Hay rotting in field

[poiuytrewq]

Some weeks ago, when it was nice and summer like we cut one of my fields for hay. It’s only small but we mainly took a cut off it to try and thicken the grass.
It’s a weird shape, it wraps round the back of the farm buildings so the mower left quite a bit round the edges, the tedder (?!) then spun dry hay into the longer bits left and obviously the baler didn’t get right to the edges either or would have ended up pulling green stuff into the bales,
Made some gorgeous hay, best ever but typically not very much of it!
So problem was I was left with quite a bit of hay on the floor, figured not too much of a problem as it probed perfectly in the bales so I turned out onto it.
Was fine at first but now it’s rained it’s starting to rot and I’m worried about them eating it or, which is more what they seem to be doing rifling through to get to the grass underneath.
I’ve been trying to fork it up but there’s so much!
Wwyd?

 

[Equi]

Can you fence it off?

 

[poiuytrewq]

Can you fence it off?

It’s all the way around and piles through out. I don’t own that much spare fencing!

 

[Orangina]

They will just rifle through it for the grass and it will rot down and not cause any problems. I have done this lots and never had an issue. (Now waiting for someone to come along and tell me it is a terrible thing to do )

 

[Polos Mum]

Not helpful for now but next year well worth a few hours raking the edges into the middle when it's first cut so that it gets turned / dried and then baled with the rest of it.

Not sure now - my fatties would eat it so I'd have to look at harrowing it - stopping every 10 mins to de clog the harrow into a wheel barrow
But I am a worrier and my fatties would eat anything

 

[SantaVera]

I doubt they'll eat it, there's better grass underneath. Rake it up if it's bothering you and put it on the muckheap

 

[Lucky Snowball]

I don’t think mine would eat it. I go round with a fork before baling as suggested above. Also pull odd bits into the rows manually. Maybe fence a small area and clear it if you’re worried. The rest will soon rot.