Question for those who feed hay in the field.....

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custard

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I've been looking at the hay hutch, (see previous post) and weighing up the pros and cons of having one but would have to be wasting a lot of haylage to make it pay for itself.

This is how sad I am. A large bale weighs about 280KG so @ £25 per bale, works out at 9p per Kilo.

The large hay hutch is about £225 so to pay for itself in a year would have to be wasting about 6kg every single day! There is no way my two are trampling this much into the ground surley?!

So, how much do you think actually goes to waste, thinking caps on folks!
 
I've got a Medium one, but only really got it as means I can fill it up before I go on shift and nobody else has to lug hay down the field for the 4 days I'm working. Plus the hay left out overnight isn't frosted by the morning (she only goes out during the day). It's probably only saving me about a bale of hay a month as a bale now lasts a month rather than 2-3 of week. It has also stopped the grass being killed off, where tha hay has been.
 
I reckon its very unlikely you're wasting 6kg hay a day unless your field is a complete swamp. D is fed a 4kg net at night and thats pretty big. I know the weight because I weigh it. If she's out in the field i wouldn't say she wastes more than 1kg a day, depends on how much grass there is and how wet the field is to trample it in
 
Custardsmum - I know what you mean I have been looking at them myself and trying to work it out. I for various resons would have to get to small ones - but have decided that over the long term they will probably save me money and hay for several reasons. Obviously they hay won't get blown away - biggest waste for me - so the horses will actually get to eat it and as it holds a good amount it means they will have access to more if they are hungry. One horse hoovers up every last strand the other treads quite a lot into the gorund. The benefits for me definately outweight the costs long term. I am assuming that they are robust enough to last several years!
 
I use tyres, I have the small tractor ones (front wheels) and I got them free from the local tyre place. I just put my hay in that to stop it being trampled into the ground and the wind blowing it around. I don't know if that helps.
 
I'm just wondering why it would have to pay for itself in a year - the Hutch is pretty tough and I'm hoping mine will last five years plus. I think it saves in more than just financial terms - you can easily move it around to reduce poaching, and it has certainly stopped the arguing that used to go on over piles on the ground.
 
I wonder if the Hayhuch would blow away when empty or partialy empty? if it blew across the field it could terrify the horses into bolting.
I feed hay either on the ground or just put a small bale or 2 into what I call a "haycrate" which is a pallet for the base with wooden uprightson the corners and 2 rails on each side--think post and rails round the pallet and you should get the picture. this is really cheap, you can make it yourself or blag one from local builders merchants,, slates and roofing tiles are delivered in them, mine cost me £2 ! for a drink for the man .
they are very heavy and so remain put even in high wind.
 
Mines not blown away so far!!
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I was concerned that the Hayhutch might move in a high wind so I've weighted it down with some old night storage heater blocks - even the donkey using it as a scratching post hasn't shifted it!
 
Hi

I feed my 2 mares in a sheep hay ring. One bale lasts them 6 days and they only waste a tiny amount. I move it every time I feed a new bale and i also sit the bale on a palet, works a treat.
 
Brainwave and update! I've just happened to have some offcuts of the really heavy porous rubber matting knocking about along with a plastic water trough. I found that two slices of large bale haylage fit nicley inside and by plonking the rubber slab on top, keeps most of it in the trough, they eat the bits that stick out round the sides. May have to try cutting some holes in the slab but seems to be working so far...
 
At my old yard Yo's husband made boxes for the hayladge/hay out of old pallets which were creosoted to protect from the weather and worked very well !!
 
We put out rounds in the field, placed nearish a hedge so when bits blow, they get caught near the longer grasses by the hedge. Not a lot of waste at all, definately less than when we were putting bales out
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Ours are fed using sheep and cattle feeders, big round bales of hay in metal round feeders.

Between 11 horses/ponies they get through roughly 4 round bales a week.

Not much is wasted as they tend to eat it all!
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