Stacking loose hay???

[Creamer]

Yes we use an old farmhand stacker for that. A F10 to be exact. I thought I had a better picture of it handy but this is the only one I could find without digging for it. This is the winter mode where it is on the Oliver 77 and the grapple head on it instead of the hay head, in the summer we have a "farmhand truck" a 1952 Chevy Viking ton and a half truck with the rear removed so you can buck hay with suspension and a synchronized tranny.

View attachment 471853

I miss those old F10s. They had a great reach. Our hay baskets had the 8' long steel tines which we liked much better than the wood ones.

 

[jyoutz]

Thanks guys, that's the useful info i was looking for & i didn't want to spend a fortune on equipment, would be better off just buying it in that case.
I'll have to check into the loader part, i assume they make the attachment for the FEL on my tractor.
One other thing i'm concerned about here, we have a lot of humidity, i'm guessing i would have to allow for more drying time before stacking.

Ronnie

I’m not sure I would feed that to horses. Cow hay. A little bit of mold can colic a horse, but not cattle.

 

[mikester]

I've seen it done out West a lot, stacking hay in big piles after cut & i'm guessing raked. Does anyone here do this or have any idea how they do it?
In my area, you can't get anyone to cut on good years & bad years they call out of the blue wanting it on shares.

I've been thinking about this for several years, can't justify the cost of equipment for 100 bales or so a year for the horses & hate mowing down good mixed grass hay.

Any thought's or ideas appreciated.

Ronnie

 

[Hay Dude]

We still have a lot of loose hay barns around here, preserved because of their history. I have access to 2 huge loose hay barns. They don’t transition well over into baled hay, especially big bales, but they do provide some shelter.

 

[big bubba]

are you man enough?

 

[Hay Dude]

View attachment 782656
are you man enough?

Look at the old truck in the backround. Very cool

 

[big bubba]

circa'40's?

 

[pmsmechanic]

Interesting how a thread from June 13,14 & 15, 2016 has almost doubled in size in the last day. I like it.

 

[zzvyb6]

I wouldn't rule out buying some cheap equipment. JD 14T baler less than $1000 working, less than $200 needing some knotter parts (easy to fix), bar rake less than $600, 9' mower conditioner: less than $1500. Don't laugh, I can sell any excess hay these days for $5. per bale all day. Up to $9. at the local auction lately because horse people don't plan very well. I started out with this equipment running behind a 22 hp Yanmar. NO problems whatsoever. But, you need either customers to pick it up or a stackwagon to fetch it. Plus an elevator to load it into a barn. We have had a few barn fires around here from folks trying the loose hay deal. Mold (creating heat) + oxygen is not a great combination.

Plus, you know EXACTLY what's in the hay. Quite a bit of it for sale around here has been treated with propionic acid to minimized spoilage. Smells like vinegar. Cows love it, horses won't eat it.

I cut for 20 minutes at a time, rake, & bale for 20 minutes, get 56 or 64 bales depending on customer carrying capability, and then sell it right out of the field. Repeat every few days as needed. Fuel & twine are my only costs. Baler & rake are older than I am !

 

[airbiscuit]