I’m looking for a scale that I could use to weigh grain as well as flakes of hay. Any recommendations?
I have a human baby scale that works great! It was purchased specially for weighing hay and feed.
I use a “fish scale” which is just like a “luggage scale,” plus a large plastic shopping bag from IKEA that holds three or four flakes. If I could find an even larger bag, I’d be happy.
You can hold the scale in your hand or hang it from a rafter. The bag then hangs from the scale. Learn what your bag weighs (mine is 4 ounces) and subtract from the total.
This works really well for hay, as the bag contains the hay and then you can move it where you want. Stacking hay on a scale might get messy.
It is not perfect for grain, if you want to weigh all your grain every day. I weigh my grain once, then note what the scoops weigh for each item, then feed by scoop. To weight the grain, it needs to go in something that hangs off the scale (small bag, bucket, etc).
If you wanted to weigh all your grain every day, I’d think that a baby scale or something that you set a bucket on top of, and pour the grain into the bucket, would work best.
I use a hanging fish scale and hay nets for weighing hay. I don’t feed grain but I would think you could hang a bucket on the scale and just subtract the weight of the bucket.
I use a postage scale! Not sure if it’s larger than an average postal scale (I snagged it from an old job) but I love that I can put the grain scoop on, tare the weight, and scoop grain for accurate measurement. Flake of hay sits well on it too.
My sister gave me one like you see in the produce dept. for Christmas many years ago. Hangs in the feed room with that sort of scoop-like basket. 20 lb capacity. (My sister is somewhat renowned n the family for odd gifts, and the fam was gobsmacked when I reacted with true delight.)
Last year I bought a digital fish scale to show my nutrition students how easy it is to weigh feed. I sometimes use that to weigh hay, though the other scale would work as well.
