[Jacob-list] Hay issue

[Joy Thomas, SonRise Farm]

I arrange with my hay man to deliver "x" round bales
before the winter mud and ice set in. I currently have
four 6 foot high x 4 foot wide bales covered with bale
bonnets and tarps waiting to be used. I have one in
with horse and sheep with a round bale feeder. It's
the blue kind with sides that "slide in". Works well
with sheep and horse and angora goats. We roll the
round bales in one at a time into the area where the
critters eat. Stored round bales are not in paddock
with any critters, but in a resting paddock (that has
been overseeded, fertilized and is ready to grow in
the spring). We store the round bales on wooden
pallets, so they are not directly on the ground.

I also have "x" square bales delivered and stacked in
my barn for rabbits, ewes in lambing jugs and as
"extra" hay in case round bales don't last as long as
I estimated.

I base my estimate on prior year's usage, head count
of critters, how many will need pregnancy/gestation
and lactation rations, etc.

Think it's learning to think like a farmer!

$17 a bale! YIKES! That's more than my daughter pays
for horse hay in Connecticut!

Joy
www.shepherdofspots.com
Home of The Fiber Flock

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