Ultimate Hay Thread

[Hilary]

I make my own - we have fields with timothy & orchard grass and a tiny bit of clover - it hasn’t been reseeded in too long. But I have easy keepers and grass hay is easier to put up than legume.

Buck22, you don’t live in NH do you ? I would love to sell my extra hay out of the field, rather than expend the energy and time to put it up and sell it out of the barn, but I have found that people just don’t quite get that when I say “hay around 3PM” I mean you need to be here to pick it up sometime between 3 and dusk. Not 10am, and not sometime the next day. After finding myself putting up 400 bales that someone decided wasn’t convenient to pick up after all, I stopped offering ‘hay in the field’ at a lesser price.

I like making hay, but it is a lot of work getting it from the field to the barn. I’m not a big enough operation to have a bale kicker and wagons.

[Fuego1]

I hate reading what others pay for hay.

For my easy keepers (ponies mainly) I buy a grass mix that’s mostly Bermuda, meadow grass, sometimes there is some alfalfa in there. Price went up this last month and I paid $14/bale for ~98lb bales. It can be inconsistent and have some weeds but it’s good for the price around here and the ponies do great on it.

My performance horses get either an 80/20ish orchard/alfalfa for $20.95 per 100lb bale or a meadow grass/orchard/Timothy mix for $21.95 supplemented with alfalfa/Bermuda pellets.

[butiwantedapony]

I feed an orchard grass/tim mix to all the horses (5) and supplement with a second cutting orchard grass mix (with a little alfalfa) for the harder keepers (2).

I have limited hay storage. Every 2 weeks I get 2 rounds delivered (700lbs ish, $40 each), 20 bales of the first cutting ($3.50 each, ~40-50lb bales), and 10 of the first cutting ($5 each, 40-50lbs bales). Farmer stacks and everything.

I LOVE my hay guy. All the hay is stored indoors, and is very clean. He will take back a bale anytime I find a dusty or dirty bale (this has only happened twice in the past year, and I just compost them).

I feed free-choice so I go through a lot of hay - but my horses will clean up every scrap of this hay. I think I’ll have to get out of horses when my hay guy retires…

[mroades]

I live on the southeast coast and getting hay here is a nightmare. Returns are almost impossible due to the distance the hay has to travel. Trying to get a cost effective price means getting a full semi load, which is great until you get to the back third and its all bad…
Tamara in TN has a delivery limit of 300 miles so that leaves me out.
All I want is a load of decent orchard or orchard timothy but that seems to be not possible this year,sigh

[mroades]

durn…I didnt mean to kill the thread!!!

[khall]

I feed coastal here, 60 lb bales, $7 a bale. Can find it for $6 sometimes. I add timothy pellets, beet pulp and alfalfa cubes to just 2 of the 4/5 (one is a 3 week old foal, so doesn’t count yet). Most are on just vitamin/mineral or ration balancer, except for the broodmare who is on TC growth. Pretty much as much as they will eat in 2-3 feedings.

I don’t do alfalfa unless I have an older horse that needs a boost (19 yr old is getting alfalfa cubes and my 8 yr old who just got over high fever and isolation lost weight) others don’t need them and I do not feed alfalfa to broodmares.

This year we will be cutting off of one of our pastures, 10 acres of planted Cherokee hybrid.

I would love to get some timothy but it is cost prohibitive here.

[Mosey_2003]

I prefer straight alfalfa for the big guy but the last couple years it’s been an alfalfa/grass mix as that is simply what I could get. My former hay guy wanted $7/bale for alfalfa last year but I ended up bartering with someone else and got mix. The year before it was $6/bale and about 1/3 of it molded, was NOT happy at all… I don’t know what I’m going to do this year, thinking about putting more money away and becoming that ultra-fussy horse woman, I am SO tired of finding mold and shifting around bad bales, UGH.

[spirithorse22]

Must say, the majority of y’all pay $4-$7 less than I do for my hay!!! I am VERY happy to have a dealer right down the road and really value her as she gets me the best price for the best hay she can find (grateful client right here!) but it’s frustrating to read the prices on this thread! It really is amazing the difference in price.

[Appsolute]

Northern California here.

I buy an 80/20 mix of Orchard Grass / Alfalfa hay. Our bales are around 110 lbs, and run about $22.00 a pop.

Generally, our choices are “grass hay” (Orchard grass), alfalfa or timothy hay (timothy tends to be really pricey).

I feed an 80/20 mix as I like grass hay, I think alfalfa is too rich, and high in protein to be fed straight to most horses (plus in CA you have added risk of enteroliths - intestinal stones if you feed straight alfalfa). But I do like adding some alfalfa (hence the 20%) to boost protein and calcium, plus most horses find it very palatable.

[2DogsFarm]

Midwest here & I feed (WB & Hackney pony) both the same hay year-round.
Local orchard/timothy mix - I buy a year’s supply of 1st cutting & store on pallets in my barn.

I feed a LOT less in Summer when my poorly-managed (Bad, 2Dogs!) pastures have grass. and more when it’s cold & the pastures are under snow, plus I feel guilty, so toss a few flakes out for them to graze w/o digging.

I’ve had the same hayguy for 10yrs, but he is getting on - 80-something! - and last year told me he may quit making hay.
The quality of the hay is still good, but since he hires kids to bale that has gone downhill. Loose bales, loosely-tied bales, wet :eek: bales, etc.

A nearby neighbor makes hay on part of my acreage & has done so for the last 3 years.
Since being cut regularly that hay is looking good - mostly grass & clover - and I may buy from him this year.
That would work for both of us as he gets almost the # of bales I need from my “fields” and all he’d have to do is stack bales in my barn once it had been cut, baled & dried.

Last year I paid $3.75/bale - 50# small squares - for the 1st 150 bales delivered that I stacked and $4.50 for the remaining 80 bales delivered & stacked for me.
Those 1st bales came in on hayguy’s wagon - I tested & found some too wet for me to be comfortable having them stacked in my barn.
So wagon was left in my indoor for them to dry out & I ended up pulling bales and stacking as they dried. Took me about a week to get that done - I was not going to kill myself or have any iffy bales inside the barn.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

I pay $5 a bale for coastal bermuda out of the field and $6 a bale out of the barn. Bales are 40 to 50 lbs. I have good pasture so only feed hay from mid-Nov through mid-April most years. This year, who knows.

[QUOTE=mroades;7460366]
I live on the southeast coast and getting hay here is a nightmare. Returns are almost impossible due to the distance the hay has to travel. Trying to get a cost effective price means getting a full semi load, which is great until you get to the back third and its all bad…
Tamara in TN has a delivery limit of 300 miles so that leaves me out.
All I want is a load of decent orchard or orchard timothy but that seems to be not possible this year,sigh[/QUOTE]

Not sure where you are on the southeast coast, but there’s a dealer near me who trucks in orchard timothy from Ohio. She’s in Loris, SC. Let me know if you want her info. I don’t know about price - as I said, I feed coastal bermuda.

[candyappy]

I feed my horses 1st cutting grass/ alfalfa. That is what is planted on the property we have and they do fine on it. I save the 2nd & 3rd cuttings for my goats. Horses get fed 2x a day.

I do sometimes buy a few bales of meadow ( grass) hay from my neighbor and last year I paid $ 25 for a 4x4 round bale. He wanted $ 35 but I talked him down.It was still too high for his hay in my opinion. Hay here is crazy priced if I look on craigslist lately. Must be the long brutally cold winter we are having…

[mroades]

[QUOTE=pAin’t_Misbehavin’;7462859]
I pay $5 a bale for coastal bermuda out of the field and $6 a bale out of the barn. Bales are 40 to 50 lbs. I have good pasture so only feed hay from mid-Nov through mid-April most years. This year, who knows.

Not sure where you are on the southeast coast, but there’s a dealer near me who trucks in orchard timothy from Ohio. She’s in Loris, SC. Let me know if you want her info. I don’t know about price - as I said, I feed coastal bermuda. :)[/QUOTE]

I am in Charleston. I am having a dickens of a time even getting hay dealers to call me back with prices!

[spirithorse22]

[QUOTE=mroades;7463198]
I am in Charleston. I am having a dickens of a time even getting hay dealers to call me back with prices![/QUOTE]

Really? Here are two hay dealers right outside of Charlst One was on W Ashley. Give them a try?

http://hiltonhead.craigslist.org/grd/4309715594.html
http://hiltonhead.craigslist.org/grd/4342817337.html

[hayfeeder]

We rent out 40 acres to a local farmer - for this I get all my hay - 1500 small squares and 45 large rounds. The large rounds are all timothy/grass (1st cut) the small squares are split - 900 first cut timothy/grass and 600 of the alfalfa/clover mix.

[mroades]

have already talked to the second number he does not have what I need and is super expensive, and my horses generally will not eat timothy.

Not trying to be difficult, I am just super picky. I am just finishing up a load that was supposed to be orchard/timothy/somekindofgrass(if it is not fescue I am a monkeys uncle)…well, it is sticks, black leaves, something that looks like straw…and every single bale is different. I have pregnant mares so I have to be careful about “maybe fescue”

I was stuck with that load due to circumstances beyond my control, and started searching for a new source about a month ago. It has been very frustrating. I have a hay dealer just a few miles from me , but they will NOT call me back with a price!

[SugarAndSpite]

Wow. These hay prices are my dream. I’m shopping for horse property so lately I’ve been educating myself about local hay prices to see what I’m in for…

Just got quoted $29.25 per square bale of Timothy at my local feed store. $22 and change for Alfalfa. Not including delivery. sigh

[imaginique]

I feed Timothy and if they can cut it early enough, it’s mixed with Orchard Grass. I always get the first of the first cut, which reminds me, I need to put in my hay order. Last year I paid $4.25/bale for 40-45 lb bales, delivered and stacked in the barn. I love my hay man. He calls to make sure I’m ready for the hay and then I don’t even have to be here. He knows where to put it and I can pay him later. His hay is always clean and weed-free.

[Mosey_2003]

You Californians need to move to the Midwest The snow’s not thaaaaat bad :lol:

[spirithorse22]

[QUOTE=mroades;7463284]
have already talked to the second number he does not have what I need and is super expensive, and my horses generally will not eat timothy.

Not trying to be difficult, I am just super picky. I am just finishing up a load that was supposed to be orchard/timothy/somekindofgrass(if it is not fescue I am a monkeys uncle)…well, it is sticks, black leaves, something that looks like straw…and every single bale is different. I have pregnant mares so I have to be careful about “maybe fescue”

I was stuck with that load due to circumstances beyond my control, and started searching for a new source about a month ago. It has been very frustrating. I have a hay dealer just a few miles from me , but they will NOT call me back with a price![/QUOTE]

Aw, that’s really a shame. I get a super lovely orchard/alfalfa mix but not sure if the dealer delivers to your area. I can PM you the name, just if you want to check. It’s a few dollars more than either of the guys I linked to from Craigslist though. I don’t know what their hay looks like, but thought I’d shoot you their links, just in case! That’s too bad the dealer down the road from you won’t even call you back! Time to start “dropping by” for a quote, maybe?

Now that I’ve had access to such nice orchard, I prefer it to timothy, hands down. I get straight orchard and orchard/alfalfa mixes and really like both. Just wish (and again, really appreciate my dealer, who is competitively priced, absolutely NO complaints from me) our area could get hay like this for a little less than what we have to pay. It is definitely the biggest cost in managing the barn!