Steaming hay

Kezza

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20 April 2004
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Few questions re steaming hay please for those of you who do it in a dustbin:

How many wedges (shaken up) can you fit approx in a normal dustbin?
Do you sit the haynet on a crate or similar so it’s not touching the bottom i.e. not touching the water?
Do you pour the water in and then put the hay in or do you pour it over the top of the hay?
How long do you leave it to steam?
How many kettles worth of water do you put in?
Do you spray the haynet with a hose before putting it in?

Thanks everyone!
 
I steam hay when it's too cold to soak it (e.g. haynet starts to freeze). I use a plastic barrel that has been sawn in half rather than a dustbin (it has straight sides which make it easier to stuff hay in, but shouldn't make a difference).

I can fit 4 good size wedges into my container. I put the hay straight in so that it touches the bottom and then pour boiling water over the top. We have a boiler in the tackroom so I'll turn that up to max heat and use 2 buckets of that, + about 2 full kettles (more if I can be bothered to keep boiling them!) I then cover the top snuggly with a tarpaulin to keep the steam in. Leave 10-15 mins or so and then drain.

I put it straight into the stable hot but then I know my horse won't really touch it until it has cooled - she's rather suspicious of it steaming in the corner!
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I fill my nets then wet them with the hose, put the hose off the steamer ( wall paper steamer) in the bin , add the nets add the lid and leave for about 10 mins.
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My method (after many years of refinement lol) is to get a cheap water butt from B&Q (£30 for a big green one, probably cheaper elsewhere) which fits two great big nets in. The big water butt has a knock out hole in the bottom for the optional tap. I have bought a wallpaper steamer (also from B&Q) for about £20 and feed the nozzle through it. I raise the hay off the bottom of the tub with an upturned wire basket. Switch steamer on - leave for 20 mins or so. Remove perfectly steamed hay.
Alternatively you can just pour over a few kettles of hot water and leave for a while.
Either way, what I'd really recommend the big green butt cos of the size and it tapers out at the top meaning you can really get a lot of hay in it. Definately two big whopping nets.
Have fun
 
I put in about 4 sections in a black bin, boil about 2 kettles of water or take down the big flask and pour over the hay! I then leave for about 15 - 20 mins and feed straight away!

At work we use a hot water hose (its blo**y hot water) and just wet it all like normal hosing down hay!!

Imay be trying the wallpaper steamer though, sounds like a great idea!
 
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