Hay Cube - Opinions?

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Procrastination

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To those of you who use Hay Cubes, what do you think of them? What are the pro's and cons? I'm interested in buying one but find their website pictures useless for showing you any detail.

How do you drain the water away, is it a tap you open or do you pull a plug out? Is it possible to divert the water down a drain or does it spew out everywhere?
How easy is it to get the last bits of water out? From what I've seen it looks like once you've drained the water the hay would still be very wet as there isn't any kind of shelf inside to allow the hay to drip for a while? Does anybody find that a problem?

Thanks in advance :-)
 
Fine for drainage as long as you tip it back YORUSELF to get the last bits out. Useless to manoeuvre around on anything other than smooth concrete... I actuslly put mine into the wheelbarrow fully loaded
 
I have one. I think the plugs have changed since I bought mine. It is a screw on plug which works well but they might be a plug type now. I bought it because I wrenched my shoulder and it was a godsend. It is obviously very heavy when full of water so it needs filling with a hose where it will be emptied. I drain it after an hour or so in the morning, then tip and leave to drain until it's ready to put in the stable, so for a few hours at least. As long as it's had about 30 mins to drain like this its fine. However if it's not tipped properly then it is a bit wet (like if the yard do Lottie for me sometimes it is just tipped over. There are holes at the very top that do allow water out but I think it drains best if tipped 45 degrees and rested on a bucket to drain.

Otherwise I love it. Much much easier than heavy wet nets.
 
Hello, I have one - I like it but it has its draw backs. You drain it by opening a cap on the back so it does tend to spew everywhere but I have arranged a gutter pipe behind mine which catches most of it and directs it to the drain, I also soak netted hay in it and lift them out once drained, the bottom bit is wet and if it was loose hay I think that the stuff in the bottom would stay very wet, you drain the last 1-2 cm by tipping it on its back so it runs out holes at the top of the back. You also gave to clean it often as it gets quite skanky. However the hay is MUCH lighter and drier than lifting out of an undrained container, it is easy use and easy to move about. It is expensive and lots of people make things much cheaper but I am not handy like that and all the bits added up anyway. On balance I find mine very useful, I have a laminitic pony and a very bad back and it has saved me a great deal of back issues so is worth it to me even with its faults. I would buy another.
 
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We have one and will be ordering another 6 or so come spring. To answer your questions....

You initially drain the water by opening a screw cap located on the side of the cube at the bottom. This does just 'spew out' (it's basically a pipe sticking out) but no reason you couldn't do it over a drain or put a pipe over it or something.

The very bottom will remain a bit too wet yes, but I'm talking a handful of hay wasted so no for us that's not a problem. It does take a while to drain fully, I usually leave about half an hour or so to drain and if it's tipped slightly it will drain better (our yard slopes so that is perfect). There are more drainage holes on the upper side of the cube so when cleaning out you tip it onto the side to remove the last of the water.

The only thing I would improve is I would make the handle higher in order to improve manoeuvrability. But it's ok with a lead rope tied around.

They are expensive compared to say filling a tub trug then tipping out, but if you want to avoid the mess of filling trugs/barrows of hay and getting soaked/breaking your back in the process then it's worth it :)
 
Thanks for the replies, food for thought!

I would need to wheel it about 30m over cobbles when empty to get to/from tap/drain to stable...how do you think it would cope with that? Would you be able to put a shelf in the bottom (say an up-turned milk crate) for the hay to sit on to drain fully?
 
I've been looking at these as I've been using haybars but I have to buy one every year as my boy breaks them by sitting on them.
I don't soak hay, how much can fit in them?? I have a tue ring at the bottom of my haybar to tie a net to and slow down his eating. How could I do this in the cube?
 
Procrastination said:
Thanks for the replies, food for thought!

I would need to wheel it about 30m over cobbles when empty to get to/from tap/drain to stable...how do you think it would cope with that? Would you be able to put a shelf in the bottom (say an up-turned milk crate) for the hay to sit on to drain fully?
Click to expand...

Yes I think you'd be able to move it but it might get annoying!!!

I wouldn't put a milk crate in it as my pony did lit her foot in it once so potential for injuries I suppose.

As long as it's drained properly as above its no problem.
 
Hmmm it's the pushing/pulling over the cobbles that's holding me back mostly, it's a lot of money to spend to find I can't even move the bloody thing lol
 
Love mine. I managed to get hold of one second hand and then I got a new one for Xmas. It's saves your back! I don't think you'll have trouble going over cobble stones as they are quite light and on wheels. I too will tilt it back to get last of the water out. But doesn't take too long. I usually put 3-4 sections in but have done 5 before if I've wanted to finish off slightly earlier.
 
Nativelover said:
I've been looking at these as I've been using haybars but I have to buy one every year as my boy breaks them by sitting on them.
I don't soak hay, how much can fit in them?? I have a tue ring at the bottom of my haybar to tie a net to and slow down his eating. How could I do this in the cube?
Click to expand...

I would suggest looking at the flexirack instead if you don't want it for soaking, they could get a foot stuck in hay net if in the haycube.
 
I've had mine for two years, love it. Drains easily, I tip mine back against stable whilst I get my mare in and no real issue with water. I use it for dry hay also and you get no waste on the floor, mine is secured to the wall with the bar it comes with.
 
Ive got one of those little garden trolley things on 4 wheels. Ive got a plastic water trough in the bottom which weve made a plug hole in. I fill it with water, dunk the nets in and then drag it to where I need to drain it, then drag it back to the stable. Our yard is uneven in places and this little cart is quite light and easy to move around. I do have to tip it up to drain the last bits but its so light its not a bother. Works well for me, might be worth a try.
 
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