Storing hay/straw outside

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SD1

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We currently feed haylage as we don't have storage for bales but are now dealing with a couple of fatties who will need fewer calories and more fibre. Mixing with straw is our most practical option but what would you do regarding storage?

1) Is it safe to store straw (or hay) you intend to feed outside?
2) what are the risks if bales get damp?
3) What are the best practical ways to securely cover bales (large round bales)?

All advice greatly appreciated!
 
We stored big rectangular bales of straw outside under tarpaulin until we wasted a complete bale during a storm. We successfully store opened haylage bales outside by using the bale cover as a 'hat', held down with bungees.
 
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We made far too much hay so had to store some outside. We stored it on pallets and covered it with tarpaulin. I’ve always been told it doesn’t batter if it gets damp when it’s been cured (finished fermenting) you just have to be careful if it has been recently baled.
 
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If putting a tarp on let the air circulate under it by piping some tyres ore shallow buckets on the top of the bales before putting the tarp on. I found if constantly rained on the top bales got mouldy from the cold tarp and sweating.

Let the air circulate and no issues.

I tied bricks or tyres to the bottom of the tarp to keep it from blowing off or loosely to the pallets at the bottom again to slow a bit of air circulation.
 
I have lost a few bales on the top of a stack, under tarpaulin, as they can still get wet - not sure if the tarp leaked (unlikely) or it was condensation. If I did the same again I would buy something like this where the cover isn't touching the bales.

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We have always had to store our hay outside and we've managed ok with the bales on pallets, with tarp covering them, but we only used to get 2 rounds delivered at a time so none were left to go damp.
Now we are spoilt as our handyman built a little 'hay store' (ply roof covered in thick truck tarp, held up on the square cut wooden posts at each corner. A couple of heras panels as sides. Pallets still underneath the round bales. We can get 6 in there and its changed our life. We love it :) he knocked it all together in half a day and it's brilliant. x
Edited to add that its secured to the side of our stable block.
 
you can buy wrapped hay in large square bales - would that work?

If not I have a months worth of hay delivered in round bales at a time. They sit on pallets outside and are cover with old lorry curtains - they are really heavy and don't move once on. Before we had the curtain we used tarps layered to avoid leaks and condensation.

I only order a months worth at a times as that's an amount of money I can afford to loose with out being to upset if anything happened and the hay was damaged.
 
We managed to dry out 200 bales outdoors which had been 'borrowed' for a local festival. Granted it was summer, but the principle's the same... stack on pallets, use a spacer of some kind (fence posts work) on top, then a tarp, and weight the tarp carefully so it can't blow off.
Because ours were already soggy, we had to have space between all the bales, as much air flow under the tarp as possible, and re-stack every couple of days to make sure all had chance to dry. Took about 2 weeks before we could safely get them all back in the barn, but they were fine.
 
I buy round straw and feed in a ring netted. If you store rounds on their side the water tends to run off and the inside of the bale stays dry, its better that air gets to the bale and then the straw doesn't stay damp.
 
Thank you so much everyone- lots of good ideas. I'd never have thought of a pondliner! and they're not prohibitively expensive either :-)
 
honetpot said:
I buy round straw and feed in a ring netted. If you store rounds on their side the water tends to run off and the inside of the bale stays dry, its better that air gets to the bale and then the straw doesn't stay damp.
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Yes good point, the farm I'm on makes straw for sale to cattle farmers and they store the round bales outside, on their sides. They must stay *moderately* dry or no one would buy them.
 
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