Cover for Hay stored outside

Nasicus

Nasicus

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So we had hay made this year, was a bit last minute and we were woefully unprepared (first time doing so) and between the wind and the rain and sheer incompetence on our part, we lost about half of what we kept back, gutting really as we made 500 really nice small bales off of 2.5 acres, sold half and kept half.

So, looking towards next year, I want to get the outdoor storage set up and ready beforehand.
Plan is as follows:
Put down a layer of weed control fabric (to stop weeds/brambles growing up into the bottom layer)
Put pallets over the top of the fabric
Stack hay (unsure if small or round bales this time)
Cover

Here in lies the problem, covering. We laid tarps over the top this year with loads of tyres on top, tied and pegged it down, and it kept blowing off, but seemed to be keeping it dry, But then the rain really kicked in and seeped through the tarps and killed off what was left outside (brought as much as we could in once 'cured').

So whats the best way to do this?
I was thinking thick heavy duty polythene sheets this time, one big extruded piece as opposed to the woven nature of a tarp. But maybe there's a better option?
I'm considering building a frame and affixing the sheets to it, like a DIY polytunnel? Put the top sheet/roof on a slant so that the rain runs off the side as opposed to pooling on top and bringing it all down.

Any suggestions and ideas welcome, I don't want to be left with 100 odd bales to dispose of again next year!
 
Have you any kind of building on your land already? If you have, make a lean to on the back of it and a few roofing sheets. You could tarp the sides to keep the weather out/horses off. Make sure you have an airflow. Wouldn't be expensive. We did a similar thing to house a couple of small trailers last year. Cost a couple of hundred quid and solid.
 
I bought from screwfix I think....a large tarp for garden furniture it was a large reactangle with two vertical zips on one side so that the hay could be accessed without lifting it off. The hay was small bales on pallets and a couple of pieces of wood on the top of hay meant air could circulate.
 
Esmae said:
Have you any kind of building on your land already? If you have, make a lean to on the back of it and a few roofing sheets. You could tarp the sides to keep the weather out/horses off. Make sure you have an airflow. Wouldn't be expensive. We did a similar thing to house a couple of small trailers last year. Cost a couple of hundred quid and solid.
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We do have the stable block, but unfortunately the back and sides of the stables are lower than the land behind it, so we've got a big dip between it, as that would have been my first point of call otherwise!

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I made small bale hay one year and stacked it outside. The squirrels wrecked the tarp and burrowed into the bales to store nuts so I lost loads of hay. I now make haylage so I can just leave it outside.
 
We knocked up a homemade hay barn when we first moved here over 30 years ago. It’s a mix of second hand corrugated iron sheets and timber panelling over a wooden frame over concrete slabs. It’s anchored to the ground with wooden stakes. It takes about 220 small square bales.
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It’s looking a bit tired now, but it’s done us proud.
 
@Tiddlypom Would love a little something like that, but I rent the yard/land and not sure the LO would go far that! He can be a bit twitchy about falling afoul of planning permissions and laws.

@HollyandIvy Now theres an idea!!

@teddypops The temptation is there to do haylage, but none of the ponies up here need the sugar, my friend wouldn't go for it in a million years as she has EMS and Laminitics, and oddly enough, one of mine won't touch the stuff regardless of the quality! Give her the choice and she'll go for hay every time! Maybe wrapped hay could be an idea though, mind it would probably get very expensive to get someone in who would do that, I'll have to look into it more.
 
I make big bales of haylege but it's basically left a bit longer so it's wrapped hay.....one bale lasts my 2 over 2 weeks and it doesn't go off.
One large bale costs £14
 
One year we had a tarpaulin over the stacked bales, the rain seemed to seep through so everything got wet and there was loads of wastage, only tried that the one year. Last couple of years we've had a big polytunnel which works much better, I think the hay not touching the tarp makes a big difference. The polytunnel is easier to get the hay out of as well, having a door rather than unpegging and repegging the tarp each time is loads quicker and easier.
 
You need air to circulate round it to stop condensation damaging it and to keep it off the damp ground. Pallets if you can get them as a base, and a frame of some sort to spread the tarp over. Check your local scrap yard :)

Or do what I did and wrap it (big bales, small bales are too expensive to do) then if the weather doesn't favour you you can make it as haylage a day earlier than normal. Just check you can get a contractor with a big baler and wrapper before you start - I had one panicky year when the normal one wasn't available, they go to the biggest jobs first.
I did the square ones, the round ones are difficult to pull hay off
 
What about making your frame as you plan to and putting corrugated tin sheets on the top rather than the tarp. Would be more durable and you can always say it's movable if anyone worries about it. Pallets for floor as before. Job's a good'n.
 
May not be rain under the tarpaulin but damp/condensation rising through bales from ground underneath. Air circulation is important so if you're tarpaulining your hay, put it up on pallets on top of weedcontrol/tarp on the ground, then put a couple of motorcycle/car tyres on top of it, then put your covering tarpaulin over top and rope down. The tyres ensure there's air gaps on top of hay and being soft-edged, the tyres won't cause splits in the tarp.
 
MrsMozartletoe said:
Some excellent ideas.

Has anyone hit any planning issues? Especially thinking of the lean-to option.
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I have a feeling that if you don't have a proper concreted floor you shouldn't need it. After all all you are doing is shoving a couple of supporting posts in the ground and making a frame to meet them. Sheets on top. We didn't for our trailer shelter anyway.
 
Esmae said:
I have a feeling that if you don't have a proper concreted floor you shouldn't need it. After all all you are doing is shoving a couple of supporting posts in the ground and making a frame to meet them. Sheets on top. We didn't for our trailer shelter anyway.
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neddy man said:
I think you only need planning approval for permanent structures, not for field shelters,, garden sheds, pre- cast garages etc. If
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Thank you both :)
 
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