# how to store hay w/o barn



## homesteadinmama (Jul 14, 2011)

I do not have a barn but plan on storing 50 bales of hay for the winter, how do I keep it from going bad? I live in NH. I have some room in my garage next to my car would that work or should I keep it out of the house and use tarps/ pallets outide? Also will mice get into it and ruin it? Thanks for any advice


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## carolinagirl (Jul 14, 2011)

I think storing it in the garage is probably going to be better than tarping it.  Hay has a little moisture in it and if it is sealed up too well under a tarp, it may mold.  I guess storing it in the garage could be a fire hazard though?  Gosh I wish I had an answer....my barn may not be done by winter and I'll need to store some hay too.


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## 20kidsonhill (Jul 14, 2011)

We store ours under an over hang, the entire front of the stack can get rained on at the open end of the over-hang, we use the hay up from the back to the front of the stack, so there is always a wall of hay keeping the rain from coming in onto the other hay. It is better to have air space/breathing space for hay. We don't ever have a problem with mold on it. We stack it on pallets to give it plenty of air space underneath. 

you can also get a big bag of salt from the feed store/co-op. and sprinkle it onto the hay as you stack it. Not the driveway salt. Feed-grade salt.


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## elevan (Jul 14, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> We store ours under an over hang, the entire front of the stack can get rained on at the open end of the over-hang, we use the hay up from the back to the front of the stack, so there is always a wall of hay keeping the rain from coming in onto the other hay. It is better to have air space/breathing space for hay. We don't ever have a problem with mold on it. We stack it on pallets to give it plenty of air space underneath.
> 
> *you can also get a big bag of salt from the feed store/co-op. and sprinkle it onto the hay as you stack it. Not the driveway salt. Feed-grade salt.*


Our hay supplier "salts" our hay to prevent mold     Never had a moldy bale from one of his batches...when we get in a pinch and he's not available we've not be so lucky though.


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## homesteadinmama (Jul 14, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> We store ours under an over hang, the entire front of the stack can get rained on at the open end of the over-hang, we use the hay up from the back to the front of the stack, so there is always a wall of hay keeping the rain from coming in onto the other hay. It is better to have air space/breathing space for hay. We don't ever have a problem with mold on it. We stack it on pallets to give it plenty of air space underneath.
> 
> you can also get a big bag of salt from the feed store/co-op. and sprinkle it onto the hay as you stack it. Not the driveway salt. Feed-grade salt.


Does the salt keep the moisture out the hay? Also I have a large deck, could I use pallets and stack the hay under and  use a tarp to keep the ice melt/rain off of it but still get air flow on the ends/edges?


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## 20kidsonhill (Jul 14, 2011)

homesteadinmama said:
			
		

> 20kidsonhill said:
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salt helps with moisture and molding of the hay, especially if the hay already has a little moisure in it and wasn't dried quit enough on the field before stacking.   

All I can tell you, is in the winter, we can have several inches of snow on our hay stack, because it will blow up under the over hang, but the hay never gets moldy, and the side that is on the outside edge, will get a little browner/older looking than the rest of the hay, but never gets moldy.  I am positive if you wrap it up tight with a tarp and set it on concrete or on the ground your going to have a ton of mold. 

the ground under our hay stack stays pretty dry, since it is an extension of our barn, so I would say, if you have it sitting on a deck that is getting rained on, and the rain water is soaking the boards under the hay, the bottom of the hay will probably mold. You would need to get the hay up off the deck with pallets or fence posts, ect.....


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## homesteadinmama (Jul 14, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> homesteadinmama said:
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Sorry for the confusion, but I ment storing the hay under the deck and just placing a tarp over the top of the hay to keep any water drips from seeping through the deck on to the hay. I have pallets that could keep the hay off the dirt floor.


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## Hillsvale (Jul 14, 2011)

we keep hay in the loft in our exterior garage but when I built our little barn there is storage there for about 10 bails and we are in process of building a shelter just outside the pasture which we plan on holding 60-90 bails... solid raised floor and slatted walls so the air flows without water coming in. Our hay guy will deliver anytime so if we can't manage loads of space it doesn't really matter... he loves us, we order lots!


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## Beekissed (Jul 14, 2011)

A quick and easily built, not to mention fairly cheap, shelter can be constructed from cattle panels, T posts, zip ties and tarps.  A cargo net makes it all look neat but is not really necessary if you secure your tarps well and use quality tarps.  

I built a small such shelter in under an hour for my sheep to lounge under this past winter and it never even_ moved _in all the severe winds we had this winter.  It was even easier to take down than it was to construct! 

I built this one nice and low so I could reach all the surfaces to apply zip ties but one could make this quite tall and still have the stability.  Just add a few more cattle panels to make a longer structure and it would hold 50 bales quite easily.  












This small shelter is constructed of only four cattle panels.  One could add another hooped panel for the top to extend the length of the tunnel, make the arch of the roof higher and easily fit a lot of hay in this structure. 

I simply LOVE cattle panels and zip ties!


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Jul 14, 2011)

We keep our hay on pallets loosely covered by tarps. We haven't had any issues with mold yet. We will be building a barn but until then this is what we do.


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## Our7Wonders (Jul 15, 2011)

Beekissed said:
			
		

> A quick and easily built, not to mention fairly cheap, shelter can be constructed from cattle panels, T posts, zip ties and tarps.  A cargo net makes it all look neat but is not really necessary if you secure your tarps well and use quality tarps.


Beekissed, how do you connect the cattle panels together?  Is that where the zip ties come in?  I need to build a temporary area for my babies that aren't old enough to go in the main pen and I've been pondering how to build a shelter that will give them shade and keep them dry if we should get an occasional rain (we don't get much rain in the summer months at all, but occasionally).  This may fit the bill nicely.

Sorry to hijack, but maybe someone else will want to know for hay storage purposes.

thanks!


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## Beekissed (Jul 15, 2011)

You got it!  The zip ties are strong and cheap.  That whole structure was held together by only zipties and the horrible winds, heavy snows, etc. we received did nothing to compromise the strength of this shelter.  

We first placed the side fencing and zip tied them to the T Posts.  Then we arched the roof panels over, securing them at the bottom first on one side, then the other.  Then we just worked out way up, securing them to the side fencing.  When we had both placed, we zip tied the arches together.  Then we zip tied the tarps.  The ropes you see on the inside were to keep the tarps from flapping in the wind...I had read somewhere that sheep hate things that flap in the wind and it makes them scared.  

The cargo net was the best addition, I think.  It kept the tarps from catching the wind or flapping too much.


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## Goatmasta (Jul 15, 2011)

I like it!  Good idea!


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Jul 16, 2011)

I think I should also clarify that we live in an area that has really low humidity levels, so that may be why my hay has never molded while just loosely covered with a tarp.


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## Our7Wonders (Jul 16, 2011)

AlaskanShepherdess said:
			
		

> I think I should also clarify that we live in an area that has really low humidity levels, so that may be why my hay has never molded while just loosely covered with a tarp.


That's how we stored our hay this last year as well.  We didn't have any problems.  We, too, are very low humidity.


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