Whats everyone paying for hay?
- Thread starter Huggy
- Start date
Ours is £6.50 for a small bale. And I pay £25 delivery as we haven't a trailer. It's lovely hay, but not local, it's shipped up from the south. Local hay is generally very hard to come by because farmers either keep it for themselves or it sells very quickly on facebook (which I'm not on). You can get the huge round rolls / bales but ours wouldn't eat that and it's really not horse quality. My neighbour used to buy it and hers never touched it and she ended up using it mostly for bedding!
I got some really lovely stuff (Jess can eat it unsoaked!) £2 a bale off the field, getting another lot of it tomorrow but now £3.50 as it's in the barn. Most are charging £4.50, some as much as £6. I also got some 4ft rounds for £20 each off the field, they weren't so great (not awful either). There seems to be quite a bit at £30-35 a bale, but still some wanting £40 or even £50! I've had to organise everything being picked up this year, no one seems to have time to deliver.
Sadly I can neither store enough, or afford enough to buy the years worth, but I'm planning to keep Jess on haylage once it cools down a sniff (the bale last week went mouldy so going to have to keep her on hay for a bit), but I did chat to a hay guy that will do a deal on a years worth, AND store it for you AND he only does native grasses (no rye) AND you just pay as you use it, it's not the cheapest but also not silly money at all! I still can't decide if that's too good to be true, it certainly feels it.
Sadly I can neither store enough, or afford enough to buy the years worth, but I'm planning to keep Jess on haylage once it cools down a sniff (the bale last week went mouldy so going to have to keep her on hay for a bit), but I did chat to a hay guy that will do a deal on a years worth, AND store it for you AND he only does native grasses (no rye) AND you just pay as you use it, it's not the cheapest but also not silly money at all! I still can't decide if that's too good to be true, it certainly feels it.
£35 for a large bale, not sure how big they are but id say about 10 small bales equivalent, very nice meadow hay with no rye grass in it. Not sure what this years will be though.
£6.00 for a small bale or £35.00 for a large bale.
small bales have to be collected, but large bales are delivered. Different suppliers, but both usually good quality.
small bales have to be collected, but large bales are delivered. Different suppliers, but both usually good quality.
Well i probably have the best bargin i dont pay anything as such. It still costs to make it and theres the up keep of all the equipment and tractor and diesel costs. So it aint free.
So in terms of selling. I just sold last years at £3.50 a bale. Probably sell what ever i have left next spring at the same. We sold 2 large trailer loads at £2 a bale off the field direct to a hay dealer.
Round here you ask £4.50 people bulk at it and waste your time. They make arrangements to collect but in the meantime then shop round elsewhere for cheaper, and then dont turn up for what theyve booked. So you end up advertising again. So weve kept the price low so we dont have to mess about with time wasters. But we obviously dont make very much.
So in terms of selling. I just sold last years at £3.50 a bale. Probably sell what ever i have left next spring at the same. We sold 2 large trailer loads at £2 a bale off the field direct to a hay dealer.
Round here you ask £4.50 people bulk at it and waste your time. They make arrangements to collect but in the meantime then shop round elsewhere for cheaper, and then dont turn up for what theyve booked. So you end up advertising again. So weve kept the price low so we dont have to mess about with time wasters. But we obviously dont make very much.
Don’t I know it, and that was a friend getting it for me too! And as Jess can eat it he’s just offered to let me have more of that stuff (already in his shed) and he’ll get more of the rounds instead, he’s nuts but I’m not complaining!
I’m so pleased that hay is included in my livery. Last time I bought small square was £5 each and big round £30. However the price of small bales seem to go up 25p each year so approx £6 now. That is from where I used to keep Minto. It is lovely stuff and people come large distances to buy.
When there were more people at the yard, we had hay included and the monthly rent went up, just over the winter months. Now it's just the two of us, and the YO has had a tough 3 years with health issues, I've taken over the hay ordering. I'm a bit of a novice at it!
Some liveries charge the earth for you to buy it of them. They really do put there markup. But they make it the policy that you have to buy it off them.
One i know does quite a markup if you buy from them, and they also say you cant have your own deliveries. But you can go and collect some yourself.
One i know does quite a markup if you buy from them, and they also say you cant have your own deliveries. But you can go and collect some yourself.
I do appreciate making hay does cost money, the farmers time, their machines, the grass care before cutting, their fuel - especially in a year when it needs turning more, etc. but damn, 7 quid a small bale is steep!
I'm not sure if it's just Surrey so prices are higher. Place down the road who cuts his own locally is £8 a bale. I get mine from somewhere fairly local but they run out and prices then increase. Not uncommon round here for rounds to be £50 or £60 each. It's mad but I can't get anyone else to deliver to me as just own one horse. Luckily I have lots of grass so feed less hay than some!
If you think that's expensive I buy boxed hay for my guinea pigs and pay just under £35 for 15kg 
they are worth it!
they are worth it!newrider.com