# need hay storage ideas and pics



## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

I'd like to store more hay so i can get through winter, but I don't know how to store it. I live in a very humid environment. I'm also a very visual learner, so pictures of your hay storage would be appreciated. Cheap/red-neck/jerry-rigged storage area pics perfectly acceptable.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I can tell you what not to do! Don't store directly on the ground, use pallets with wide gaps between the slats. (For air flow) don't enclose completely with tarps, or let the tarps touch the hay. (Condensation will cause hay molding). 

How many bales are you planning on getting?


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

100 bales would get me through the winter.


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

Don’t enclose completely... so those tarp carport things would be a bad idea? Or do you just leave a flap open?

Edited for autocorrect issues...


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Pallets to set them on works well, keeps the hay off the ground and allows air flow.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I was talking about those tarps Walmart sells. The portable garages would probably work, especially if you have airflow.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Yes, air all around, especially if the weather is humid. It can mould anyway ... In older times farmers used to salt the hay to prevent mould.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)




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## TexasGoatMan (Jul 4, 2015)

Singinggoatgirl, If you decide to use the portable carport, why not close both sides and the back. Then place 4X4 post on the ground and lay 1X4 runners across the 4X4s and spaced them a few inches apart to allow for air circulation and stack as high as possible. I think you can get 100 bales under a regualr carport if you do it that way.


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## Calistar (Jan 16, 2017)

I have one of those carports. The tarp ones that Harbor Freight sells. I put pallets down and put my hay on that. When the weather is nice, I leave the front flap unzipped (but not open because rolling it up is a pain!) 

The one I have is not durable at all. The frame bent on the second night because there was a mild rainstorm and the flimsy anchors it came with pulled out. And a year later, the tarp has worn through several places at the top, and is now getting holes/tears in the side, too. I put a second tarp over the top, so it's still usable, but definitely not durable. It also doesn't hold as much as I thought it would, but I'm sure I'm not utilizing the space well. I only have hay stacked along one side, so I can get through with a hand truck to load and unload, and I only stack 2 or 3 bales high because that's all I can manage.

That said, it sure beats my prior system (a leaky corner of a shed that only had space for 3 or 4 bales.) I also haven't had any problems with mold, but I'm in California on the central coast, so it's pretty hot and dry here.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

NigerianDwarfOwner707 said:


> View attachment 152291
> View attachment 152293


Looks very nice and dry! An old farmer taught me to store such bales on the side, with the cuts upwards.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

Trollmor said:


> Looks very nice and dry! An old farmer taught me to store such bales on the side, with the cuts upwards.


Super dry, pretty happy with the storage. Interesting, I wonder why.


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## Goat_Scout (Mar 23, 2017)

I just have mine in the barn piled on top of pallets. Never had the hay get moldy.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

NigerianDwarfOwner707 said:


> Super dry, pretty happy with the storage. Interesting, I wonder why.


It has something to do with the drying. After all, hay is a biologically active product, not fully dry when packed.


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

We use an old horse trailer. Id try to avoid storing it in the barn as hay can catch fire very quickly.


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## Treva Brodt (Jan 11, 2019)

We use a corner of the addition to the garage. I like to call this structure the barage because it's open on the front for truck and tractor but the back side is hay storage and a kidding pen/sick bay. Our hay is on pallets AND we have pallets on the walls where the hay is so that it doesn't touch the bare walls. Our barage is metal siding to match the garage so we just nailed the pallets to the studs. I have noticed where we just have a gravel floor that moisture comes up through the ground in places so we couldn't do without the flooring.


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## 15WildTurkey (Apr 13, 2015)

Can I live in your barn??


NigerianDwarfOwner707 said:


> View attachment 152291
> View attachment 152293


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

15WildTurkey said:


> Can I live in your barn??


Ain't it the truth!


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## Tab Carloni (Jan 28, 2019)

I use the carport and it has done well this Canadian winter. Only thing, like other’s mentioned make sure to place on top of planks or a wood skid...I used a tarp on the floor and my last bales on the bottom got wet and mouldy...so make sure elevated off the floor so it does not touch! Glad I read this so I know to leave zips open when it is nice out!


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

Thanks, Everyone!


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

15WildTurkey said:


> Can I live in your barn??


Hey, it's insulated!


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

It’s not like I’ve never thought of camping out in the loft!


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## bigz48877 (Oct 18, 2016)




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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Beautiful! But, if 15 wild turkeys move in, where do the goats go?


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## Karl scott (Mar 28, 2019)

singinggoatgirl said:


> I'd like to store more hay so i can get through winter, but I don't know how to store it. I live in a very humid environment. I'm also a very visual learner, so pictures of your hay storage would be appreciated. Cheap/red-neck/jerry-rigged storage area pics perfectly acceptable.


I like to lay down a layer of thin plastic then I stack my hay on pallets. I live in Central Florida and this has worked well. Your barn or storage area should be dark as possible also. Hope this helps


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Shall the plastic be on top, or under the hay? Or both?  Over or under the pallets?


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