How to Fill A Hay Bag

With the expense of hay, saving as much as possible is crucial! The use of a hay net can help avoid loss. In this article I'll show you a quick, easy way to fill and hang your hay net.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hay Net
• Hay
• 2 snaps
• empty large round tub
• Tree or suitable post to hang net from

1. 
    
   Ready to fill tub

   Place empty round tub on ground, ready to be filled.

2. 
    
   Net In Tub

   Place empty hay net inside tub, and drape top of net over the edge of the tub.

3. 
    
   Full Net

   Fill hay net to the maximum with hay. Putting pressure and packing the hay in by hand will help to fill the net completely.

4. 
    
   Close Top

   Pull the top long rope, to close the net.

5. 
    
   Secure Top

   Use one of your snaps to secure the top. This prevents hay from spilling out the top of the net.

6. 
    
   Bottom Ring on hanging net

   Take your full net to your hanging area, and hang. Your second snap is going to attach to the long top rope, which in this instance I have wrapped around a sturdy tree branch. Take the rope with the snap, and hook the snap to the bottom ring. This holds the net securely in place. *Make sure you hang your net high enough, so that the horse can not get a leg through the net when net is empty.

Tips & Warnings

• This helps if you free feed hay in a muddy spot, or if you have a horse who likes to scatter their hay around the paddock. We have cut the waste down tremendously using this.
• Always hang the net high. When they are empty, hay nets can hang low, and it is easy for an adventurous equine to get a leg hung in it. End result? Rope burn at the least, and one ticked off horse!
• Choose a tall, sturdy object to hang your full net from. In this case, we have a large pine tree in the paddock this mare likes to stand in the shade under. In another area, we have the net attached to a pressure treated 4 x 4 post, quite high in the air.

[PackinMom]

on 7/29/2008 Happy to help FLying Lily! Give that "rotten" Johnny a big rub from the Southland!

[flyinglilies]

on 7/28/2008 Excellent plan! I would never have thought of using a big bucket to stabilize the fill process. Nor have I ever used a clip to tie it all together at the top. Cool! Now my greedy Johnnie won't get to throw his hay all over so fast. thanks!