What to do with old hay?

[Muddy unicorn]

I’ve been clearing out the hay barn at our new house - the previous owners left a few bales of hay piled up higgledy-piggledy on top of some old, mostly broken, pallets. I’ve been sorting through and there are 5 or so bales which may still be edible but the rest are either mouldy, too contaminated with building dust etc and I’ve discovered several mummified rats and rabbits ?

I’ve now got a few large piles of inedible hay and I’m wondering what to do with it - any suggestions?

 

[Widgeon]

It sounds a bit hideous - I'd probably compost it or burn it!

 

[meleeka]

I’d burn it.

 

[Sprogladite01]

Depends how hideous but I'd try and take out the worst bits and use the rest to mulch over my fields - any inedible hay goes out on the portion of the field not being currently used to break down here!

 

[ihatework]

Burn it

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

As long as its not mouldy or contaminated with anything maybe chuck it in the the field for the horses to pick through.

 

[AmyMay]

Another vote for burning it.

 

[Abacus]

I would burn it too. In fact while sitting at the yard this Friday night to check on them during the fireworks, I plan on setting fire to a pile of old hay to keep warm by.

 

[FestiveG]

Make it the start of you muck heaps?

 

[Squeak]

Another vote for burning it.

 

[dorsetladette]

burn it - last think you need is breathing problems from horses picking through manky hay.

 

[Cortez]

burn it - last think you need is breathing problems from horses picking through manky hay.

Please don't burn hay - if you're worried about breathing problems, clouds of smoke certainly won't be helping with that, and will create further carbon in the atmosphere. Old, inedible hay goes on the muck heap to rot down. Old, slightly edible hay goes to the cattle who are less picky and delicate than the horses.

 

[ponynutz]

Start a muck heap with it, have found hay's quite good for rotting down.

 

[Muddy unicorn]

Thank you - the previous owners didn’t poo pick for a while either so there’s quite a bit of poo to add in - I will have an instant muck heap even before the horses have moved in!

 

[Lady Jane]

Depends how hideous but I'd try and take out the worst bits and use the rest to mulch over my fields - any inedible hay goes out on the portion of the field not being currently used to break down here!

That seems to be the advice these days, especially at this time of year

 

[PurBee]

If there’s dead critters found within the pile i doubt any of it is healthy to feed to anything, so i would allow natures hedgerows to devour it and make use of whatever nutrients are in it.

 

[PeterNatt]

Just put them on your muck heap, remove the bail twine and let it rot down. I most certainly would not use it.

 

[ycbm]

It's bonfire night soon, can you donate it to a local event?
.

 

[Muddy unicorn]

It's bonfire night soon, can you donate it to a local event?
.

The bales are disintegrating so it would be tricky to move it (there’s only so much hay my other half is prepared to have in the car ?)

 

[SEL]

Don't burn it - waste of good compost!

If you've got any areas away from the horses that are muddy then it's great mulch otherwise muck heap and you can return to resting fields when it's rotted down.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

The bales are disintegrating so it would be tricky to move it (there’s only so much hay my other half is prepared to have in the car ?)

If its so old it's disintegrating I would just throw it away maybe get some heavy duty sacks and bag it up?

I wouldn't burn it.

 

[Lois Lame]

Start a muck heap with it, have found hay's quite good for rotting down.

It's beautiful stuff for that. 'Orrible old no-good-for-anything-else hay and/or straw give a wonderful texture to compost.

 

[Lotsoflemons]

I sometimes use hay as bedding and mix through with the shavings we had alot of hay left over from summer as we hardly used it and its now being used for top up of beds just to make it a bit thicker it can be a pain to muck out but if there not in often like mine its a good resource to use instead of it goin to waste if it is really rotten and wet the on the muck heap i would put it

 

[rextherobber]

Use it for mulch, thickly on bare muddy areas, the seed in it will germinate in the spring, and the hay itself will mulch down and improve the soil. You can also spread it thinly over the grass in existing, resting fields to improve the soil there. It's an excellent mulch. Have a look at the Equicentral system of pasture management, you'll never have "waste" again!

 

[Hallo2012]

spread it on any bare muddy areas of field to mulch down and improve the soil.

 

[Desert_rider]

Like others have said, I would use it as mulch. If you don't need it yourself, I'm sure you could give it to a keen gardener.

 

[HollyWoozle]

I would definitely compost or use it to mulch around plants. If any of the bales are moveable then I’ve also seen rotting bales used for growing courgette plants in Eastern Europe ? Looked amazing with leaves and vines over them, but you’d have to store them a while longer for that of course.

 

[Abby-Lou]

spread it on any bare muddy areas of field to mulch down and improve the soil.

Totally this its amazing how it works

 

[Lois Lame]

I would definitely compost or use it to mulch around plants. If any of the bales are moveable then I’ve also seen rotting bales used for growing courgette plants in Eastern Europe ? Looked amazing with leaves and vines over them, but you’d have to store them a while longer for that of course.

Straw bale gardening is something I've read about and it looks fantastic, esp perhaps in cool temperate areas where I live; we need an early start on tomatoes which is possible (apparently) by using straw bales. I well believe it. Anyhow there's a book on it, which I've read: Straw Bale Gardening by Joel Karsten.

 

[Palindrome]

mulch for trees or flowers, it helps protect them against the cold and provide compost for them (and prevent weeds). Not for a veg garden of course if there are dead rodents.