Hay storage question?

[norcal]

I am looking for something CHEAP & water proof, that will fit a bale of hay.

Was thinking of a VERY BIG rubbermaid container.

I found a big (rubbermaid type) deck bench w/ storage underneath, but it's not quite wide enough for a bale of hay.

Any ideas, I need to get the alfalfa & preferrably the straw out of my garage (& closer to the pens). But I'm broke.

 

[ksalvagno]

Are your shelters for your goats tall so you could put "lofts" above and store the hay above?

If you could find large enough plastic totes, the only I would suggest is putting something down like 2x4 to elevate the hay off of the bottom so some air can get through. Also, you should store the hay cut side up which would make it narrower.

 

[norcal]

Nope, our shelter is very short. We are thinking of fencing off one side, but that's less room for the goaties - though they aren't in there that much, once it starts raining they will be (as they don't like the rain much).

Thanks for the storage tips, I don't think the bench is big enough either way. Though I have thought of kind of loosening the bale and putting it in there that way. Not sure that would work well.

 

[ksalvagno]

Is your garage tall enough to put some above storage? I realize it won't be as handy but at least you can keep the hay dry and still be able to use your garage.

 

[Sweet Cheeks]

When I had my horses, I had bought a deck bench that was big enough to hold a large and long bale of hay. A little spendy though.

If you have scrap wood around or access to free pallets, you could make a box with lid to hold a bale of hay you could put a latch on it to keep the goaties out of it.

 

[big brown horse]

I also use a deck box to store one bale at a time. Look on craigslist or walmart. My clever horses learned to open it so I had to keep it on the other side of the fence. There is a way you can lock it and I'm sure it would keep the goats out, but my horses were too strong for it.

 

[norcal]

Thanks y'all.
I will keep an eye out for a bigger deck box/bench thingy.
I am also looking at a few of those big plastic enclosures......like the poles w/ fitted tarps over, like you put cars under, but smaller.

 

[CRAZYGOAT]

I don't like to store hay on top of my goats. hay dust gets on goat skin and chemicals+small particles develop allergies in some goats. I found a hard case ski rack free on the side of the road and keep two hay of bales close to where I feed