Hay/prices

noodle_

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Just wondering if anyone can help....

I currently feed the "speshul one"... one around 3x small bales of hay a week (she cannot have haylege which would make my life easier and pocket hurt less)....

Im considering buying a huge hay bale - square one.... I think its between 40-50 quid a bale nowadays....

i do know they vary in size, however just an estimate to help me make up my mind - how many (approx) small bales are in a huge one!?

Mabey im asking the impossible so an approx would be ace...

Thank you :)
 

Montyforever

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I would be going through a small bale every 2 days so at least 3 a week! I get a round bale which is £60 including delivery which lasts me just over a month. Small bales are £6 each around here at the mo so that would be at least £72 a month so there's not that much difference to be honest and the small bales are easier!
 

orangetails

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I feed big bale hay in my field (small bale in the stables as there's nowhere to store big bales down at the yard - I have rigged up a partial shelter/tarp for the big bales next to my field shelter and can have two at a time stored there)

I pay £40 for a big bale, £3.50 for small bales. Farmer says there is at LEAST the equivalent of 12 small bales in my one big bale, and I reckon it's probably more like 15+... possibly even as much as 20! So it's worth it financially and definitely for convenience.

Mine are the big square bales, 4ft x 4ft x 10ft length. Standard small bales (some are more densely packed than others, but they're all pretty decent, and it's all good hay)

Normally I just get the two huge big bales which last me from early Dec til end Feb to supplement the grass over winter, but they're started living out 24/7 now and as there's been no rain we've still got next to no grass so I have just got another two big bales to feed thru the spring/early summer. £80 well spent I think :)
 

SNORKEY

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I was told that the huge bales have about 10-11 bales worth in them. I'm dreading the hay situation this year, I've got an extra horse now and a baby on the way! I doubt hay will ever be cheap again, as greedy farmers know they can get about £6/7 a bale in my area. My good old dad spent all day collecting it off a farmers field last year for £2.50 a bale, but it wasn't great quality. Fingers crossed we can do that again and it's a bit better this year.
 

noodle_

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thanks all :)

shes living out all summer/being turned away, so will save there - but she will still be coming in daily for a hay feed to make sure shes ok etc...

but for winter i was spending between 80-100 a month on hay as there was no grass at my old yard for her - however this year should be different as i have my own field which i can rotate - so entirely down to me which i love :)
 

lachlanandmarcus

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I was told that the huge bales have about 10-11 bales worth in them. I'm dreading the hay situation this year, I've got an extra horse now and a baby on the way! I doubt hay will ever be cheap again, as greedy farmers know they can get about £6/7 a bale in my area. My good old dad spent all day collecting it off a farmers field last year for £2.50 a bale, but it wasn't great quality. Fingers crossed we can do that again and it's a bit better this year.

Given the massive increases in the prices of fuel, fertiliser (which is needed to replaced the nutrients that selling the hay removes) and the drought reducing yields a lot, I'd be amazed if any farmer wanted to sell good quality hay for less than £4 for a small bale.

Its sooooo much less hassle for them to make big bales or silage and cattle and sheep arent as fussy either.

We make our own hay just for our sheep and horses and tho we dont sell it, the effort involved would mean I wouldnt let a bale go for less than about £4.50.

Hay lagged behind the rising costs of making it for a very long time. The current prices now reflect the costs of making it more accurately, plus a reasonable profit margin - and thats not a profiteering thing, just not subsidising our hobby.

At over £6 I would also be shopping around and insisting on good quality and ability to return any dodgy bales tho - it works both ways if riders are to pay a proper price for a quality product then all the bales need to be edible, which isnt always the case.
 

Littlelegs

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Near me big round bales have at least the equivalent of 10 small bales. Would guess the square ones to have 12 or more in.
 

ivandenisovich10

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I get big round 5ft bales they are 45 delivered, and there small bales are 4.50 he reckons there are about 12 small bales iin there but I think its more, the round lasts about 3 weeks where as I would get through a small a day
 

noodle_

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so really its about the same??

small bales are FAR more convenient for me as they fit in better....

I did guess what I saved in summer would be used in winter tho :)
 

Rowreach

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I was told that the huge bales have about 10-11 bales worth in them. I'm dreading the hay situation this year, I've got an extra horse now and a baby on the way! I doubt hay will ever be cheap again, as greedy farmers know they can get about £6/7 a bale in my area. My good old dad spent all day collecting it off a farmers field last year for £2.50 a bale, but it wasn't great quality. Fingers crossed we can do that again and it's a bit better this year.

Greedy farmers????:eek: Have you any idea what it costs to make good quality hay/haylage these days? Let alone the stress involved (causes me no end of sleepless nights). While the cost of fuel, machinery, maintenance, wrap, wages, crop management and everything else goes up up up, no I don't suppose hay will ever be "cheap again" :(
 
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