# Hay Storage--what size is your hay shed?



## Colby Jack Seige

I'd be happy to do calculations for you, I just need to know a few things.
1. Do you want the hay to stack up to the ceiling? 
2. What are the approx. dimensions of one of those square bales of hay?


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## evilgreen1

Excellent! I'd like at least a foot of space between the ceiling and top row of hay for air circulation purposes. I am figuring on 2X4X2'-ish bales. I only say "ish" because bale size can vary to a degree.


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## karliejaye

You CANNOT over do it on size. Never in the existence of barns, hay sheds or outbuildings has someone said, "I wish this were smaller!" I like extra room to shuffle bales, organize stuff and an area to segregate moldy scraps or bales until I can take care of them. I have enough space to stack spare pallets and keep spare hay nets, and misc things. 
I don't have pasture so I buy close to 10 tons of small bales per year, all at once usually. I've found the bales vary in size and weight based on how well the equipment was functioning in the field and the type of hay being baled. I would be generous in your sizing to accommodate for these variations year to year. Most of my bales average 75 lbs (but the variation ranges from 50 to 100lbs.)


Anyway, we built a hay shed that is 24'x36' with 16' of head space under the trusses. It's open sided so I stack about 2-3' in from the sides and it is generally full with only about 4' to the trusses. So the hay takes up about 18x30x12 feet (4320 cubic feet). So, each ton takes up about 432 cubic feet.


50-75 square bales is about 3 ton? That would require around 1296 cubic feet.
A 10x20x10 building has 2000 cubic feet. 
So if you are talking about square bales as in small bales, then yes, that may squeak by, but is you are talking about square bales as in those 700# 3 ties, no, I don't think that'll be enough.


*And always build bigger than you think you need!*


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## evilamc

I have a shelter logic 20ft shed, paid about $350 for it...I can fit over 100 square bales in. Right now I have about 80 in it and leave room to park my side x side.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

If you have 2 horses, I wonder about your 75 bale estimate, unless you're picking it up several times during the year. If you're buying for the year, you won't have enough hay. Are you planning on using large round bales in addition to the small squares (40-50 lbs)? I have 10 horses and buy roughly 600 small square bales and about 40 round bales/year and I have pasture. My storage shed for the small squares is 2 cars worth of a 4 car garage, about 24 X 14 X 24 feet.


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## horselovinguy

OK...my stalls are 12'x12' box.
I stored 100 bales of hay in one for this past winters feeding.
I put 6 regular sized pallets down on top of a vapor barrier.
Stacked bulk of my hay 5 bales high, with a few 6 high, then pulled a tarp over the top to keep it clean of dust, bird droppings.
I was able to reach and pull down the highest bales with a hay hook_* without*_ using a ladder. _ {I am 5'7" tall}_
The tarp used had grommet holes that I hung gallon sized 1/2 filled jugs with pebbles from to keep it from billowing....my stall is closed to bad weather on the outside walls only. Then we put a sheet of plywood so the horse sharing the one stall wall of hay could not be tempted to make a meal... 
I do have upper "walls" of metal bars on top of solid bottom walls and a door swinging in so you have some point of reference in layout.
So, in that stall, hay storage area, I also had 4 metal garbage cans, a 2-step mounting block, various cleaning tools and 2 spare filled water buckets available always ... 
I had walking room and was able to dump feed into the cans when needed.
My one horse is like a giraffe with being able to reach far, he could_* not*_ reach that hay either no matter how much he tried....:icon_rolleyes:
As I finished a pallet of hay I took up that pallet and put it out of the way...this also allowed that tarp to be folded back more and more but still protect my hay.

You don't need a huge space....you need to store and utilize space efficiently.
I had 2 horses 15.3 & 16 hands this winter to feed.
This worked for me and I fed no rolls nor had much access to grass either...it was a hay fed winter in my place this time.
_{The hay stacked was less than 7' high at the highest}_

Hope that gives you some idea of size and what can be done with it...
:runninghorse2:..


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

I think we ought to establish size/weight of bales. For instance in CA/AZ my bales were roughly 100 lbs each/20 bales = 1 T, so 100 bales was 5T. Here in OK they tend to go 50 lbs/bale, so 40 Bales = 1 T but takes up a lot more space. If you figure a 1000 lb horse eats 20 lbs of hay/day, then 2 horses will eat 40 lbs/day which equals about 14,600 lbs in a year. 7.3 T or 292 bales per year. If you buy 75 at a time, you don't need a lot of space, if you have to buy a one year's supply that takes up significantly more space. If you also feed round bales, you can significantly cut the number of small squares you buy.


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## evilgreen1

I have a small pasture that I will have to stringently manage, and supplement with hay. Both boys can about stay fat on air. I know and don't have issue with having to get hay a few times a year. I would certainly rather have more space than less, but where the hay shed needs to be and getting my husband to build it are slight obstacles. 


I looked into the Shelter Logic products, but really want something more permanent. If I could find a secondhand carport and seal that up, it'd be ideal.


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## walkinthewalk

I can cram (and leave some breathing room at the peak) 285 bales in two 10 X 12 X 13 high areas. 

It is really tricky because new hay has to have breathing room everywhere but we get 285 bales in those two areas.

Bales average 45 pounds.


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## Horseychick87

I don't know what your budget is, but Carolina Carports have an estimation tool where you ca build different styles and sizes of carports and have a general price estimated.

I looked into doing a basic one that was enclosed for two horses worth of hay for an entire year, 365 bales at 8 cubic feet per bale (40 pound bales. I went up to 9 cubic feet for 'breathing room' though.) and priced out a carport 20 x 21 x 12 high at under $6,000, it was cheaper than me trying to build one myself, I could do it, but it would take a very long time working almost completely alone.

Carolina Carports - Homepage


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## secuono

I have a cattle panel 'shed' for squares. Two panels on wood pallets, so panels 2ft off the ground. It holds 60-80 squares right up tight to the roof, 35-50# bales. 
For rounds, I lay down pallets and roll the bale on. Use a thick mil plastic to cover them.


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## evilgreen1

The 10x20x8 carport was finally installed over the weekend which was great because I already had 25 bales in my truck bed. They are tucked in and I think I could easy get over 100 if I needed or happened to come into a screaming hay deal. The 8' height ended up being the lowest part of the roof/eves, so at the peak it's probably 12'! I was surprised, but thrilled! I'll have space to keep barn/horse tools so they don't take up space in my husband's workshop. Thanks everyone for the advice and comments.


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