Drying hay - how to do it correctly

Drying hay - step-by-step instructions and tips

Drying hay - this is how you proceed

Important preliminary remark: Only grass in high meadows is suitable for hay.

Cut / mow the tall grass with a scythe, sickle or a suitable lawn mower (only models with which the grass remains reasonably long are possible; the device used should also leave little or no lubricating oil / exhaust fumes).
Leave the cut grass in the sun for three to five days, depending on the weather.
Only when the hay is bone-dry do you store it in a shed.
In the shed, you should let the hay dry for another five to six weeks.

Be careful with lawnmowers ...

We recommend avoiding the use of a lawn mower for cutting / mowing the grass. Often they flatten the meadow and cut the individual grasses several times, so that in the end you get very fine, chopped up hay. This does not demand enough chewing work from the rabbits - apart from the fact that the grasses are much too close together due to the short stalks and therefore do not dry out as well. Later the hay does not get enough air. In the worst case, it absorbs moisture and starts to mold - or even to gas, which leads to it igniting itself.

In short: if you want to use a lawn mower, you have to carefully check its quality and operation to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Why the long drying time is so important

You can read from many hobby gardeners that they dry their hay only for a few days and then feed it to their animals. However, this is not recommended. This is because it can lead to problems in the digestive tract.

Store dried hay properly - our tip

We advise you to wrap the dried hay in an airy towel. In this way it stays dry and fresh all year round - and therefore a pleasure for your animals.

Note: Do not wrap the hay in cloths until it is really completely dry. This is the only way to ensure that it doesn't cause problems like diarrhea or other uncomfortable digestive problems.