What will you do if there is a hay shortage this year??

Mine are livign out now which has helped a lot with hay. Last year I didn;t feed ANY HAY at all from July to about October I would say. Well, old horse had a net hung in his shelter occasionally but didn't touch it.

I won;t be giving the fatties their token section of hay each, I will give them what they need when they need it, and possibly have to up their token feeds to something more worthwhile.
 
I had a small supply of hay for emergencies during the winter, but ended up not really needing it even during the snow as there was long grass under the snow, however, I fed more hard feed in February and March. My gang live out 24/7 and really only get hay in the lorry if we go somewhere.
 
little_critter said:
To make sure I'm not wasting the hay I already have can you advise whether I'm feeding too much hay at the moment?

Pony is 14.1hh and is out for 10 hours per day Easter to October so just needs a haynet when she's in overnight in the summer.
In winter she's out approx 7 hours per day but for only 4 days per week, she's in all day the other 3 days so I'll definately need more hay in winter.

How do I calculate how much hay she needs? - she's eating everything I give her at the moment but I suspect that may be more than she needs (greedy cob!)

I was thinking to make the hay last longer I'll only feed her 'required' amount but double net it to make sure it lasts the night.
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It wouldn't let me edit my post so I'm quoting it instead!
The BHS website says feed 2.5% of your horses weight but how do you know what weight of grass they've eaten? Or do you ignore the grass and feed 2.5% hay and hard feed on top of whatever grass they eat?
 
little_critter said:
It wouldn't let me edit my post so I'm quoting it instead!
The BHS website says feed 2.5% of your horses weight but how do you know what weight of grass they've eaten? Or do you ignore the grass and feed 2.5% hay and hard feed on top of whatever grass they eat?
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No that should include any grass they've eaten. For a good doer you might need to make the total nearer 1 -1.5%

I tend to put a haynet in of between 6 - 12lb overnight for a good doer 14hh depening on conditions if that's any help. (Pony on very restricted daytime grazing.)
 
My farmer has just told me has has cut and baled hay for me, and it will be here on Thursday...how good is that? He is doing some more later this week for me.. to make you all green :) but I was getting worried as was down to my last months supply for five nags.
 
I think it is too early to panic about hey yet - if we all say that it will be more expensive that will drive prices up as people will just pay it! We've had lots of decent rain in the past week or so, so fingers crossed!
 
Serenity087 said:
When you look at how many hundreds of bales of hay farmers deal in, thats a LOT of money!!!!
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They're not making much profit though...oil prices have sent fuel prices soaring and it is frightening how much contractors' machinery guzzles. Currently the majority of farmers I deal with are faced with paying at least €35 MORE per acre to get silage cut. Dealing in baled hay/haylage/silage where the contractor is payed by the bale there is not a huge margin on the bale.
 
I had to say goodbye to two grass liveries this year to ensure my 3 boys had enough grass out of my 7 acre field. It was a struggle providing enough hay for 5 throughout last winter so I am relieved I cut back numbers (although I'll miss the income it wasnt justifiable with the increased cost in forage).
I have just secured 4 large 460kg bales of last seasons hay from a producer in Norfolk. He is charging £80 per bale and £70 delivery to my yard in southern Kent. It seems a lot but (if I've got my sums right), works out less than £4 a small bale delivered. I was getting prices from £5.00 to £8.00 collected locally.

I'm lucky as I have a large barn to store hay but that said, it could live out under a tarp if necessary. If anyone is interested, the contact is Kirk Farmers, Norfolk. He isnt sure how much hay he will get this year but has small mini hesson bales (£70) and haylage bales at £45.
 
Well we haven't cut any of our hay or haylage yet. Last year we didn't cut till July... some almost august!! So don't panic completely, hay season is traditionally mid-June anyway, so if it starts raining its still got time to grow.

If there is a shortage (again) then we will just sell less of our cut so that we have enough. Mine went through half a bale of hay a day when everything was frozen...then decreased to about a bale every 3 days or so when the weather warmed slightly, & quarter of a scoop of pony nuts - only cost us £15 for a whole winters hard feed!
 
Ottinmeg said:
I'm hoping that we will have enough this year. Have still got 9 of the huge rectangle bales from last year put aside and just ordered another 24 but may increase that order to 35 to make sure we are covered. All ours live out and we currently have no grass but we have very good land and the grass grows like wildfire as long as it rains!
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Can i be nosey and ask how much you would pay for a huge rectangle bale if you know? I have been told a price but not too sure that it's right, i know times are hard all round but the price seems crazy!
 
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