Making hay without a bailer

   / Making hay without a bailer #1  

tucker2

Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Messages
34
Location
Hickory,NC
Tractor
Kubota L1500, Iseki TS1910,Trak King dozer
I mow about 6 acres a year just to have a place for my grandsons to ride, play ect. I was thinking of haying it for my goats to eat during winter months. I don't have a bailer, just a bush hog with the back open and a old rake converted to 3pt, I do have a front end loader and was thinking of cutting it, letting it dry, raking it and using a loader to pile it up around a pole like old timers would do. Tarps
are cheap so my plans were to cover it and use it during winter months. Does this sound like something that would work or should I just let the grass lay in the field and buy a few round bales when needed.
 
   / Making hay without a bailer #2  
I mow about 6 acres a year just to have a place for my grandsons to ride, play ect. I was thinking of haying it for my goats to eat during winter months. I don't have a bailer, just a bush hog with the back open and a old rake converted to 3pt, I do have a front end loader and was thinking of cutting it, letting it dry, raking it and using a loader to pile it up around a pole like old timers would do. Tarps
are cheap so my plans were to cover it and use it during winter months. Does this sound like something that would work or should I just let the grass lay in the field and buy a few round bales when needed.

The problem you may run into is mold. Moisture could come up from the ground and still rot and mold the hay. Around here back in the day they still put the hay in a barn. I know even in a shed a person I have helped had issues with bales unless he put it on pallets to allow some air between the ground and the bales. How much you would lose I have no idea.
 
   / Making hay without a bailer #3  
It would be cheap to try. Just look into how they did it in the good old days. I'd try searching "how to build a haystack" or something similar.

People made hay long before hay balers came to be.

In the worse case you burn a few extra gallons of fuel, it doesn't work like you wanted and then end up buying extra hay.
 
   / Making hay without a bailer #4  
Go for it as a test!---make the stack as even as you can,---put it on high ground for good drainage making sure the top will run water off and not stand on it!---by nature there will be a certain amount of spoilage but most goats are not that picky in the winter! thanks; sonny580
 
   / Making hay without a bailer #5  
There is a good thread here about how to make a traditional hay stack. Worth the time to read it. Some pallets on the bottom and a tarp over the top will save a lot of waste from mold and rot. The brush hog is your weak link as it shreds the grass and makes it hard to rake up into a tumble that can be pitched with a fork. A sickle bar or other mower designed for making hay will work better but you certainly could do it with what you have and the goats won't mind some fuzzy hay.
 
   / Making hay without a bailer #6  
Here's the link to the thread vtsnowedin mentioned. You'll probably find the youtube video of the fel haysweep, interesting. I linked to it in the thread.
 
   / Making hay without a bailer
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Thanks, I didn't know there was anything like haysweeping, now after watching several videos on youtube, this looks like the perfect answer for my hay making adventure.
 
   / Making hay without a bailer #8  
Thanks, I didn't know there was anything like haysweeping, now after watching several videos on youtube, this looks like the perfect answer for my hay making adventure.

Glad you liked the video.
 
   / Making hay without a bailer #9  
The bush hog will chop the hay up too much. Can you find a sickle mower?
 
   / Making hay without a bailer
  • Thread Starter
#10  
No, I was told bush hog made models where one side was removable, this was for cutting hay. I plan to cut out one side of a old cutter I have.
 
 
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