Marking hay to stop thieves!!

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jules2009

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Does anybody know of a way to mark hay / haylege to stop people stealing it? We currently have a real problem at our livery yard and am wondering if it would be ok to spray hay with food dyes or anything else. Any help will be appreciated.
 
I'm not sure if this is liveries stealing from each other or outsiders stealing bales. Years ago we used to buy stockfeed potatoes for the cattle. These were sprayed, purple I think, to denote stockfeed.

I have no idea what the spray was but I cannot see why you couldn't use it on hay. If people were stealing to feed their own horses I doubt it would stop them as they would realise the hay was safe to feed but if it was theives stealing to resell it would make the hay unsellable.

I think I would ask at a large agricultural merchants. They may be able to point you in the direction of a suitable spray.
 
At last yard I marked all plastic on bedding/haylage with a premanent marker, all hay baling twine with marker. I also made note on it that hay sections had been counted and marked the used haylage level on the outer bag.

Unfortunately that only lets you know that it is going missing, rather than who's using it. However I did find people were discouraged when they knew it was being watched. Dying the hay itself I'm not sure sorry :(

One of the girls at my old yard used to haynet up all of a bale at a time so it wasn't pinched off the end. Just made it a bit more awkward for potential theives. But a bit of a hassle.

Pan
 
It is being stolen by other livery yard users. I just thought if I coloured my hay they would not take it as it would be obvious when hanging in nets in their stable etc. Thanks for the suggestion as this is becoming a real problem now.
 
If it is other liveries then YO should be taking very firm steps, you shouldnt be having to deal with it. The YO should be warning all liveries that theft in this way is criminal and the thief will not only be chucked off the yard but also reported to the police!
 
Thanks Pan but unfortunately we have the really big bales of hay so it is impossible to net it all up or to count slices etc. I have tried tying up and covering up with rugs etc but nothing seems to work. They have even taken hay put out in teh field overnight ready for turning out in the morning!! Wish I could catch them at it lol!
 
The yard owners have been informed and are sympathetic but say unless we have proof there is not a lot they can do. They are looking into installing security cameras but meanwhile our hay is disappearing at a vast rate. I work hard to keep my horses and am really annoyed that people think it is OK to just help themselves to large quantities of my hay. I would never see anybody without and would gladly lend hay or feed. The trouble is these people don't want to borrow, they just don't want to buy their own.
 
jules2009 said:
Does anybody know of a way to mark hay / haylege to stop people stealing it? wondering if it would be ok to spray hay with food dyes or anything else. Any help will be appreciated.
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I had this problem many years ago on a yard I was on when my hay was going missing. I kept the bulk of my hay at home in the garage (had bought a whole years supply straight off the field) and used to take a couple of bales down at a time. Sprayed the entire bale in some vile food colouring/or similar completely alien to hay - red or purple, I think and sat back and waited. Because there wasn't much light in my storage room nor in the offender's stable, you could say I caught them literally red-handed, girl with lovely red hands, pony with bright red lips and a haynet full of red hay.

So yes, it does work. It's so annoying that there will always be people like this who think its fine to steal from others who work hard to feed their own horses and end up feeding others as well
 
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Thank you so much. I thought food dye would be safe as it is safe for us to eat lol but needed confirmation from somebody else. I will now try this and let you know how I get on. Many thanks everybody for all suggestions.
 
jules2009 said:
Thanks Pan but unfortunately we have the really big bales of hay so it is impossible to net it all up or to count slices etc. I have tried tying up and covering up with rugs etc but nothing seems to work. They have even taken hay put out in teh field overnight ready for turning out in the morning!! Wish I could catch them at it lol!
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We have the 8footers but then go through one every two days! At my place now I just take a strip from the section off the front and tuck it at the back so I know for piece of mind it's not walking!

"I had this problem many years ago on a yard I was on when my hay was going missing. I kept the bulk of my hay at home in the garage (had bought a whole years supply straight off the field) and used to take a couple of bales down at a time. Sprayed the entire bale in some vile food colouring/or similar completely alien to hay - red or purple, I think and sat back and waited. Because there wasn't much light in my storage room nor in the offender's stable, you could say I caught them literally red-handed, girl with lovely red hands, pony with bright red lips and a haynet full of red hay."

That's brilliant! Lesson hopefully learned very quickly!

Pan
 
PandorasJar said:
We have the 8footers but then go through one every two days! At my place now I just take a strip from the section off the front and tuck it at the back so I know for piece of mind it's not walking!

"I had this problem many years ago on a yard I was on when my hay was going missing. I kept the bulk of my hay at home in the garage (had bought a whole years supply straight off the field) and used to take a couple of bales down at a time. Sprayed the entire bale in some vile food colouring/or similar completely alien to hay - red or purple, I think and sat back and waited. Because there wasn't much light in my storage room nor in the offender's stable, you could say I caught them literally red-handed, girl with lovely red hands, pony with bright red lips and a haynet full of red hay."

That's brilliant! Lesson hopefully learned very quickly!

Pan
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:D:D:D
 
Buy a food colouring that can be seen a mile away (figure of speech) you kwim. Bright green/yellow or red/purple.
you can get dummy cctv cameras on ebay for £2.99 each.I just got two myself and they detect motion.Might frighten them off.lol
 
(macgyver warning) You say it won't all fit in a haynet - how about 'modifying' a few old haynets to make one massive one, stitch the whole thing round the bale it and stick a bike lock/massive padlock through the loops at the top/side and through a ring in the wall if necessary. Haven't figured the bottom bit out yet, unless you're there to stick the net on when the bale is delivered.

This made me think of locking it all up in a net but if more security is required, there it is. They're a bit expensive to macgyver, but the wire mesh must be available from SOMEWHERE!
 
Yep sounds familiar :mad:

I stack mine in a specific way and take note of whats left and try not to leave any loose "sections."

I have also read on here a note you can put which i also do:

"If you are in here- why are you stealing my hay- i know how much is in here and WILL know if that changes- i am not here to feed your horse."

Unfortunately though neither of those proves who it is just that its going :mad:
 
Post a large notice saying that your hay has recently been found to have been contaminated with ragwort and that the thieves need to get urgent blood tests done.

Just satisfying albeit not much help!

Alternatively, could you say get a storage freezer from a dump etc and fill with hay (thinking chest freezer). Stack with as much hay as you can, padlock it and the you might have a smaller amount left to bind up etc.
 
rema said:
Open a bale of hay but dont use it for yourself and place a few mouse traps inside the sections..You will soon find out who your thief is by the screams.
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Love it! This is another reason why i hate livery yards and prefer to be on our own. we had alot of feed stolen at a yard but not hay. We started to keep our feed at home and left a note in the empy feed bin telling them to get lost (or somehing like it!) but its not so easy with hay.
 
Although I'm not on a livery yard there had been a few cases locally of hay being stolen. My mum came up with a novel way of stopping anyone carting our bales off. When we stack them we cut one of the twines. They stack fine but fall apart when you try to move them.
 
Irritating.

Is this happening on a daily basis?

If so then the solution is easy.

You (and a friend) simply stay there one night (probably best to let your YO know) and take turns watching. When you see someone there don't do anything until they have actually removed your hay from the barn otherwise they'll come up with a reason for moving it. What you do after that is up to you, I suggest photographic( video is even better) proof for your YO. It would be simpler to get CCTV, they can be hired I believe.

Yet another reason I don't do DIY, I am in charge of hay and feed, if it goes missing then I am stealing from myself. :)
 
Enfys said:
Irritating.

Is this happening on a daily basis?

If so then the solution is easy.

You (and a friend) simply stay there one night (probably best to let your YO know) and take turns watching. When you see someone there don't do anything until they have actually removed your hay from the barn otherwise they'll come up with a reason for moving it. What you do after that is up to you, I suggest photographic( video is even better) proof for your YO. It would be simpler to get CCTV, they can be hired I believe.

Yet another reason I don't do DIY, I am in charge of hay and feed, if it goes missing then I am stealing from myself. :)
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This BUT I think is should be the YO doing the watching, but I would be tempted to do it myself if I had to
 
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