Anyone Buy Hay From A Local Farm?

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LionsRawr

LionsRawr

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Northeast, Ohio, USA
I was over at my sisters this evening and I was talking about how I need to get the rabbits hay for wed. And she said that I shouldgo and buy a bail of hay from a family friend that runs a dairy farm. She said that I can get a bail for $6 or free depending on how the guy is feeling.

Im pretty excited about checking it out.

Anyone else buy large bales from local farmers?
 
I do. :)

I used to have to pay around $30 total to get a bale shipped to my house. INSANE! I finally found some people with grass hay locally and it's either free or under $5 a bale. Definitely better and I can totally free feed it at this price, even with a bigger herd.

Just make sure the hay has been kept dry and is mold free!
 
Local farmers = YAY!

If you can't find someone who does their own hay, see if you can find a cow farmer or someone who has a lot of horses.

My friend's dad has both, and he has TONS of round bales, and we just go get what we want when we need it. My roommate's dad gives us fresher, nicer hay when he does cuts, and then my dad's friend raises Arabians and so they have a LOT of hay, and he drops some by whenever he feels like it.

All that hay for 2 rabbits and 2 guinea pigs. *shakes head*
 
I love local hay, it was costing me an arm and a leg getting oxbow and having it delivered from other sources, it was insane. I was feeding two rabbits and two guinea pigs and i was going through a 25lb box of oxbow a month and it was expensive. I tried a local hay farmer who i found through craigslist and i was only paying 4.50 for a bale of hay and it was lasting me two months, you dont even have to do the math on that one to know that i was saving a ton ofmoney,lol. And then on the plus side they love it, it is a mixed bale of hay so they get a variety of it. I am on my last bale and am waiting for the farmer around the corner to put his sign up about his hay so i can go and get probably about 10 bales of hay
 
There is a place about 15-20 minutes from my house. I bought about 8 bales and dropped them off for a local breeder, some members of this forum, some bunny friends, and donated some to the Humane Society. My two never eat that much hay, so a few flakes will last me until the next pick-up.
 
I recently bought a bale from a farmer in our area... I just saw a sign, "Hay sales" and we went in, bought a huge bale for $8. It is almost too big, for only one bunny! I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the whole thing, I have heard you should store it in a duvet cover rather than a plastic bag (for mold reasons).
 
Kyla wrote:
that is a great idea, donating my extra hay.
Click to expand...

:biggrin2:

I use large cardboard boxes tostore the bales of hay. I have no trouble finding empty boxes. Some boxes are the perfect size to fita bale, andit is convenient to storewithout the mess.
 
We make our own hay here. It's mainly Trefoil, clover and alphalfa- they REALLY love it. We sell it too so if anybody's close we've got some really nice second crop down right now.
 
It depends on the method of drying and the weather. Amish cut hay with a "cutter bar" which doesn't crush the grass when it's cut. "English" (us) cut the hay with a hay-bine which sends the hay through two rollers which crush the hay and cut the drying time in half. Usually, hay can be cut in the morning of one day, turned over with either a rake or roller that evening, raked again the next morning and then baled that evening (2 days). If drying conditions aren't ideal 3 days might be needed.

Then again, it depends on the farmer. Some tend to let the hay dry longer which decreases its nutrient value. Though hay does have to be dry enough that it doesn't mold.


 
I want to try buying some from a farm, I just have no idea how about going and doing it. I've looked through Kijiji and some other local classifieds but all of the hay listings seem to be alfalfa, or are advertised as 'high protein' or 'high energy' so I just assume it's also alfalfa or at least a dense alfalfa mix. I would love to get some fresh cheap hay, so tired of buying tiny bags for 8-12 dollars a piece that last a week at most.

It just seems outrageous. You can get a fairly large bale from a random farmer for 4-6 dollars that will last months, compared to a pet store brand that gives you enough for barely a week and it costs 8+ dollars. I'd really like to know how it's justified!
 
Thanks for explaining the process DyemondRabbitry. :D

Rayen- The place I get my hay fromsells Timothy hay bales and Alfalfa hay bales. One bale of hay is equal to7 -8 bags that you buy from the store. It's the mark up and the middle man that makes all the money. The farmer who does all the work, makes very little. :grumpy:

 
My sister has a horse so getting my hands on a bail of hay is no problem. The people were she boards her horse are quite picky about the hay they give the horses so I find the quality to be very good :)
 
DyemondRabbitry wrote:
We make our own hay here. It's mainly Trefoil, clover and alphalfa- they REALLY love it. We sell it too so if anybody's close we've got some really nice second crop down right now.
Click to expand...
Where is Sligo Pa? lol
 
Pet_Bunny wrote:
Thanks for explaining the process DyemondRabbitry. :D

Rayen- The place I get my hay fromsells Timothy hay bales and Alfalfa hay bales. One bale of hay is equal to7 -8 bags that you buy from the store. It's the mark up and the middle man that makes all the money. The farmer who does all the work, makes very little. :grumpy:
Click to expand...
Somehow paying $2 per pound at a pet store (the cheapest I can really find) in Alberta is wrong. I can't really afford $10 a week on hay. A bale lasts me about 4 months for 3 bunnies and the gerbils. It's good that I can manage to stuff 3 bales in the care and therefore only have to buy once a year. I do need more now, so am looking.
 
Does anyone know where I might be able to find descent bulk/baled hay in northern New Jersey?

I don't think anyone has 3rd cut yet, but a good quality 2nd cut would work.
 
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