Hay management require you to understand the physical size, the weight, and the nutritional quality of hay. If you dont understand the physical size of the hay, you may struggle to move the hay, and if you dont understand the weight of the hay, you may struggle to store the hay. Many people buys hay by the ton because the weight is easy to measure, but the weight of the hay do not tell you how many individual bale you will have to move.
If you buy many small bales, you will have to move much individual pieces, but if you buy large bales, you will need to use heavy machinery to move the large bales. Small square bale are a specific type of hay that is often tied with twine. A person can move small square bales by hand, so small square bales are suitable for a person who manage a small number of animals.
How to Manage Hay Size, Weight and Storage
However, large square bales are more heavier than small square bales, and large square bales require a tractor or other specialized equipment to move the large square bales. Large square bales are efficient for transport because large square bales holds more hay in a single unit, but large square bales is difficultly to handle without machines. Round bale are another type of hay that comes in various size.
Small round bales are easy to manage for a small farm, but large round bales provides a high volume of hay to large herds. Round bales can be weather resistant if you store the round bales correctly, but round bales must be kept dry to prevent spoilage. You must choose a round bale size that match the size of your herd and the equipment that you owns.
The weight of a bale is not a constant number because the weight of a bale depends on the moisture content of the hay. If the moisture content of the hay is too high, the hay will be very heavy, and the high moisture content will cause the hay to rot. Moisture levels above twenty percent is dangerous because moisture levels above twenty percent can cause mold to grow in the hay.
Additionally, moisture levels above twenty percent can cause the hay to catch fire through spontaneous combustion if you stack the hay to tight. You should of aim to keep the moisture content of the hay low so that the hay remains safe and the hay remains nutritious. Nutritional requirements vary depending on the animal that is eating the hay.
For example, a horse may need Timothy hay, but a dairy cow may need alfalfa hay because alfalfa hay contains more protein. You must calculate the amount of hay that an animal eat each day so that you do not run out of hay during the winter. If you do not calculate the amount of hay that your animals eat, you may find that your hay supply dissapears more faster than you expected.
Storage is necessary to protect the quality of the hay. You should store hay in a dry, ventilated barn because a dry, ventilated barn keeps the moisture content of the hay low. If you store hay outdoors without a cover, the rain will increase the moisture content of the hay, and the increased moisture content will ruin the hay.
Some people use silage wrap to protect the hay, but the best way to protect the hay is to keep the hay under a roof on a dry floor. Successful hay management means you understand the size of the hay, the weight of the hay, and the storage need of the hay.