# Hay Issues



## Wallee

Sophie19 said:


> The property owner where I keep my horse is having hay cut tomorrow. I have read that you need to let the bales sit for a while before you store them to let them dry out. How long do they need to sit?
> 
> Also it is a very big pasture. It's probably about 40 acres. I don't own a truck, but am planning to rent one to bring in the hay. Is this to big of a job for just me and my husband to conquer by ourselves?


2 things we need to know in this situation. One is the hay going to be square baled or round? 2. Has the hay been properly dried after cutting?(as in set in a dry field after being cut for about a week?)


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## mammakatja

Wallee is right. It is more important for the hay to dry out BEFORE it is baled. And it needs to be raked and turned at least once so it dries out well underneath too. Once it is baled, it may dry out a little more around the outside, but the inside of your bales will never get a chance to dry out properly once baled if they are still green. And then you run the risk of mold or hot bales. And the dry out time depends on the weather. Last year, we cut our field here in TX in the middle of July at 100 degrees and the grass was practically dry when it hit the ground. We cut Tuesday and baled Fri. My husband is out there cutting as I'm typing this now and we're going to let it dry for about a week this time just because the nights still cool off and get kind of dewy. So just make sure your hay is dried well before baling. Once it is baled, we go out there and collect immediately. Here in TX, especially after last year's drought, theft could be an issue (with square bales more so than round bales). Oh and as far as the size of the job, it depends. We baled 10 acres last year and got 320 square bales. Hubby and I did most of it ourselves and enlisted our kids when we could. It is definitely a workout though!  Who needs a gym anyway?!!


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## PaintHorseMares

^^ Yes. Hay needs yo be properly cured before it is baled. Here, it is usually 3-4 days depending on the weather. Once it is cured, you don't have to wait before storing it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Wallee

A green bale is a fire waiting to happen! I have picked up some before and soon as I pull my tractor spike out the bale and a little smoking hay comes out with it. I sure am not putting it in my barn ha ha. Be careful to let the hay completely cure and dry before rolling!


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## Sophie19

They will be square bales. The property owner hired someone to bale them, so hopefully he will let it dry properly before baling. If he doesn't is it usable? I really only need about 200 bales for my horse. Maybe I could get someone to come help me haul it and pay them in hay.


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## PaintHorseMares

Check it carefully. If it's not cured enough not only can it catch fire, but it will also mold.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Wallee

Sophie19 said:


> They will be square bales. The property owner hired someone to bale them, so hopefully he will let it dry properly before baling. If he doesn't is it usable? I really only need about 200 bales for my horse. Maybe I could get someone to come help me haul it and pay them in hay.


 
I imagine whoever is bailing it will know what they are doing. And square bales arent hard to handle. I tell ya what find a few teens around and pay them a few bucks a hour and let them load while you drive and such. But if it was me I would just do it myself. you can handle square bales with a truck and trailer. I have threw bales on a trailer behind a tractor many a days.


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## BoldComic

Wallee said:


> I imagine whoever is bailing it will know what they are doing. And square bales arent hard to handle. I tell ya what find a few teens around and pay them a few bucks a hour and let them load while you drive and such. But if it was me I would just do it myself. you can handle square bales with a truck and trailer. I have threw bales on a trailer behind a tractor many a days.


I agree. If the guy knows how to run a bailer then he'll most likely know what he's doing. 

Hubby and I haul 300+ bales from field to barn every year. We usually get 2 others (teens, friends, family) to help us. One person drives the truck through the field, 2 throw bales on the trailer, one stacks. When we get to the barn everyone unloads. It actually goes pretty quick, you'll be surprised.


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## cowboy bowhunter

Ok hope this helps.
When you cut hay you want to let it dry down to 14-20%. To get them they have to let them sit in field and maybe even roll the hay before baling. Once the bales are made you can pick them up and put them in the barn. With a haybine and hot weather it may only take 2 days but could take a week to dry.

For picking it up off the field it would be best to have 3 people. 1 to drive the truck, 1 to throw the bales on the trailer and 1 to stack. Not saying that is what you have to have but with 40 acres your going to be working hard and want to have as many as possible to help and get down with it. And you will realize why SQ bales are called idiot blocks. haha.


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## cakemom

My kids and I can pick up 50 bales from behind the baler in about 30 minutes, that's stacking on te trailer and all. I'm a very petite woman and the kids are preteen...so as long as your back is strong an spirit willing it's easy. 
We pick up from behind the baler from a friend, he cuts, fluffs a few times in the following week then bales. I stack them in the barn which is huge and move them around during the coming months a few times to make sure there aren't nice infestations going on. Never have mold or heat.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## mls

Wallee said:


> 2 things we need to know in this situation. One is the hay going to be square baled or round? 2. Has the hay been properly dried after cutting?(as in set in a dry field after being cut for about a week?)


I do no understand why it is important to note square or round bales? Drying time is drying time. Strong sun and a good breeze on a wide winrow will dry the hay quickly. Thick cut grass on a low ground will dry more slowly. If chemicals are applied, the hay can be baled fairly quickly after cutting. Many factors to consider.

But bottom line - the baled hay should not have to sit prior to storage. After it's baled - it's not going to dry anymore.


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## mammakatja

We just finished baling our 10 acre field. We cut last Sunday, raked Memorial weekend Saturday and baled Monday. (Could have done it in less time but hubby works nights on back end of the week) We ended up with 301 bales!!! Woohoo! I'm in TX and lost all my hay in a barn fire last fall so stacking these bales was MORE than fun this time around. I had my 15 year old son and his 16 year old buddy. We brought in and stacked all 301 bales on Memorial Day Monday. Still had day light to spare for hamburgers. God is good!!!!!!


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## gigem88

I love my hay guy! He can load ten bales at a time on my flatbed and I'm on the road home within minutes! I do have to unload, but I'd rather do that than load.


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## Corporal

From someone who has been window-shopping balers, I can tell you that you have to have machinery to get in this much hay. You need at LEAST a 5 day window to properly cure the hay by turning often,drying in the sun, and grabbing the grass into flakes, then bales. Most balers that pull behind a tractor will tie up and stack 15 bales at a time.
Here is some perspective for you to consider.
Last year I bought a field+ of 165 bales. I put 30 bales on my truck one evening, then picked up and emptied into my loft 135 bales the next day. I did this ALONE. *I don't know how I did it,* but it was too much for me to do again soon. I COULD do that much again *with help.* This hay was on about 4 acres--could have been 3--and was 5 miles from my house. The cost was right, but this accounted for MY labor instead of the sellers.
I have been stacking my own hay for 12 years now, so this isn't the first time. Can you hire someone to do this? I would.


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## Wallee

mls said:


> I do no understand why it is important to note square or round bales? Drying time is drying time. Strong sun and a good breeze on a wide winrow will dry the hay quickly. Thick cut grass on a low ground will dry more slowly. If chemicals are applied, the hay can be baled fairly quickly after cutting. Many factors to consider.
> 
> But bottom line - the baled hay should not have to sit prior to storage. After it's baled - it's not going to dry anymore.


 
Reason I asked how it would be bailed(round or square) is because I wanted to know if they planed on having equipment to pick up the bales if they were doing round where as if they were doing square they could just pick up by hand. I wasnt refering to dry time with that.


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## Cacowgirl

Glad to hear so many of you are getting in your hay-sounds like it is a good year?


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## mammakatja

Thought y'all might get a kick out of one of our "pieces of equipment". :lol: I didn't get a pic of hubby cutting, but this is me raking. I have 6 kiddos so this is my mama-mobile. It's a diesel and hubby converted it into a 4 wheel drive so it also serves as our farm truck when the pto on the tractor is not needed. Hey you know, the younger kids were in there watching a movie, I had shade and a/c...what more could a housewife/mother/farm girl want?








And this is hubby baling. It's an old square baler that we nursed back to health, but you know for something that's probably over 30 years old, it sure does the job. Just keep the grease coming and be sure everything is overhauled before each cut.


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## mammakatja

By the way Sophie19, how did it go?


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## eclipseranch

Sophie19 said:


> The property owner where I keep my horse is having hay cut tomorrow. I have read that you need to let the bales sit for a while before you store them to let them dry out. How long do they need to sit?
> 
> Also it is a very big pasture. It's probably about 40 acres. I don't own a truck, but am planning to rent one to bring in the hay. Is this to big of a job for just me and my husband to conquer by ourselves?


 If I'm reading your ?? correctly there seems to be a bit of confusion. hay cut, raked, & baled properly is usually "dry." However, to cure totally properly it should not be fed immediately..letting it sit 4-6 weeks allows a curing process to happen. However, where I live it is extremely difficult to do that since hay stores are pretty much used up quickly..and hay that sits too long.(last year's hay) will lose nutritional value. As far as loading from the field...usually people sell much cheaper because they don't have to load, haul, and store. But, it is a lot of work. 60 -70 lb bale chucking is exhausting & it is much easier if the driver can stay in the vehicle since you are constantly moving...I would recommend more help for the 2 of you!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

We just got in 500 bales from the field. It was cut, raked and baled for us and the area where 'our' 500 bales was laying was marked. The field owner sold 3000 bales and we all came and picked up the bales. We tried to get some kids to come help, but they all chickened out at the last minute so it was just hubby & me. It was a back breaker and when you consider we picked it up from the field, stacked it on the trailer and then unloaded it and stacked it at home, we handled about 1200 bales of hay in 2 days. ARRRRRGH!!!! Not something either one of us cares to do again, but looks like we will be in August this time. We also go through about 20 large round bales/year but we pick that up on a bale spike so it's not so labor intensive.


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## HanginH

Love hearing the hay hauling stories! I have been putting up a bunch of square hay to sell up here the last 6 years and the past 2 years we have put up 8000 bales. They are lots of work but great to feed to the ponies and a guy can make a bit extra on the ones that you sell.

Like others have said lots of factors play into drying time, curing hay in the swath. Depends on how wide a haybine was used tempeature, wind etc. One rule of thumb that we use to test our hat is to just grab a handful and give it a twist between your hands. If it twists apart in 3 turns its probably good enough to start baling then test a few with the moisture tester to make sure the moisture is below 18%. Also I know that lots of people turn their hay but I don't unless I absolutely have to because I find that it can knock off some leaf from the hay and if the weather looks promising with a good breaze then we will just wait a bit longer for the entire swath to cure.

Good luck with the hay and if it is a good stand of hay your probably going to get well over your 200 bales you need. We did 40 acres at a neighbors place and we got 2500 60 lbs bales. It was a massive swath and probably the best hay crop we have had in years but you never know!!


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## mls

eclipseranch said:


> However, to cure totally properly it should not be fed immediately..letting it sit 4-6 weeks allows a curing process to happen.


You are not serious?

We've fed straight off the field.


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## eclipseranch

mls said:


> You are not serious?
> 
> We've fed straight off the field.


well to be more respectful..yes I am serious..with all do respect to me I did post that it doesn't happen around here either...but nutritional content does change and then deteriorate over a period of time rendering year old hay to have way less nutritional value. Have a great day!


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## eclipseranch

oops double post.. going out to feed have a blessed day horse forum =))


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