How to make your own hay

I am in the middle of creating a Natural bunny blog in which I will put step by step pics, but will post here as we are in the hay making days!
1. Check weather forecast for a period of dry weather lasting at least 5 days.
2. Find an area with long grass, 12 inches plus will do, but I like mine knee high.
3. Check there is no ragwort in it and if there is carefully remove it.
4. CAREFULLY cut it about 3 inches from the soil either with shears or a hand hook (I use a scythe but for the love of the Gods PLEASE don't unless you have been trained!!!)
5. Lay the grass out in the open in rows about a foot wide and as long as you like, these are called 'windrows'
6. Every evening turn the grass so the bottom is at the top.
7. Continue this every evening until the grass rattles. When you get to this stage it is hay:thumb:
8. Carefully gather your precious crop in and either stack in a heap under cover OR .......
9. Get an old tea chest and place 2 pieces of baler twine draped in it. Stuff it full of hay and stamp it well down, add more hay/stamp it down and continue until you cant fit any more in. Gather up your baler twine ends and tie as tightly as possible.
10. Tip the chest over and with a goodly yank out will pop a mini bale of hay to be stacked somewhere dry till winter!

PS I have never had success trying to store hay under a tarp, you might have more luck than me!


WARNING!
If ever you open a bale either home made or bought and it smells of tobacco (very distinctive smell) and is damp and dark brown looking, throw it away!! It has been spoiled with anaerobic organisms and is very harmful to buns/other livestock. It generally only happens if the grass wasn't dried enough which is why I said to wait until it rattles

Happy haymaking! Feel free to include some other nommy herbage when making hay!

Thanks for that. Really useful

Do you mind telling me where can I follow your blog please?

I will when it's ready:thumb:

Ooohh i tried to make my own timothy hay last year but we had such a damp summer!! well that's what i blamed it on anyway
i like your step-by-step guide. pics of each stage would be amazing

If you can cut it when the weather is dry, you can dry it under cover if needs must!
I got home late today cos I cycled like a loon from work to my friends garden where I had hand cut 5 bales worth of hay from between her raised beds, just so I could barrow it all round to and empty cow shed cos it's going to rain tonight:lol::lol:
It's half dry already and with the breeze running through I reckon it will be ready for storing on Sunday night, the strands are 2 and a half feet long!

Geoff's people said:

I am in the middle of creating a Natural bunny blog in which I will put step by step pics, but will post here as we are in the hay making days!
1. Check weather forecast for a period of dry weather lasting at least 5 days.
2. Find an area with long grass, 12 inches plus will do, but I like mine knee high.
3. Check there is no ragwort in it and if there is carefully remove it.
4. CAREFULLY cut it about 3 inches from the soil either with shears or a hand hook (I use a scythe but for the love of the Gods PLEASE don't unless you have been trained!!!)
5. Lay the grass out in the open in rows about a foot wide and as long as you like, these are called 'windrows'
6. Every evening turn the grass so the bottom is at the top.
7. Continue this every evening until the grass rattles. When you get to this stage it is hay:thumb:
8. Carefully gather your precious crop in and either stack in a heap under cover OR .......
9. Get an old tea chest and place 2 pieces of baler twine draped in it. Stuff it full of hay and stamp it well down, add more hay/stamp it down and continue until you cant fit any more in. Gather up your baler twine ends and tie as tightly as possible.
10. Tip the chest over and with a goodly yank out will pop a mini bale of hay to be stacked somewhere dry till winter!

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now there's the difficulty!!!!

A heras fence panel laid horizontally on blocks to raise it of the ground makes a fab drying rack if you can cover it some how, then all you need is enough dry weather to cut it! I make nettle hay on heras fencing I have also dried hay in a tent when I have been desperate enough not to waste a crop
And now I have been given the run of a disused quarry that is FULL of the most amazing wild food, I'm going to have to get another ashed to store all the dried niceness in:lol::lol:

One day self sufficiency will be mine:lol::lol:

I insist you come and sort my thigh high garden/lawn with haste.......

Seriously?
You aren't that far from me.....:lol:

Geoff's people said:

Seriously?
You aren't that far from me.....:lol:

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oooh goody....where are you.....????

I'm in Somerset, Where in Devon are you?
I have been promised a day trip soon so can chuck the scythe in the back :lol: (Sorry officer I'm not actually the grim reaper I am in fact of to make some rabbit hay)
How big is your garden?

Im In Dartmouth.Rather large garden...:wave:

I really like this idea :thumb: I have done this but on a very small scale. The pony paddock was 'topped' yesterday but just before it was I cut a heap of lovely knee high lush paddock grass and laid it out inside one of the stables. I am turning it each day. There won't be much, more of a 'feel good' thing to do :lol: The buns have a handful of it fresh each day also

I went through a different method to make my own hay before I found this. It came out looking like hay and I fed very little to my lionheads. They enjoyed it more than their regular hay. But, could I still feed it if it has the smell of tobacco? From what I checked it doesn't have any mold at all, and rattles. But, it has a strong smell, so I didn't know if I should have fed them anymore. I did the process over again, with a smaller amount of grass this time and it's been 2 days, and the smell of tobacco has already begun, and it hasn't rained. Is this okay? Thank you.

why have i read online that the smell of tobacco is the sign of good quality hay :shock::shock::shock: worried now :?

biscandmatt1 said:

why have i read online that the smell of tobacco is the sign of good quality hay :shock::shock::shock: worried now :?

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It might be then, I say this because the original post says not to feed it if damp or with the smell of tobacco. So I thought I shouldn't feed it if it has that smell! Does anyone know if you can? I read hay is suppose to have a fresh smell to it. Also, how long can you store the hay you've made yourself?

mariethomas said:

It might be then, I say this because the original post says not to feed it if damp or with the smell of tobacco. So I thought I shouldn't feed it if it has that smell! Does anyone know if you can? I read hay is suppose to have a fresh smell to it. Also, how long can you store the hay you've made yourself?

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I support Geoff's people completely on this matter. We used to make a lot of hay when I was a child.
It should smell sweet & "herby".
IMO home made brown hay has been inadequately turned during drying, & started to rot, with many pathogenic (illness causing bacteria, & moulds in it) I cannot speak for kiln dried commercial hay.
Sun dried home made hay, like forage, still has small amounts of moisture in it & need to "breath", so it should never be covered witha tarp or plastic.

We were fortunate & had a completely dry, well ventilated cowshed in which to store it. Under those conditions it remained sweet from June until the next March.
I also find that a wooden shed can become very humid during summer as the wood evaporates rain water on both sides, & this condenses to moisture during Autumn & winter temperature drops. Because the warm humid air rises into the roof, I put the lowest curved part of a drain pipe into both apices of the sides, curve facing downwards to exclude rain. The improved ventilation did much to stop condensation.

I also agree completely that drying on a rack accelerates drying. On Shetland, a cooler, wetter climate, this was the method of choice, done on wires between posts. I use this method for long stemmed forage on the washing line, but it tends to fall off in the slightest breeze. Maybe Geoff's Peoples method is better.