It came!!!! It came!!!!

[Terri]

My hay!!! All 425 bales of it! MY horses aren't going hungry this winter.
OOOO,you think my picket fence is gonna survive?
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/micomyhorse/S6300005.jpg
Wow, what a big truck
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/micomyhorse/S6300006.jpg
My work crew, ready for action.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/micomyhorse/S6300004-1.jpg
After a lot of hard work, stacking 10 tons of hay, pizza is called for
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/micomyhorse/S6300011.jpg
Then time to RIDE!!!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/micomyhorse/S6300009.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/micomyhorse/S6300007.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/micomyhorse/S6300008.jpg
So I have 425 bales in the barn, still have about 130 in the garage and my boarder owes me 45 bales. That is 600 bales that should last 4 horses 10 months! Just a smidge more and I am good till next years 1st cut. Yippeee! :smilieparty

[Terry Wallace]

You lucky, lucky dog you!

I just went down to the rural feed store and spent $8.00 a bale for very excellent quality alfalfa and two bags of grain.

The hay .. 40 bales..will last me.... :cry: 20 DAYS :cry:

Oh well....what can ya do? I gotta have hay...and with diesel fuel at $3.00 a gallon..you can bet I'm not going to drive very far to get it...

That was $340.00 of feed.... OUCH!!

[Terri]

OOOOO, ouch. The grain store is getting $8.00 + per bale around here too. This was VERY fresh right off the field and still needs to cure a bit. But we stacked it loosely with lots of ventilation. BUT, it was only $4.75 per bale, delivered. We did the same thing last year, hay shipped in, right off the field, and it cure nice in the barn. It is beautiful timothy/cover, horses seem to like it.

[Terry Wallace]

I WISH I could get $4.75 hay...even if not delivered!

If I go to the field..its an 80 mile round trip and its $6.00 a bale... plus fuel, loads of time, and bucking bale upward onto a truck or trailer is something I cannot do anymore....

Oh well..... I will dream of your big truck-load of hay! :D

[CarolU]

You know, that is NOT FAIR to have a crew like that! :-?

[jodiTowne]

NICE!!!!!

I am waiting for my hay, but don't have that kind of storage OR help. I do it by myself :( HMMMM...maybe I need a GOOD boarder. Wait 'til these girls grow a little more, then I'll have workers. :lol:

[Carol Nelson]

That's a great feeling isn't it...makes a cowgirl happy!! A barn full of good hay!! ;-)

[Laura S]

That is great! We are waiting for the next batch of good weather to cut our hay. It is so tall right now!

[ErinC]

Nice work Terri, great crew you got there, I am glad the rain did not hit your end of town!

Laura, I am so glad we cut here on Sunday, and bailed on Tuesday and it has rained every day from then on!
thank god we got it done.
553 bails, sold all but 100 ....
YA Terri bought some of that too, she is a HAY HOG!!!! ;-)

Terri I am bringing hay home next weekend the big VT bails for 5.00 a bail you want some of that too??????

LOL!!!!!

[Terri]

Yep, hay hog, horse hog....etc Just a hog. http://bestsmileys.com/animals/8.gif

Actually it is pouring now, but hay is in and dry. MMMMMMM, VT hay???? I don't think I'll buy any but I know a certain boarder that owes me 45 bales and I still have a tiny bit of room in my loft.

[ErinC]

5.00 for the ones from VT,,,you paid 4.50 for the ones you got off the field.
:?: :?:

[TrueStepPaso]

Cool! Who's the dark horse with the blaze that two ppl are on?

[Barbwire]

We picked up a load of timothy/clover hay last week. It was VERY heavy for the size of the bales and the rope was extremely tight. I decided to only get 20 bales and once in the loft, I cut the ropes on all 20 bales to let it air out. I did reach into the bales before we loaded it, and there was no heat; I just didn't want to take any chances. We payed $2.65/bale, up from $2.45 last year.

I sure hope the farmer has some drier stuff the next time we go.

[ErinC]

Abby that is the TW that Jackie bought for her daughter.

[Privatetreaty]

I can't believe these hay prices.
Down here, we pay $14 a bale for T&A.


.

[ErinC]

ya but are they 50 Lb bails or bigger?

[Privatetreaty]

Why, how big are your bales, Erin?


.

[ErinC]

they are between 45-60 lb each

about 12-14 good size flakes.

[Privatetreaty]

I couldn't tell you how many pads are in a bale.
But, the weight of our bales are right around 50-60 lbs.
Sounds like there are similar.
I guess we're just considered suckers for paying these kind of prices. :cry:


.

[Mrs. E.]

When we could not find hay here in central Fl we bought some in South Fl. Just for coastal it was around $8.00 a bale. T & A was around $14.00 if you could find it.
We are now getting local hay here and it is $65.00 for a roll of coastal, around $6.50 for square bales and they are small. For t & a from $12.00 to $14.50 a bale.
I think I should move. Never seen hay, any kind, for under $5.00 in Fl.
Enjoy the hay and send the crew down here if I can find some good hay that need stored. :D

[Jane Hurl]

We're waiting for it to stop raining (at night) so we can start cutting. At our new place, we have so much hay that we'll get more than we need out of our first cut. The second cut will all be for selling. (Never been in that boat before. Every other year we've had to purchase hay before summer pasture comes on.)

[Monty]

:oops: Hubby's Boss has a field we couldn't find someone to cut last year - found someone this year - they got the hay free - and we got a load of about 125 bales - good heavy ones - we get to bale it the next cut - IF our equipment holds up !
Just bought 97 bales - they brought the wagon over - we unload and stack - $1.75 (cash) ,otherwise $2 by check ! They did them heavier than last year !
Need about 775 more - 6 horses and due to hubby's surgery and SIL traveling for his job - no pasture fencing put up like we wanted :roll:
So we need it all - Could have had another 300 bales tonight - but ,either bales are getting really heavier from last year - or we are showing our age :( Just daughter and us to do the hay - SIL is in Manaus Brazil - doing machining at a power plant ! :roll:
Since I am "short" - don't make 5' - I can't stack higher than 2 bales LOL - So, I get to unload from the wagon :roll:

[ErinC]

shorter then 5 feet, you are little! :shock:
but tuff ;-)

I do the opposite Jane, I sell off first cut ( well I kept 100 ) but then I store as much 2nd cut as I can.
our second cut is awesome hay , and perfect to feed in the dead of winter when they have no pasture to eat.....
I wont need a lot this year only 2 horses here over the winter thats about a bail a day!

[Terri]

OOOOOO, there is a good question, 1st vs 2nd cut. Which do you prefer and why? maybe I'll make it a poll.

[ErinC]

why I like it, it is softer, and has more clover and Alfalfa in it, MY FIELD anyway!

it hay a higher protien count in it. so it is better to feed in the dead of winter.

2nd cut is softer then first cut.
first cut always has some of the stiffer stuff in it.


Gunta use to have her hay tested every year , and that was the general concensus.

you put a mix on the poll, that is perfect.
;-) that was my vote!

[Terri]

Yeah, I am just interested what everybody thinks. The horses seem to really like your 2nd cut, but they eat is so fast cause it is soft, like cotton candy. It is also usually more expensive and if I forgo 1st cut in hopes of 2nd and we have a drought or to much dampness in the late summer (nights start to get cool and damp and there is less sun light), then I don't have hay at all or small amounts at more $$$$.

Every summer I go through this, second guessing myself, worrying about the new hay. did I put it away to damp? will the barn collaspe under all that weight? Is it good enough? should I have waited till 2nd cut???????
Wring hands and worry somemore.

I know, I am nuerotic.

[Barbwire]

That's a tough question, 1st or 2nd cut. It really varies from year to year depending on the quality of each cut. I would prefer good quality first cut, but some years I am forced to buy second cut.

I think the second cutting hay tends to be too high otctane for my guys, plus, they eat it so fast there are left to stand around chewing on the barn and such, until the next feeding.

[Mellifluous]

ya gotta remember that for the most part, eastern bales are much smaller than western bales. That would make up for a lot of the difference in price.

[motorgypsy]

T/A and alfalfa are going for $15 a bale in FL. No round bales. I trailered 30 bales of first cut fescue to FL for my 3 plus 1 mini horses down here. Got 1 more round bale left and about 25 of the squares. We are getting intermittent rain but one local supplier said no hay until September. Not good.

[JennLM]

I can't believe these hay prices.
Down here, we pay $14 a bale for T&A.

We are 13-14 a bale for Alfalfa out here.

Righ now we are stuck paying 10 bucks a 50 pound bag for our Alfalfa/oat cubes. They don't carry the 1200 pound bags yet. After 1+ yrs they finally carry our cubes. We were stuck with pellets at 8$ a 50 pound bag before this. Cannot do hay bales out here. Between wind/rabbits/sand you lose more then half to waste.

$200 every 2 weeks for 2 horses here right now.

It will be interested when we add 2 more horses here.....

[Jane Hurl]

I don't know about anyone else's hay, but up here, most hay is a timothy, brome, alfalfa mix. Timothy and brome grow slower than alfalfa, therefore your FIRST cut is higher in timothy and brome than it is in alfalfa because the hay grows for 3-4 months (which gives the timothy and brome a chance to get to full size) before the first cut happens. Second cut, being as it is done a scant 2 months after the first cut (winter being just around the corner at that point in time), is mostly alfalfa.

That makes the second cut perfect for sheep and beef cattle that you are trying to get up to weight for slaughter.

Horses, on the other hand (according to all the vets up here) do not need alfalfa. It makes them hot and fat. Horses do very well on timothy (which, if you talk to a forage specialist, is just one step up from STRAW in nutritional value!)

My horses, unless they are hard keepers, get nothing but second cut timothy hay.

[Barbwire]

Righ now we are stuck paying 10 bucks a 50 pound bag for our Alfalfa/oat cubes. They don't carry the 1200 pound bags yet...

Am I reading that right? 1,200 lb. bags? :shock:

[Jane Hurl]

Yep, Barbwire, you're reading right. Up here we call them "tote bags". Giant bags that have a drawstring at the top and the bottom. Each bag stands (filled) about 4 feet high and 5 feet across.

[Terry Wallace]

I like second & third cuts best, first cuts have too many weeds, fourth cut is too stalky....but I buy alfalfa and not grass or grass mixes.

[Jane Hurl]

*lol at Terry* Up here we only get TWO cuts ... if we're lucky! *grin*

[Pasomom]

Well, it sounds to me like Florida pays the highest hay prices. My coastal is $6.75 per bale. They are not the real heavy bales either cause I can pick them up. ;-) I have never heard of hay prices at $2.00 a bale or lower. Jiminey cricket, I'd build a hay barn if I could get prices like that! I could probably build it for what I would save in hay prices for a couple of years! Of course, by the time it traveled to Florida, It wouldn't cost that much anymore. :cry: Even still, I would like to buy some of the $4.75 a bale hay that is a little closer!

[JennLM]

Righ now we are stuck paying 10 bucks a 50 pound bag for our Alfalfa/oat cubes. They don't carry the 1200 pound bags yet...

Am I reading that right? 1,200 lb. bags? :shock:

Yup, we were having them delivered when the other feed store had the alfalfa/oat cubes but they stopped carrying them and closed. We went to our other feed store right up the street and had to do with pellets. I am glad the manager pushed for getting our cubes in. They use no benonite, are easily crumbleable (is that a word?) and the horses do divinely on them.

It is much cheaper to get the 1200 lb bags out here. You can get 1200 pounds of reg. alfalfa cubes for $139 which is a huge deal here. We were paying $165 for the 1200 pounds before including delivery and it was a huge deal for us. These 50 pound bags get old real fast. We just open them and pour them in the 1200 pound bag we kept.

The first time I saw our neighbor drive towards his barn with one in the back of his truck it boggled my mind. That is alot of weight. They knock it over by hand into a bin they built :shock:

I won't feed the plain alfalfa cubes since they are rock hard and I doubt they digest well and do contain benonite.

You people with cheap hay don't know how good you have it.

[andrea]

I feed first cutting hay. And I also grain.
My reasoning is first cutting does not have alot of protein and being cheaper I can feed more of it. Does keep them from chewing down the barn. If I was to feed second cutting I would not grain. Maybe just a handfull. My kids would be very upset not to get some grain. When I was making my own hay I would let the third cutting overripe. Then i could feed it to the horses if I had to. I also had alot of pasture up in MIchigan. So only had to hay duing the winter. Here i am feeding hay year around. My pasos seem to still be a bit fat even though they are not on alot of pasture.

[Terri]

This has been very interesting. Just went and checked on my hay, so far the barn has not collasped under the weight, despite dire predictions from my boarder. It had just come directly off the field and was/is a little damp, but we stacked it carefully on its is side, I have all the doors in the loft wide open and a large commercial fan circulating air. Two days later it is nice and cool and seems to be curing nicely. I always get nervous during the 1st month fresh hay is stacked in the barn, but so far so good.

I like feeding hay, lots of it. My horses are round and just a bit tubby and I like them that way. So I do like 1st cut cause I would rather feed more and give them something to chew on all day. But I know 2nd cut is higher in protein so I will probably buy some of that too just to have for Mico (cause he is special :D ) and usually struggles with vitamin e deficiencies.

[CarolU]

I don't know Mom, they pay a lot in California too. Our hay growers here probably ship 70% of their hay to California, and it is worth the trip.

I like first crop also. But I'm buying hay that is a lot like Jane's, mostly brome, timothy, with a little alfalfa. They just cut mine two weeks ago, and I'm getting it delivered tomorrow. Let me tell you, my hay 'stack' is pretty THIN right now. LOL Mostly feeding the hay off the floor of the pole barn.

It's kind of a pain to deal with, but this year I'm buying 1300 lb bales and $20/ton for delivery. I get my neighbor to unload and stack for me with his big tractor. I don't have much choice, my regular hay guy decided to buy more cows, and he would deliver. I don't have a hay 'crew' like Terri's, so delivery is a must.

[Terri]

Want my hay crew? I'd be happy to ship them out. Remember there are alot of teens among them so it would be a one-way ticket.

Brome???? What do you think of that? My friend bought her hay very late two years ago cause our hay guy only had hay full of brome left. Her horses wasted almost 1/2 of it - hated it. And they got kinda thin while the brome wasted in the stalls. She will NEVER make that mistake again. Do your horses actually EAT the brome? Or are ours just spoiled by good timothy.

[Jane Hurl]

Dunno, Terri. Up here EVERYBODY plants timothy/brome/alfalfa. That's just the way it is ... and that is what everybody feeds. Mind you, we do have a lot of waste. Maybe it's the brome? (Though my understanding is that brome is "better" forage than timothy ... but my understanding isn't all that well informed either. *grin*)