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How to stop Farm hay bale's going damp and smelling odd?

J

Jackaroonie

Mama Doe
I get large bale's of farm hay for a few quid and we store them in our storage shed which is a metal shed at the moment and i noticed last night that it was quite damp and smelt a bit off than normal :? I have not checked in the light yet for mould spores but was wondering how can you keep such a large bale fresh? would it be better off in a wooden shed?

Hopefully when I get my wooden Piggy shed there will be room to store the hay , but will it still go damp and 'off' ? :?
 
So long as it is dry it doesn't matter if she'd is wood or metal.

First the hay you are storing needs to be dry.

Raise it off the ground, on a pallet or a couple of lines of 2 x 4, so air can circulate.

In hot weather you want the shed to have a little ventilation.
 
Dustyrabbit said:
So long as it is dry it doesn't matter if she'd is wood or metal.

First the hay you are storing needs to be dry.

Raise it off the ground, on a pallet or a couple of lines of 2 x 4, so air can circulate.

In hot weather you want the shed to have a little ventilation.
Click to expand...

Ah, at the moment it is just laid on tarpulin , so that must be why. Will get a pallet, does it need to be covered too?
 
It should be fine on the tarp, mine is loosely wrapped in plastic in a wooden shed. I have only had a problem when the hay I had bought turned out to be damp already when I bought it - the feed store had it delivered from farmer miles away and it got damp on route. I changed my feed store!
 
Jackaroonie. Glad you asked that.... All my bale went mouldy.. Was in a lovely dry hut on tarp but went off!!!! Grrrr. Had to get more!!!
 
Just bagged up all of my bale , 10 bin bags :shock:
I don't think it is actually mouldy was just a bit damp but hopefully should be fine in the bags now ? :?
 
I'm afraid if its damp it will go mouldy.

Stick your nose well in the hay and have a deep sniff, if there is any hint of mushrooms smell chuck it out!
 
Don't have any advice but interested in this thread as am thinking of ordering bales for the pigs as they're eating me out of shed and home.

Happy birthday btw! Hope you had a good day and the buns and pigs gave you extra snuggles! :p
 
If the shed is sealed and had power maybe a dehumidifier to take the excess moisture out of the shed?
 
Dave81 said:
If the shed is sealed and had power maybe a dehumidifier to take the excess moisture out of the shed?
Click to expand...

maybe, this one has no power, I think metal sheds are not good for storing things really, it freezes inside sometimes! will get wooden shed to store my hay in and the piggies :)
 
I agree with raising it off the ground as the air need to move around.

Sadly with the weather we are having, if it is damp then you need to either bring it indoors to dry it out or chuck it out.

Ensure that where you are getting your bale(s) from store them undercover openly - not wrapped up before buying.
 
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