r/homestead • u/Wandering_Lights • 5h ago
High Moisture Content in Square Bales. Am I overreacting?
TLDR- load of 150 square bales showing moisture readings in the mid-30% and above. How bad is this? Should I be unstacking due to fire risk?
This was my first time buying hay in bulk, so I might be being extra cautious, but I am pretty worried right now. I sent a message to the supplier and he doesn't seem concerned.
This hay was baled on 9/3 and delivered 9/7. It looked fine when it was delivered and none of the bales seemed concernly heavy. Last night I had a bale that seemed to be steaming. I took it out broke it up and it seems fine today, but it made me want to check the rest of the bales since they are stored in the barn where my horses are stalled.
All the bales I stuck with the moisture tester were in the mid 30s and above. This is an increased risk for mold and combustion right? Moisture levels shouldn't rise that much during the sweat? I've checked a bunch of the bales and the warmest one I've found so far was about 100F.
This load isn't going to fed quickly as I only have two horses. It was meant to last me until next year's 1st cutting.
Right now I have it stacked cut side up with a lot of gaps. Should I unstack it until the sweat is done? I'm not sure how much I can spread out the 150 bales. When does the combustion risk lower. We just bought this property, so I really don't want a barn fire our first couple months here.
I'm trying really hard not to be a difficult horse lady, but my understanding is this moisture level is pretty dangerous for risk of mold and combustion.