Salvaging Wasted Hay - FHC Q & A

[@wilburnprice9886]

In the old German Farm, the barn has a manger below a hole in the floor of the barn and you just kick loose hay down to feed the horses, mule and cows.

[@JamesJordan-u5u]

I unroll our round bales and it has really aided in my pastures becoming much more productive.

[@prophecyrat2965]

Was waiting for you to say the word “mulch”. Regeneration is life🌱

[@andyzumwalt3632]

I take the cows waste hay haul it to the sheep. I then take sheep waste hay if I can get it dry since I live in a very wet region and use as bedding in the barn

[@MarkWYoung-ky4uc]

Another great tutorial Pa. I said farmers were sustainable before it became hip and trendy. I love your answer at the last. The only sure way not to make something is to not plant anything.

[@lorineidtinytoadplot744]

I love hay waste. The biggest reason being; I got some ; hay' some years its hard to come by, in my area. I don't have a lot of larger animals, so I feed twice a day. Hay is easier and cheaper than soaked hay cubes :) But ... I love to garden with the old hay, Its like gold in the garden.

[@tylerbordson2267]

Hay waste saving idea you could get some round baler belts cut them to fit and then bolt them to the sides of the head stall so when they pull their head out they don’t take as much with them. Really enjoy the content please keep it up.

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Great video Pa Mac, great ideas for saving some of the hay costs. Just goes with what you raise that helps feed your table. Stay safe and keep up the great videos and the fun you share making the videos. Fred.

[@farmhandscompanion]

Thank you, Fred; I hope you're doin' fine!

[@grannyandpapsyslogcabin9861]

I had an old 8’ truck cap that wasn’t being used, I put wooden pallets on the ground close to my chicken coop and measured my truck cap and nailed vertical sides using more pallets and my truck cap sits perfectly on top of the skids. I used one of those vertical skids for a swinging door by attaching two hinges and lock it with a screen door hook. It’s filled with loose hay that gets plenty of fresh air flow. I can access it by the back window door of the truck cap and if I need to enter I also open the wooden skid door. My chickens will be having hay all winter.

[@davidjohanson8964]

I almost didn't watch the video when I saw the title, I thought boring, it's what I do all the time! But, surprise, great video, even got some new ideas, and found someone to commiserate with about hay wasters. (Goats are worse than cows I think!)

[@gordonscheller4830]

My round bale losses have dropped from approx 25% to no more than 5% by centering the bales carefully on end in proper sized feeders and not removing the twine until the bale is 2/3 at least eaten. Removing the twine then takes longer than doing so at the beginning but is well worth the effort. No problem with animals eating twine as long ad it is plastic.

[@thepatrioticmistersnevets9850]

Thanks for the information in this video. Currently I do not raise livestock, but it's a goal that my family and I are working towards.

[@douglasvantassel8098]

Great video! Thank you for making these.

[@Sgt-Gravy]

What is your routine around the farm during natural disasters: tornadoes, blizzards, tropical storms, flooding, etc...? Do you do anything different from the day to day chores in preparation? Love your knowledge and wisdom.

[@elizabethjohnson475]

Good question; I'd like to know also.

[@mleonard3163]

I keep a tube made from fencing with a tee post to hold it up in my chicken run. I put goat bedding (mostly spent hay) and the stuff that's more difficult for my chickens to eat or they won't eat into this tube. As it composts down the chickens can reach their heads through the fence and get the bits of hay and bugs. When I want to harvest the compost I just lift the fencing up a little to start pulling from the bottom of the pile as needed and then I'll either add it to the garden or put it into the main compost pile to cook a little longer.

[@youngguns1319]

A old ibc tank frame works great for square hay you just cut the runs and bend them in and use tie wire to hold them together and it makes a v shape up top and you have the bottom of the frame that will catch all the hay that falls and they will eat it and i just put a pice of plywood on the top keeps the rain off it I went from using 1 square a day for one cow and 3 goats to now it last 2 whole days was worth the time to build there’s videos on KZbin showing how to turn a ibc tank frame into a hay feeder.

[@tropifiori]

Well thought out good advice Thanks Frank

[@GrandmaGingersFarm]

May YAH Bless

[@Traderjoe]

Our chickens eat literally anything they find. Poop, blood, rotten vegetables and meat, they’ll eat anything and they seem to thrive on it.

[@davidtyler7208]

In my experience with sheep and cow if they are doing a lot of pulling and wasting of fresh hay its a quality issue. My animals waste about 25% of first cut round bales but its stemy straw thats left over. Good second and third cut dosent get wasted much and haylage gets licked clean off the ground. Animal breed has a lot to do with it as well, my herford cows can eat just about any quality hay and seem to enjoy even moldy hay with mushrooms growing. My sheep on the same stuff gets wasted >50%

[@johnreno9418]

Righto-mundo. I found out that my three goats like Orchard Grass and/or Alfalfa hay, they do not like regular fescue hay. This past year, all that was available was the fescue and the goats couldn't care less about how difficult it was to obtain hay; they picked out more that 25% and let it fall to the ground.

[@rosehavenfarm2969]

"A little bit every day" is good advice for just about everything on the farm. Nope, chickens don't care, either.

[@John-zd8jn]

Hello pa mac, I really appreciate your videos. My question is on average if one was setting up a homestead that is 100% self reliant, growing food for yourself and animals and wood for fuel and building. How many acres would you need? In the Ozark region for example. Thanks

[@Michael-me4pe]

Rainfall amounts are key to the calculation you are looking for. After that, condition of the land/soil at the particular location is next. After that, what are you going to be raising?

[@moonafarms1621]

Not ever possible for any individual to be 100% self reliant. Even 100, 200, 300 years ago.... "You can do anything, but you cannot do everything." That's why we need community.

[@rosehavenfarm2969]

How many people?

[@John-zd8jn]

@@moonafarms1621 very true, but I do believe especially with all of the technology we have now. If one was to setup their place right you could be very close to completely self reliant. Just think of the indigenous peoples all around the world before civilization, you'd have less convenience than you have now for sure, but that's the trade off. Sorry for the sermon.

[@John-zd8jn]

@@moonafarms1621 and yes community makes it all more possible. 👍

[@TheRedneckprepper]

Nice, do you have hay bailing equipment ?

[@Levi-tm4gl]

If you have half a dozen cattle to feed why do you use a bale ring instead of a fence line manger? The ones the my family has been using since my great grandfather are just two 3X12 bridge planks on the bottom, then about a two foot gap with a 2 inch pipe across the top. Feeding at the fence line would save you from driving the tractor in the mud but you would have to feed with a fork everyday.

[@lobo33rojo]

feeding chopped hay in a feed trough helps

[@hamster1169]

You should look up Core Gardening It’s all about burying wood like sticks and ashes Best thing for the world is burying sticks

[@Breecebuilt]

Like Hugel Kultur…

[@dlighted8861]

Being hurt because animals act like animals just doesn't make sense. It is what it is. Think of another way to feed them,stop complaining or take up knitting. Yes I know you will still complain about wasted wool 😂😂😂