Straw Bale

[Sue]

I was thinking ahead and getting in a bale of straw to do the strawberries with but as it was too early, put the straw bale in the hen run. This has turned out to be a very good £3.50's worth of hen entertainment.
Firstly it is a nice warm spot for an afternoon snooze, Enid especially is fond as it gives her a good overview of her subjects Maud, Monica and Ruby (I see Enid as a sort of Queen Mother figure....)

Then if you scatter grain on it that provides a great deal of entertainment, hopping up and down, lots of pushing and shoving, raking out straw and generally making a mess.

Lastly, I've pulled the straw apart ready for my strawberries and left them the rest in thick "slices". not heard a peep from them all day as they've been pulling the straw apart, searching out any goodies that were left, now the straw in the hen run is so deep you can just about see their heads, this afternoon I went to put them to bed and saw them all in a heap in a nice bowl shaped nest they'd made in the straw.

And when they've trodden it all down and its all mucky out it goes on my new chicken compost bin.

They've got a new one coming tomorrow!

Sue

[HayleyB]

£3.50 for a bale of straw

My girls love new straw in the stables they pick out the wheat husks. Now the horses are out they've commandeered two of the boxes as the resting/sunbathing quarters...

[Suechooks]

Hmmm! £3.50 is a bit OTT. I get mine from local farm at £1.50. However I agree it is the world's greatest entertainment for chooks! I also use it in winter as a shelter from the wind by putting them around sides of their under cover run (needs to be kept off the ground on a pallet or Ratty will take up residence)

[HayleyB]

Yep I pay £1.50 too

[Sue]

Hells Bells, £1.50... and yesterday I saw that my supplier had upped the price to £4!
And yes good point re wind barrier, I noticed they were sheltering behind the straw bales in all that gale force wind this week, thought the henhouse would take off at one point.
Sue

[Suechooks]

The feed place I go to sells straw at exorbitant prices too. They do tend to have some left when the farms have run out though!!! No wonder is it!

[HayleyB]

You need to find a local farmer with livestock, that sells to local horsey people. They'll have straw at a more um.......... 'normal' price

[Snadger]

'Normal' farm price around here is £1 to £1.50 per bale depending on time of year!

[NOG]

Hells Bells, £1.50... and yesterday I saw that my supplier had upped the price to £4!

You have loads of farms near you....go direct to the farmer. I pay £1.5 - £2.5

[Sue]

Nog
My constant downfall on the allotments is I don't - can't drive (double vision) so I'm always missing out on special offers, skip winnings and so on. I'd have to go and get the straw and I'm sure that no farmer is going to want to deliver one bale - all I've got room to store.
Sue
My most crossmaking thing recently was finding 8ft hazel poles on sale at the Farmer's Market and had to pass by on the other side, no way I could get those down the allotment on the bus....

[NOG]

Sue,

I find its strange that there is not someone on your plot that could get you a bale. I always take the trailer and put 6-8 bales in it. Cos I know people on the plot will want them.

Isn't there a driving friend you could bribe with some homemade Jam/Produce?

I

[Shadylane]

Hi all *waves* been lurking on this fab forum a while now, thought I'd finally show myself. Just wanted to ask, how big is a bale that costs you a couple of quid? I contacted a farmer yesterday who was charging £17.50 for one of the huge roundish bales you see stacked on fields in black plastic. I thought it was erm a little steep.

[Snadger]

Hi all *waves* been lurking on this fab forum a while now, thought I'd finally show myself. Just wanted to ask, how big is a bale that costs you a couple of quid? I contacted a farmer yesterday who was charging £17.50 for one of the huge roundish bales you see stacked on fields in black plastic. I thought it was erm a little steep.

Hi Shadylane an welcom to the vine!

A bale is roughly 2 foot wide, 4 foot long and 18 inches deep.

[Shadylane]

Thanks Snadger. That's quite a bit smaller than the ones he was talking about I think but much more likely to fit in me car. Still 17.50 still sounds like daylight robbery. Cheers for that anyway.

[CoraxAurata]

Thanks Snadger. That's quite a bit smaller than the ones he was talking about I think but much more likely to fit in me car. Still 17.50 still sounds like daylight robbery. Cheers for that anyway.

Last year we were paying £8 for a big round bale - but were collecting it ourselves.....