grass hay all season for $2.50-$2.75 a 2 string 60lb bale, second cut grass will run you about $3. Normally our first cut alfalfa is $3.50, and second cut runs $4.50-$5. They're 2 string bales too, but HEAVY. I know of someone selling 100 round bales for $10 each, just because they need the room for second cut rounds. Normally a round will run about $35-$45 here.

I actually just gave away 40 bales of this years first cut grass yesterday to someone with big horses. I bought it for $2.75 a bale last week, but my snobby horses wouldn't eat it because it was first cut. It wasnt super coarse, and I figured I would feed it as filler hay on the super cold days. I was trying to resale it, but I needed the storage room for the hay Im picking up today.

 

[bevann]

Just be sure to get plenty of air to your hay on dry days.Open the trailer for ventilation, but not on humid days.You should be ok since you have pallets below the hay.Take the tarp off the top for more air circulation.When in doubt about hay we have bought large bags of salt and generously sprinkled salt on hay bales.doesn't hurt the horses and helps in the curing process.

 

[RhineStone]

We actually leave the hay chaff on the floor of the hay loft. It is a mistake to clean it up from year to year, as the chaff actually helps keep the hay from sweating on the floor and ruining the hay and the boards. So you can plan on just leaving that mess there!

The pallets are excellent, though.

 

[mydaddysjag]

I dont have any tarps over the hay, just underneath the pallets. I figured since it was inside a dry building that It would breath better without the tarps over it. Should I put a tarp over it too, or should it be ok as is? I was thinking about putting cotton sheets over it to prevent dust, but is that necessary?

 

[Ashley]

You are being way over paranoid. There is no right or wrong way to stack hay. I have been doing so for 17 years. The only time we stacked on end was when it was directly on the ground. In the last few years I have stacked on pallets and never stacked it on end first. Never had any mold either.

Do not tarp the top, it’s in a trailer, and it’s not going to get dusty either. As for last year’s second crop, if it was done right and put up right where its dry the quality (richness) isn’t going to be that different now than it was then.

If you’re that worried about mold get a calf. They will eat anything.

That said horses will also pick through and anything to moldy they won’t touch.