Loose hay

Our hay mow is up above the main level of our old dairy barn. Upstairs we normally store all of the hay that the main floor pens, the horses and the lean (usually the weaned calves) eat in a given winter/spring. well since we have had a drought the past two years and are short of hay (that's in the next blog) i've been trying to utilize every bit of hay. In the photo above you'll see some of the well fed pygmy goat does trying out their new feeder LOL. Its really the wall of the pen. I used hog panels and 2" x 6"s to make a sturdy wall, yet allow all sunlight to come through.

The loose hay is the hay that accumulates after you throw the bales down from above, open them up and move them to their respective pens. I hadn't swept the aisles in a while (I know shame on me) and this 'pile' of loose hay was getting in the way! Every day when the girls get let outside they stop to munch a mouthful or two, well knowing they have hay outside as well. So today I thought i'd try pushing all the loose hay against the fence/wall and try to pile it up so they could eat it. I could never do this with the sheep as their fleece would be a disaster waiting to happen, but with the goats, who cares!

These girls are showing you how it works. While they can't get their heads through, they can get enough of the hay through the wires to eat for the evening and I"ll repile it in the morning and every morning until its all gone. saves a few bales and I don't have hardly any waste! See I can be creative when I need to be!