[buschkn]

I am not sure why it took me so long to think of this. I am sure those of you who don't have 4 board fencing could still adapt this to suit your needs.

We cut out one 8 foot section of fence, and made a 3 sided shed that is 6 feet deep. Rails are low enough to allow the horses to reach all the hay, but high enough to discourage them stepping in. We have 2 boards at the back side that slide in and out for putting hay in, and would prevent escape if anyone got that motivated. There are 2' wide cheapy strip mats on the bottom for easy clean up. So far it is working like a charm!

No more peeing, pooping, and sleeping in the round bale. No more wasted hay. No more killing my pasture driving the tractor in and out. No more loose horses when only one person is there to put hay out.

MUCH cheaper than all the pre-fab options out there, and probably actually cheaper than a new metal hay ring.

Costs:

4 6x6 posts (all 8' or two 8' and two 10', depending on desired height and slope of roof), about $20/each ($18-25 locally depending on length) $100 Max

2-4 fence boards. We used the boards we cut out of fence for the 6' sides and new oak board for the "front" side of it and sliding boards at the back side where hay goes in. $30 Max

Concrete- 4 bags, $10 Total

Metal roof, we used 7' long pieces to have a slight overhang. Enough for 5 of these sheds was $175, so $35 each

So with a little time, ingenuity, and about $150-$175 in material, you can have a permanent, sturdy, and attractive hay shed for your round bales.

I am thrilled! Happy to answer questions if anyone wants to try it for your own farm. I highly recommend these. Hope the pic works...

[Bluey]

Neat, that will really work good.

We were feeding alfalfa bales, so we made some metal feeders, the kind with vertical bars on top and a feed pan, 10" long, that we did something like that with in some broodmare pastures.
We put them on a fence line, so we could pull/lift and remove the feeders out of there and clean under/around that.

Easy to just drive by the fence and throw the flakes into the feeders and if needed, some grain into the pan.
The disadvantage, horses didn't get to the other side to clean it up, we had to pitch it back and eventually added some light plywood sheets to the "outside" bars, to keep all hay on one side.

We didn't have rubber mats then, that is a good idea you put them there, will keep that area around there from getting boggy when wet.

We didn't have a roof over ours, but we don't get much moisture here.

I bet your horses will really like, may even use it as a windbreak at times.

[KarrotKreek]

Excellent idea!! Thanks for sharing!

[M.K.Smith]

Love it!!! Thank you so much for sharing and including the pic!

[Cindyg]

Yeah, I think "ya done good."

[buschkn]

Thanks guys. The horses love it, and I am SO happy that we don't have to drive the tractor in and out of the field all winter now, just put the hay in from outside the fence. Aside from the mud and ruts, we had loose horses on several occasions due to one particularly invested escapee who would bide his time and zip out at just the right moment, with everyone else following his lead. I am thrilled with this. I can provide more pics or specifics if anyone decides to try this.

[NoDQhere]

Good Job!! I think we need to build those too.

[janiemerle]

Thanks for the photo. I'm wanting to build something like this soon.

Nice job!

[FatCatFarm]

Thanks for this. It's a great idea and a good breakdown on how to put it together.

[asb_own_me]

This is great! Thanks for sharing your construction plan AND shopping list!

[JB]

Can I make on suggestion for an improvement? Slope the roof the other way That will at least keep that much extra water from dumping right where the horses stand, especially if they are eating while it's raining

And it will give more headroom where the horses' heads are more of the time

[Bluey]

Can I make on suggestion for an improvement? Slope the roof the other way That will at least keep that much extra water from dumping right where the horses stand, especially if they are eating while it's raining

And it will give more headroom where the horses' heads are more of the time

I thought about that too, but maybe the water falling on the other side is worse, if they have to drive thru there often, or it runs under the bales then, if the ground slopes a bit?

[cowboymom]

We have talked about doing something exactly like that-it's great to see the finished product! Good job!

[JB]

I thought about that too, but maybe the water falling on the other side is worse, if they have to drive thru there often, or it runs under the bales then, if the ground slopes a bit?

Yes, good points. The lay of the land certainly needs to be taken into account, as well as the footing.

[cowboymom]

Maybe a gutter and a water tub so they can have fresh pure rainwater while they eat hay out of their pretty new feeder!

[buschkn]

Maybe a gutter and a water tub so they can have fresh pure rainwater while they eat hay out of their pretty new feeder!

LOL. I actually pondered a gutter. There are several on different fence lines and while we considered sloping the roof the other way for footing concerns and rain not dripping on the horses, we went ahead and sloped it the way the weather ALWAYS comes in. If we sloped it the other way, there would be almost no point to even putting a roof on it since the wind and rain never come from the direction of the woods. I did consider putting a ton of gravel and dense grade and drains in so it wouldn't be so awful. We'll see how it goes. Epic rains lately unfortunately.

But great thought in general, and I agree that for anyone building one to consider the water off the roof and direction of the weather etc when they decide where in a fenceline to put it.

[buschkn]

Wanted to add that we also tried to pick an area along whatever fence row we were using that was at least a little higher than the rest. Recommend that too, for anyone taking on this little project. Didn't take long at all with 2 of us.

[Bravestrom]

we tried that - please check the wood every day. Be careful because they can crack and then the nails can come loose - we had some injuries with nails and cracked boards. We even had a horse push over one of the posts.

The problem with the wood boards - they don't flex when the horses push against them to get at the bottom of the bale or to clean out the feeder.

It may be tough to clean out the feeder later on in the season - just know that we have been through it and offering a bit of advice from all the research we have done. Keep posting for any feedback.

I have pm'd you with an option.

[NEWT]

Bushkn, that's a nice round bale shelter. Thanks for sharing.

Bravestrom that's good advice based on your experience. I wonder if placing removable rails would work so that as the horses eat the hay down you can make it easier on them (and safer). Hmmmmmmm........

[pony grandma]

I agree with removeable rails so when the bale gets eaten down they can move in and 'clean up' for you! And if the rail is set down into a slot then if they break the rail there are no nails.

Gramps sets a round bale in the turnout shed corners, sets them up with pallets under them, then he ties two pallets around the front sides - which can be tied up tighter as the bale reduces, then removed when the bale needs to be cleaned up. We've not had any injuries with this system.