# Hay Barn Ideas



## brandenburgcattle42 (Sep 6, 2012)

I am wanting to build a new hay barn. I want to store around 400 5x6 round bales on end because i sell commercial hay, and also want to store around 4000 small squares. I want a pole shed due to this barn will be built next to my house and am willing to pay a little more to make it look nice and match my other buildings and want the area for small squares to be dark to prevent bleaching. Any thoughts, do i need doors for the round bale side?. How big? Are overhangs and cupulos a good idea for better ventilation?. Thanks


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## gradyjohn (Jul 17, 2012)

It is not a good idea to build a hay barn close to any other structures. Make sure you have enough distance from your house in case it caught fire. Check with local fire marshal's once you determine the size for recommendations. I had a hay barn that some mysteriously burned down. The dummy used an accelerants and all he needed was a match. Most definitely a city boy. The tin roof was still hot after 30 days. Accumulation of hay and manure over the previous 35+/- years. I know who but never could prove because of an inept fire marshal. I didn't have insurance so ... have it and contents insured.

The size and doors depends on your equipment you use to put in the barn. Doors need to be placed for ease of entrance and utilized for cross ventilation in the summer. One door makes it hot as **** in August. Safety on high you can go with the round bales. 

I have a Hoelscher Accumulator on my JD 348. This is a copy of an email from Darrel Hoelscher concerning me building a barn:

*John:*

*Basically, the packages of bales are 6' wide. On the bottom layer, it works good to allow for a 6"-8" gap between packages. So, if you calculate 6'6" per package, your bays can be 13', 19.5', 26', 32.5', 39', etc. This gives you an idea of the size, but in reality, it's not that critical. You may want room to walk beside the stack, or other needs. I would suggest at least 16' height clearance (or higher if practical) depending on the lift height of your loader, or any loader you may buy in the future.*

*The reason for the 6"-8" gap on the bottom layer, is so that as you go up, you will tighten the gap a little on each layer. By the time you get to the top layer, the bales will be tight together. This makes a good solid stack.*

*Let me know if you need anything else.*

*Darrel*

Hope this helps.


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## brandenburgcattle42 (Sep 6, 2012)

Thanks it should be over 200 foot from the house and 100 foot from any of my other buildings. I thought about pulling luver style doors on the back or the north side.to let good air flow in the summer and shut them in the winter. And leave south doors open.


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## brandenburgcattle42 (Sep 6, 2012)

Oh and we also use the same grapple as you. We have skid steer and a large loader tractor.


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## gradyjohn (Jul 17, 2012)

The loader tractor would be your key. I might add ... look ahead. I build a shop and based it on what I had ... IH450 tractor. When I got a JD4440 w/cab I had to modify. We have a JD6310 for the squares. Barn has one 12x12 garage type door on the north. Tracks parrell the roof pitch. That way it is out of the way. Two 25' bays open on the south. We could use another one on the north. We could go higher with the squares if we had a loader that went higher. I have a JD4450 with a Koyker 645 but it is MFWD and is like a bull in a chinia closet in the hay barn.


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## brandenburgcattle42 (Sep 6, 2012)

Oh and we also use the same grapple as you. We have skid steer and a large loader tractor.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

*Wishfull thinking.*

Build with at least 17 ft clearance That way you can put squares in the barn using a Self Propelled Bale Wagon and pull hay with a grab to load trucks, trailers, & wagons. Better yet would be using a squeeze, but that may be more that you want to invest. (A Squeeze is way out of my price range.) With a squeeze you can pick up a block of hay rather than a tier of hay.

How big? Are overhangs and cupolas a good idea for better ventilation? 
At least 40 ft wide clear span. 
About 100 ft long, any where from 150 ft to 60 ft.
Overhangs designed to allow water to drain away from the building.
Use gable roof design and leave the ends open for the ventilation. 
A cupola looks nice but adds to the complexity of construction.
Side walls. I noticed that the old wooden sided barns eventually had cracks between the boards. The cracks allowed for air circulation and not enough rain or light to do much if any harm. So for siding use vertical steel panels with a half inch gap to start with. That will take care of the air circulation.

No end doors. If you need to keep people out maybe a gate but no doors.

If you are considering RB in the barn have them on one end and stack the squares on the other end.

Plan on putting a good lighting system in the barn. Sure makes stacking easier at night.


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## jdhayboy (Aug 20, 2010)

40 ft. X 125 ft. Lien to I just stack 3 high on round sides. 4x5s using 100 ft of length and going only 9 rows out to 36 ft instead of 40ft is around 500 rounds. If u stacked ur bales on edge using the the 120 ft going out to 36 ft with bales and stacked 3 high that Wud be 360 rounds of 5x6s. 







Just finished this one this last week to match other. Both barns face each other.

Our barns are 50 ft X 125 ft. And if filled all the way to door with squares stacked with NH stack wagon will hold around 9000. Thats just machine stacked 4 wide no higher.


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## NCSteveH (Jun 30, 2009)

one word of advice is to figure out exactly what you need and then double it. You are doing rounds now but the future may hold large squares for you even if you don't see it.


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## brandenburgcattle42 (Sep 6, 2012)

Ya I am still playing with ideas cause I wanna have room to expand even if I don't. Too much shed space is never a problem.


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

brandenburgcattle42 said:


> Ya I am still playing with ideas cause I wanna have room to expand even if I don't._ Too much shed space_ is never a problem.


Don't think there is such a thing. At least, not for long.


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## Bob M (Feb 11, 2012)

I put roll up curtains on our new hay shed 92' by 120' 21 foot high. the curtains allow for great ventilation and acessiblity. We do get bleaching on the outside bales. One gable end totally closed and one gable end doored, Both sides curtain. Curtain system was $12,500 installed.


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