Tricky Hay Storage

[stargzng386]

At home I have one mini pony and 9 dwarf goats. Last year I switched to round bales since it was less expensive and way easier on my back. I have no indoor storage for hay on the property except for 5-6 square bales which wasn’t working. I roll the round bale off the back of my truck onto a pallet right behind my field. I then covered it with a tarp and pulled hay off it to feed. Unfortunately I didn’t realize that the tarp got a hole in it so this brand new last round bale got wet on half of the top. The old tarp was smaller and didn’t go all the way down the sides so I bought a much larger tarp. I am hoping that it’s because the hay got wet in the first place but with the new tarp it’s condensating on the inside at the top and making the entire top of the roundbale wet. At this point I’m leaving it uncovered, feeding the good interior stuff and pulling off and burning anything that might be moldy. Luckily the goats are a pretty good indicator they won’t eat anything but perfect hay. My question is will this be a problem with a brand new dry round bale?

Is it better to have a smaller tarp with air flow around the bottom or the large tarp that covers the entire thing? Is there a difference between having the black side up or the silver side up? Should I invest in a little temporary shed, though that would make it a lot harder to pull hay off. Is this just a summer heat issue?

[lenapesadie]

Get a big tarp and make a tarp taco with the tarp under the pallet and then folding over the bale on top of the pallet. Hands down the best way to tarp hay IME.

[stargzng386]

That’s actually a great idea the tarp I bought is massive and will work perfectly for that. I was actually struggling with it being too big and where to bunch up the extra bit. Next time I’ll do that and have it so the side facing the wind/rain is the taco’d side that will be fully protected.

[trubandloki]

What massive steps one has to go thru to keep their hay usable depends greatly on what climate you live in.

Air flow is always good.

If you can build a small shed, I would think it would be easier for you in the long run. I personally find tarping and untarping something to be a real nuisance.

[stargzng386]

I’m in VA. My problem is that there is no space for a shed big enough for me to get fully around the hay bale to pull off hay. It would make it really tight to go through to the fence. I don’t have a tractor so I have to be able to roll it off the truck onto the pallet.

[Christa_P]

Could you build a gazebo type building so you have a roof, but no sides. Then just use tarp curtains to keep water out if needed.

[stargzng386]

It would have to be the height of the round bale in the bed of my truck which would really make it useless for keeping weather out.

[Christa_P]

That’s why I suggested the tarp or canvas curtains as sides. They would be easy to move to get to the bale, but allow air flow to prevent mold.

[stargzng386]

I guess I’m not seeing how that would work it would have to be like 10+ feet tall. Tarps down the sides would have to deal with some serious wind across that entire height to actually keep any rain out.

[Texarkana]

I have never had luck with tarps for storing hay. It always molds, even if it doesn’t get wet: they get so humid underneath.

But, I’ve seen several farms over the years store large quantities of round bales stacked underneath canvas tarps. So maybe that works better?

Honestly, I think your best bet would be to buy a tarp structure like a Shelter Logic for a few hundred dollars (assuming you can’t erect some sort of permanent roof).

[stargzng386]

Hmmm that’s good to know. Maybe I could use a temporary canopy with sides so that I could move it, drop the round bale and then put it back.

I had no issue with mold or moisture through fall winter and spring it seems the heat of summer is an issue. Maybe I have to do squares just for summer.

[stargzng386]

Maybe something like this

Amazon.com : DIFY 10x10 Durable EZ Pop Up Canopy with 4 Removable Sidewalls, 4...

I could remove it to drop the round bale and then move it in place and put weights down to keep it there.

[lenapesadie]

I’ve been keeping hay in tarps like that for over a decade now in the humid SE. If you are regularly flapping the tarp about as you uncover to pull hay it works fine. Sure, storing a bunch of hay long term would be more problematic but one round bale at a time I think you’ll be fine.

[stargzng386]

Good to know. I already have the tarp so I think I’ll try that for the next one. I really think my problem was the old tarp wore through and it got wet. Once there was moisture there was no getting it fully out after the fact. I go through a round bale in about a month, maximum 2. Even with lots of grass I keep it out 24/7 for the goats.

[candyappy]

What about a small carport type covering? You can just attach a tarp across the sides that get wind/ wet ( blowing rain/ snow). That would give good airflow and you wouldn’t have to actually cover it up.

I kept my round bales we feed just under a lean to roof at the end of my goat barn. We did finally enclose the lean to last Fall and what a blessing. For 8 years it worked well. One major pain was when we would get the horrible gale force winds out of the West. My open bale would be liberated from a major amount of hay…

Here you can see the bales were just covered by a roof. This was during the construction phase.

They just sit directly on the ground and we unwind them to feed. No need to use a pallet.

[cilla1]

We use 2 pallets under the round bale and one pallet over it, then we cover all with the tarp. If the weather is good we just tuck the tarp over to let air circulate more

[clanter]

We use 2 pallets under the round bale and one pallet over it, then we cover all with the tarp. If the weather is good we just tuck the tarp over to let air circulate more

there should be a vapor barrier Under pallets on the ground otherwise ground moister can/will accumulate under the trap, This can be plastic sheeting or felt roof underlayment

[George_T_Mule]

Hi Stargazing

I didn’t read all of the way thru, so pardon if this has been addressed.
You need to have air circulation around hay stored beneath a tarp. Get the bales up off of the ground on pallets or something. Place a couple of 2x4s or cinder blocks on top. Use a tarp that doesn’t go to the ground all of the way around. Exposed hay on the sides might weather a bit, but as long as you have air flow, it won’t mold.
That said, covered storage is best if you can arrange for it.
Hope this helps.

[2DogsFarm]

My experience is with small squares, stacked on wood pallets, on top of a stonedust base inside my barn. Compacted stonedust is my flooring in the barn.
No moisture barrier besides the fines that sift down through the pallets & I can count on 1 hand the # of bottom layer bales lost to mold in the 19yrs I’ve stored hay this way.
Truly I can’t recall more than a couple & they were questionable, not definitely moldy.
I’m in n the Midwest & we get some really humid weather & rain storms. I’ve had rain get under a row of pallets & hay stacked on them stayed safely dry.
I think the air that circulates through the fines under the pallets helps absorb the moisture without making the hay above mold.
Every Spring I lift the pallets & rake out the fines.
They’re already on the way to becoming compost & get used for that in my vegetable garden.

[TheHunterKid90]

You can DIY a carpet type of enclosure and 3 round pen panels and a few sections of cattle panel to bend over the top creating a hoop for the roof like a Quonset hut. Fasten a tarp over the cattle panels and you have a pretty good weather resistant building.

Something like this

DIY Affordable Horse Shelter

Also not sure why you would need to get the truck inside….back to door opening, roll bale off onto ground, probably won’t need to roll it on the ground much more than a few feet, then tip up onto pallet.