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+---- Thread: Buying Hay (/thread-1774.html)
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Buying Hay - Rhubarb - 09-26-2010
Angela told me to save money and buy bales of hay from the feed merchants out at Holt. In theory it sounded a good idea so long as the tripout there made it worthwhile. Did it really save to drive out there and back with the cost of fuel?
Mark decided to come with me because he wanted to go that way too and show me something in a shop *Thinks West Moors isn't actually on the way, but hey-ho, its just a differant route to the one I planned.
We took the Renault, afterall it needed a long run and it is a French farmers run-around. I've seen all sorts carried in them, including goats!
Mark drove, after the shop we set off again into the lanes of Dorset, which resort to getting twisty and more disoriantaing than you could ever think possible. The signposts are mostly historic, nothing changes to upgrade them. After several junctions I begin to wonder which way Mark is going to get to Wimborne, the main town to where we needed to go. Finally we get to a junction, the sign says Wimborne St Giles to the left (a hamlet north of Wimborne) and Fordingbridge to the right. He begins to turn right,
'Urm, where are you going? This doesn't appear to be the quickest way to Holt.'
'Holt? I'm going to Alderholt, you said Alderholt,'
'If I said Alderholt why would I suggest we also went to Wimborne Market afterwards, when it would be an hour out of our way?'
'I dunno'
The problem is, we are now heading for the feed merchants from the wrong direction so the information on how to get there (from Wimborne) is pretty useless. There is no phone signal, we are lost.
We ask an old lady (she turns out not to be local) we ask a man feeding his sheep, who knew straight away and gives us a short cut, which Mark has reservations about using. We get there, and I now know where we are, after passing a couple of pubs.
So, we park the car next to a tractor and trailer (someone loading large bags) and a lady with a Range Rover and trailer.
'Urm' *Is the Renault going to be the right vehicle for this job, maybe we should have brought the trailer too.
There is the owner, honest to God, sterio-typical, flat cap tweed jacket and trousers held up with string
I ask him about the hay and he starts how he is in short supply because of the poor season and how much did I need.
I asked how he sold it
'£30.00 a quarter ton, is it a horse you have?'
'No, pigs'
'Na- you need straw then'
'No. guinea pigs'
There's this embarrassing silence while he looks at me.
''What did you come here in? I'll get someone to stick a couple of bales in it for you. Do you want some chippings? Keeps the hutches dry. I'll do it for £6.50.'
Meanwhile Mark is watching the lady with the Range Rover have a roll of hay forklifted into the trailer.
Then he sees another roll arrive in the yard.
The lady comes into the shop where I'm paying for my hay.
'Your husband's face is a real picture. He is looking at my hay bale and wondering how he is going to fit one into your car.'
Mark arrives in the shop and I tell him the bales are on their way from the store with a pack of chippings.
'Two bales!'
It all fitted in the car no problem and should last a while.
The storeman then told us if we wanted he could drop any supplies off on a Friday morning free of charge because he came into town with an order and passed our house!
I've seen the Hayters lorry on my day off too!
Really it would have been just have cheap to run up the pet-shop with the time (2 hours) and petrol (No1 son had fueled the car) spent.
On the other hand, it was brilliant whizzing around the country lanes in 'Rene' again
and seeing all those broken down Harleys on the H-D Run out of Bournemouth.
RE: Buying Hay - twisteroo - 09-26-2010
(09-26-2010, 03:59 PM)Rhubarb Wrote: '£30.00 a quarter ton, is it a horse you have?'That sounds like a lot.
I'm thinking that £30.00 is like $60 or more. $60 for 500 pounds of hay.
500 pound of hay, let's just say 50 pounds a bale, 10 bales for $60, holy crap, that's $6 a bale. I've heard some of the horse nuts around here say they pay $3 per bale, for some premium horse hay or something.
Shit when I was a kid and we had cows and I worked for other people putting up hay in the summer, it was the old nasty shit hay that went for horses. The good stuff went to the cows to make milk on.
RE: Buying Hay - Twitchin Kitten - 09-26-2010
Hay around here is about $5 + per bale now. I had a fit when I was paying $3.50/bale when I had horses 10 years ago.
Depends on the farmer who you get your hay from if he grows it for horses or for cows. I had a good guy that sold me premium hay/alfalfa mix for $3.00 / bale. Nice. I'd get 150 bales at a time and that was monthly for the 10 of them. These were 60# bales too, nice, big wire tied bales.
Trudi, take him up on the delivery! Sounds like you got a good deal if he's willing to deliver free because he's passing by anyway. I'd say that was worth the trip, time and gas today if you can set that up. If you don't go through that much hay you can always sell a bale off but if you keep it in a nice dry place, it keeps for ages.
Nice to know you have hillbillies there too..... string holding up his drawers!
RE: Buying Hay - twisteroo - 09-26-2010
I just had to take a quick trip around old CL and check out hay prices, I can get a 700 to 1000 pound round bale for $35, how many you want?
RE: Buying Hay - Twitchin Kitten - 09-26-2010
LOL you don't feed round bales to horses. Too much mold and vermin in those. Mostly dead vermin and other wild animals. Here they feed those only to the cows. Cows can take a little mold in the food where it will kill a horse. You get the hay cheap up there still. It's through the roof here. Fuck, everything is through the roof here. It's disgusting.
RE: Buying Hay - twisteroo - 09-26-2010
Around here horses don't pay the bills, so....."good enough for harse hay" as old Joe Ortner used to say.
RE: Buying Hay - kbear - 09-26-2010
Sounds like a fun day!!
RE: Buying Hay - Rhubarb - 09-27-2010
(09-26-2010, 07:05 PM)twisteroo Wrote: I just had to take a quick trip around old CL and check out hay prices, I can get a 700 to 1000 pound round bale for $35, how many you want?As many as you can get in a jiffy-bag!
What I paid was loads cheaper than petshop prices and better quality too, no dust.
The roller bales were cheaper still but it would fill the shed and there would be no room for the boys to live for weeks!
There is going to be a shortage of hay this winter, hence the farmer was reluctant to sale to me to start with. I was talking to a horse owner in the shop today (who also goes to Hayter) and she said he is restricting volume sales. If he knows you as a regular customer and knows how many animals you have he will sell enough to you for the winter.
RE: Buying Hay - twisteroo - 09-27-2010
I asked the horse chick at work today, she sells hay for $2 a bale if it was outside $3 if it was kept inside.
RE: Buying Hay - BarEdul - 09-27-2010
