# Slatted Floor for a Hay Barn??



## JoshA

Wondering if anyone's done or looked into a slatted floor for their hay barns. Something like you see at a dairy, or in a potato barn. In a dairy/hog barn it's to allow slurry to drain into the pit below, but in a potato barn they pump air through. Would not need much depth for the pit below, 6inches would be more than plenty I should think.

My concern would be the enormous concentration of weight (tractor or payloader with 5,000lbs of hay on the front 2 wheels).

Something like this:


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## Vol

Josh, any ideas about removing the chaff that will drop thru the slats.....it won't take long for it to accumulate.

Regards, Mike


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## RockmartGA

What would this slatted floor be built over? If it is dirt, then I would worry about moisture permeating into the hay from below.

I once stacked hay on a dirt floor on pallets. Lost the entire bottom row to mildew. Quickly found out that you have to put a vapor barrier down on the dirt and then stack on pallets.

Of course, I'm in Georgia where humidity is probably more of an issue than in Canada.


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## Bob M

I have been thinking of building a wooden floor over our dirt floors in our sheds with a air space under. Just not real sure how long it would be effective. Chaf and rodents? Bob


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## JoshA

Vol said:


> I have been thinking of building a wooden floor over our dirt floors in our sheds with a air space under. Just not real sure how long it would be effective. Chaf and rodents? Bob


Bob, simple poisons and traps would not suffice?
As for the chaff, I would hope that air or possibly water (powered by a gas pump like for filling sprayers) when the shed is empty to clear out the "sump"?

This is starting to sound like an investment better spent on something that makes real money, not hay!! ;-(

-Josh


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## foz682

Sounds like a great idea, we had a hay dryer in our mow and it worked wonders. The big thing I suppose one would have to make sure of (as already mentioned), is the foundation under the slats, be sure that it doesn't get wet under there or there's going to be problems. Also, extra attention would have to be taken to the way that the hay is stacked to ensure good airflow. I would think that it could most definitly be built to support incredible amounts of weight, I've seen some pretty heavy equipment driving on slatted floors.
I like the idea, but unless there's problems with getting hay dry enough year after year, I'm not sure if it's the most economical choice for a hay barn floor.
We lay strips of plastic on the floor and gather it up as each one becomes uncovered so not to drive on it too much. Works really well in our setup but I suppose if the barn was a lot bigger I would probably be looking for alternatives.


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## enos

Asphalt.


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## slowzuki

We store hay in a dairy mow with spaced board floor. The bottom floor of the barn is cemented as it used to house the herd, the windows are all open so its never wet in there. We still have to leave loose hay on the bottom layer or we lose the hay.

I've had better luck with pallets over tarps in our dirt floor sheds. Currently looking for junk conveyor belts from a mine.


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## Fowllife

slowzuki said:


> We store hay in a dairy mow with spaced board floor. The bottom floor of the barn is cemented as it used to house the herd, the windows are all open so its never wet in there. We still have to leave loose hay on the bottom layer or we lose the hay.


I"m thinking the herd below is increasing your hay lose. The cows are probably producing more moisture them the windows alone will let out.

Josh - Although good in theory, I don't think it would be worth the trouble unless you have some very high dollar hay you are trying to preserve. I htink the construction cost would be high, and maintenence would be a pain.


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## rjmoses

foz682 said:


> Sounds like a great idea, we had a hay dryer in our mow and it worked wonders.


Tell me more about the hay dryer for your mow. I've not heard of or seen something like that (I think).

Ralph


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## slowzuki

Note the used to be a herd. Not in last 10 years.


Fowllife said:


> I"m thinking the herd below is increasing your hay lose.


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## foz682

rjmoses said:


> Tell me more about the hay dryer for your mow. I've not heard of or seen something like that (I think).
> 
> Ralph


It's basically just a 4'x4' tunnel built down the centre of the mow lengthwise, it had a big 5hp fan drawing air in at one end of the barn. The bales sat on 4" high slats which covered the whole floor, and the tunnel had ports along the floor to let the air blow up through the hay. The bales had to be stacked in a particular way as to let the air reach all the hay, it ran anywhere from 2-5 weeks and was horrendous on the power bill, but you could put the hay in the barn even if it wasn't as dry as you'd like to see.
Most barns around here that were built or renovated in the late 70's to mid 80's has them and there's still a few around being used.
The slatted floor would work just the same so long as you could evenly pump air under there.


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## slowzuki

Just to pick this up again, may have access to a concrete slat floor barn to store hay in. It was designed for tractor cleanout but not sure about putting bales in. Trying to find out more info.


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## ontario hay man

I have seen many times 4 1500 lb fat steers standing on one slat so weight should be fine.


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## slowzuki

Found some 8 inchers that are a 7000 lb axle load rating with tires spaced minimum 5 ft on centre. I'll try to find out the floor thickness, my small loader tractor would be fine, it weighs 6500 total + 800 lb round bale out front, I'd be about 5000 lb front axle and rest on the rear.


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