I’m thinking about buying either a hay hut or a hay basket for my horses that like to throw hay around. My thought was with the basket, I’d put netting around it and secure with zip ties in the hay basket. Or should I just get the hay hut? I hate wasting and cleaning up hay.
We have a hay hut and my sister just bought a bale barn. Both hold one large round bale. The footprint of the Hay Hut is 6 feet square while the footprint of the Bale Barn is 8 feet square. Both have 8 openings for the horses to eat. We keep a standard pallet in the Hay Hut. My DH built a 7’ square pallet for my sister’s Bale Barn. Having the Hay Hut is utterly fantastic. It saves us from throwing hay on the ground which kills the grass. Recently I read an article from a university (Minnesota?) comparing 8/9 various feeding methods (hay rings, hay huts, nets, covered hay feeders, etc.). Basically it said that the hay hut paid for itself in 4 months, the horses gained weight, and less hay was wasted. It’s been fantastic for us. Hope this link works. It was an interesting study.
https://stablemanagement.com/.amp/articles/selecting-bale-feeder-horses-29950
I have a hay basket and I love it. It works for me because I only feed square bales. I toss 1 or 2 bales in each day and the horses clean it all up.
It’s also easier for me to handle since I’m working by myself.
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I have the Tarter Equine hay basket. There is no waste hay strewn around it; a little hay ends up at the very bottom of the basket (the fines).
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Two main considerations:
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How important is it to you that the hay stays dry? That would be the main difference between the two options…the Hay Hut is covered, the basket is not.
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Do you feed round bales or squares? I have fed 40-50 lb squares with the Hay Hut and could shove them through the windows but it’s not the easiest thing in the world.
For under cover, I prefer the basket. The Tarter one is nice.
If you’re going to plop it out in the middle of the field, something like a hay hut that will help keep the hay dry is a better choice, especially since you have noted that you hate to waste hay. My prima donnas prefer their hay dry and waste a lot more if the hay gets wet.
I have the Hay Hut. I would buy it again… but hopefully I never have to :winkgrin:
Let me preface by saying it has more than paid for itself in the 3 years we’ve had it. It has eliminated waste significantly, and, the one bonus that is even more important to me, is that we no longer have to slough into the field in inclement weather to cover the bale like we used to - that used to be such a chore. The horses also are more likely to stay near the bale in crappy weather than they were when it was just in a feeder; my guess is that since the hay hut is covered (vs before when it was just a feeder) they’re more likely to withstand the elements because their necks are covered while they eat. Ours don’t go out in neck covers unless it is absolutely miserable - we have too many that play “neck cover tag” and remove the cover…
That being said - I keep seeing people proclaim it has completely eliminated waste… either I have really piggy horses, or they’re exaggerating. It definitely has cut down waste vs just putting it out in a round bale – but there are still big circlets of wasted hay around their feet. You will still have hay wastage… it’s just more like ~100lb rather than 1/3rd of the bale. I don’t think my horses are any messier than average for the record.
The best thing seems to be putting the bale in a net, then the Hay Hut… but that is a lot of work too.
The Hay Hut is heavy though - it’s generally a two man job to get the bale on the pallet, then get the HH over the bale. I can do it by myself if I really have to, but it’s not pleasant especially since our bales are ~600lb.
If you are going to be doing chores alone, the basket might be a better option - alternatively, if you are going to be feeding along the fence line, I’ve had really good luck almost completely eliminating hay waste in square bales by putting a square bale (or part of it) in a rope hay net, and affixing the hay net to an old Rubbermaid trough by drilling holes (or screw eyes) to the bottom of the trough (we use retired troughs that the TBs break - happens every winter it seems…) and clipping the net to the trough.
The Hay Huts are pretty easily located and don’t come with a net. Most standard nets fit them though. I put a hay net on and my previous non-picky horses didn’t eat from it for two days. I finally just took it off. I have some waste, but it’s minimal.
Bale Barns are not quite as geographically friendly and they come with a built-in hay net. Or you can buy them without.
Good luck with whatever you do!
I tried something similar, using a square bale-sized slow feed net and a 100 gallon rubber water trough with holes drilled through it. However, the mule started dragging the whole thing out of the shed and around the pasture by the net to amuse himself so I stopped. 
Very nifty that!
That would end that! We affix the trough to the fenceline via snaps.There are definitely one or two of ours that would do the same if we didn’t.
So after looking at prices (400-600 for basket and close to 1k for hay hut) I rigged my own hay feeder. Did the old rubber maid water tank and bought a large hay net from Hay Chik (the one that can hold a bale) and then put in trough. So how do you secure the netting? Drill holes in the side and bottom and then use snaps? Or? My one horse loves to dump the trough so I put big cement blocks on the bottom. Problem solved!
For others considering the basket, we bought ours at the Co-Op for hundreds less than charged elsewhere.
I like the idea of the basket better than a water trough because hay can have some dirt and fines that horses don’t need to be breathing while sorting thru hay fed in a solid bottom type feeder.
Feeding on the ground if you have clean ground or in that pictured basket lets those fines and other fall thru where horses won’t have to eat or sort thru them if they don’t want to.
Yep, I got mine for $325 delivered from my local mill.
With the hay hut, we probably have less than 6 flakes of hay wasted with 3 horses eating it. It lasts several weeks. There are several ways of doing it. We use really large round bales and put them in the bed of the truck, take that to the hay hut and then just roll it out. We final position the hay with the tractor using forks on the front. We also use the tractor with forks to move the hay hut and then put it back on top of the hay once it’s in place. Works like a dream!
