Making your own grass hay

[k15n1]

http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/x7660e/x7660e00.htm#Contents

Small-farm hay making instructions. Probably more complete than needed, but a good resource.

I'm planning on raising rabbits for meat and started cutting hay last night.

 

[DeniseCharleson]

I'm planning on raising rabbits for meat and started cutting hay last night.

What are you growing for your hay?

 

[~gd]

http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/x7660e/x7660e00.htm#Contents

Small-farm hay making instructions. Probably more complete than needed, but a good resource.

I'm planning on raising rabbits for meat and started cutting hay last night.

Good on you! Growing and making hay Is not as simple as many people think. What are you using to cut your hay with and how much will you need for the rabbits?

 

[k15n1]

I'm planning on raising rabbits for meat and started cutting hay last night.

What are you growing for your hay?

Rabbits. If you buy the bedding, feed, and cages it's expensive meat. So I'm making the hutch myself, cutting hay, etc. Well, I had my 7-yo daughter out there with me and she actually helped. She's saving up merit points for a french lop which will have protected status and its own hutch.

 

[~gd]

I'm planning on raising rabbits for meat and started cutting hay last night.

What are you growing for your hay?

Rabbits. If you buy the bedding, feed, and cages it's expensive meat. So I'm making the hutch myself, cutting hay, etc. Well, I had my 7-yo daughter out there with me and she actually helped. She's saving up merit points for a french lop which will have protected status and its own hutch.

I think Denise wanted to know what PLANTS are you growing. Even is you stick to grass there are still many many options.

 

[k15n1]

http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/x7660e/x7660e00.htm#Contents

Small-farm hay making instructions. Probably more complete than needed, but a good resource.

I'm planning on raising rabbits for meat and started cutting hay last night.

Good on you! Growing and making hay Is not as simple as many people think. What are you using to cut your hay with and how much will you need for the rabbits?

Your right, it's not easy. There's the thinking part and the working part and they both require some effort. But it's better than watching Game of Thrones and going to the gym, right?

Found some great description of loose-stacked hay on small European and Asian farms. It's skilled labor to construct a top-thatched multiple-ton pile of hay. And taking down the stack isn't simple, either. I don't know how to do that so I'm using a quad-pod type setup for storing the hay. Should hold about a ton when full, though I don't know if I'll get there this year. I don't know how much I'll need for 30-40 rabbits over the winter. I guess it keeps OK so I"m not too worried about having too much. And I can always chop/shred it and use it as mulch in the garden or compost it. See link below. My only innovation is the name. The rest is copied from Botan Anderson's innovative setup.

http://www.onescytherevolution.com/1/post/2010/02/haystacks.html

I'm cutting the grass with a scythe. It's an amazing tool. I cut 1/4 acre without too much pain. Raking it was a pain because all I have is a crappy plastic leaf rake that's so floppy that it gets a temporary bend simply by using it as a rake. So I rake for 15 min and the tines are are now bending back 10 deg or so. After a while it comes back. Such a poorly made tool. Have you seen those silly-looking hay rakes---the kind that seem like something for peasant in a monty-python sketch? After a few minutes of real work, the shortcomings of the petrochemical alternative become apparent! Now I can't wait to make my own wood-tine hay rake.

In SE MN it's been wet, so getting the hay to dry has been a problem. But I only cut small batches at a time, so I should beat the odds. Maybe I'll make a pile of good hay and a pile of lesser quality hay.

 

[k15n1]

I'm planning on raising rabbits for meat and started cutting hay last night.

What are you growing for your hay?

It's grass hay. Nothing specific. There's fescue and other turf grasses along with whatever else came up. I guess that's about right for rabbits.

 

[baymule]

You might want to check this out.

http://www.truthistreason.net/how-to-make-a-simple-hay-baler

 

[Denim Deb]

I like that. If you're not baling a lot of hay, that's not a bad idea.

 

[k15n1]

I saw some of these devices, both horizontal and vertical designs. I guess bales have some advantages over loose hay. But most of the advantages are only realized when you're transporting the hay or storing it in a barn---both problems I don't have to deal with in my micro-scale farming efforts. The hay must be drier for bales, which would add another worry in wet years. Also, it's more work. I cut the hay by hand (easy) and then tedded, raked, etc. until it was dry. I even stored it overnight several times when there would be a heavy dew or rain the next day. After all that, I wasn't interested in baling it.

I finished the first batch of hay. It's crisp and green and smells right. Before I was thinking of hay, I cut down some grass around the pool and left it for a few days. It's finally dry but bleached and smells bad. So the efforts of managing my first batch of hay was worth it. After watching the weather for a week and worrying about when it would rain and how much, it better be. I have a new perspective on farming now.

I also cut another 1/4 acre. It's a little late because the clover flowers are loosing their petals and the grass is releasing clouds of pollen when I cut it. Late is better than never. And rabbits seem not need the high-protein stuff that's critical for milk production in cows and goats.

BTW, Accuweather gives estimated rainfall. Weatherunderground has better wind speed numbers. Both of those factors matter when you're trying to get hay to dry. For examplem, if there's a 20% chance of rain and it'll be 0.15", there's no reason to rake the hay into windrows or stow under a tarp.