On the homestead, hay plays a very important part in animal health, garden maintenance, and winter survival.
Growing, harvesting, and storing hay can be a lot of work, especially on the most self sufficient homesteads.
Before you begin growing and harvesting your own hay, you must learn how to store hay properly to ensure that it is of the highest quality for your animals, while also ensuring that it will last until the following growing season.
How to Store Hay Properly
Having a safe, dry place to store hay is important.
If the hay is left out in the elements, it may begin to mold and decompose.
Hay will quickly compost when exposed to water, inviting a wide variety of fungi (mold) to break it down quickly.
This can and will destroy every hay bale you have.
Green hay bales are also unsuitable for storage within buildings, due to safety hazards.
Hay should be kept in a clean, dry, protected environment to keep your animals healthy and well fed throughout the winter.
Don’t allow the following problems to compromise your animals’ stored feed, especially if you are attempting to make it through winter on hay that was baled on your very own homestead.
You may jeopardize your entire self sufficient winter journey if the hay ruins.
Never Store Wet “Green” Hay In a Barn
Wet or “green” hay is baled hay that has not completely dried before baling.
When the baler operator or farmer is far too eager to get the hay baled, whether it’s due to time or weather constraints, green hay is a potential outcome.
When baled green, the hay may begin to decompose, much like grass clippings do in a compost pile.
As the hay decomposes, it begins to warm up; this is where the danger comes in.
Spontaneous combustion is a potential outcome of storing green hay; bales can heat up enough to catch fire.
This is why green hay should never be stored in a barn.
The hay could destroy the barn and all machinery, tools, animals, and people that might be inside.
If you think that you may have purchased green hay, store it in a temporary, dry location; away from your home and farm buildings.
Keeping Hay Dry and Mold Free
If hay comes in contact with water, it is very likely that you will end up with some molded hay.
Molded hay is not safe to feed to many animals, including horses and rabbits.
The mold will make livestock sick, and in some cases the illness could be lethal.
This is why hay is typically stored in barns, away from any source of moisture.
There are other options for storing hay, including cheap pallet hay storage; you just need a raised floor and a waterproof roof, such as a heavy duty tarp.
Storing Hay Away from Mice, Rats, and Other Pests
Mice and rats will get into hay to forage for food, keep warm, and build nests for their young.
If hay becomes infested with mice and rats, it could be rendered useless as animal feed.
Rodents can spread disease to the animals on the farm, so their numbers must be kept in check.
Barn cats are perfect for keeping rodent populations under control, without the use of chemicals that might pose a secondary risk.
Perform a barn inspection monthly to check for new nests, high traffic paths used by rodents, and new entry points.
Destroy nests, fill in holes or tunnels, and place the barn cat’s food and water bowl near the rodent paths.
He or she will catch on very quickly!
Ventilating Barns, Sheds, and Hay Lofts
Stagnant air invites moisture, dust, and mold; air circulation is very important for proper hay storage.
As air moves through the barn or shed, it removes any moisture that might be lingering due to animal activity, high humidity, or recent rain.
It also helps to distribute dust, which can be quite the battle in any barn.
Stagnant air may affect the quality of the hay drastically, which can trigger picky eaters to turn their noses up at the hay.