The Poultry Keeper

sasha.p · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 502 Location: gwent

we recentley moved our chicken run and with all the rain we have had because we had to dig it level for the cage to sit right it is a bit on the mucky side so i was using straw on the floor to keep chooks feet dry until it settles and we get some growth in there ,went to the farm shop second time went last week too and they have no straw!!i usually buy it off them but today the grumpy old man was there he turned around and said nope i aint got none for you Evil or Very Mad

he did not even offer me a small bag!the other bloke who works there is great and so curtious and helpfull Smile

but the other one is such a shovanistic pig and always speaks to me like im stupid because i am a woman will never forget the time as i drive a 4x4 he stood there like an idiot thinking i could not reverse my truck trying to wave and flag me on so i just faced away from him and done it anyway as i am a pretty good driver Evil or Very Mad

but now im left asking myself where am i going to get some from?they said it is because of the weather well thats obvious as it has been rubbish but im not paying petsmarts prices for a tiny bag of straw is this the case everywhere is everyone holding back on their straw supplies now or are there still places with some left? Question

CP · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 12:06 pm Post subject:

I do know it's in short supply, at least around here anyway.

My farming friends haven't been able to cut their hay yet either because of the weather.

No doubt you'll get some somewhere, but at what price???

jaydee67 · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 1:14 pm Post subject:

What about wood (not bark) chips?

mojo · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject:

wood chips last longer too

debcat · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 8:08 pm Post subject:

I'm dreading this winter, hay and straw are going to be so expensive and animal feed has already gone up
I've been ordering a few bales extra a week of each just to make sure I have enough
Fingers crossed it will be a dry winter so at least the goats can graze outside for a few hours a day Confused

mojo · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 8:35 pm Post subject:

hay and straw here are shooting up in price .............anyone who has a surplus wont sell cause come winter they can ask what they like in price...........owing to the weather cropping is low and not best quality...............now is the time to source an alternative if at all possible

Langy · Joined: 24 Nov 2006 Posts: 37 Location: Suffolk

Hello

As far as I am aware, here is Suffolk if you pick a farmer who just uses it for his self then a bale of straw is very cheap and there are plenty in the barns. A lot of farmers in suffolk are mainly crops with some livestock.

I bought a bale at the end of last year and it only cost around £1.50.

It might be worth while going on a drive in to the countryside where you can see farmers who have their barns full of straw. However the main issue I have these days is finding a farmer who produces the old size bales rather than round or large rectangle bales, not very easy to get one of those in a car, even a people carrier.

Good luck with your searching.

Must agree with the previous person it might be better to use bark on the run floor and use straw for the nests.

Paul

CP · Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 2:32 am Post subject:

I know of someone around our area who supplies racehorses with hay from Canada, at £25 per bale! Shocked

tuzo2k · Joined: 09 Jun 2007 Posts: 216 Location: charente sw france

The weather over here (Charente) has also been bad and we have only just been able to cut and bale our hay - today it is now safely in the barn - we keep sheep and goats as well as geese and chickens so rely on it for winter feed. Best of luck in your search - we are able to get straw but I don't think 'La Poste' would accept it and deliver it to England. Richard

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3540 Location: Monmouthshire

The last place I managed to buy small bale straw was a farm at the Raglan end of the Chepstow to Raglan road. However, by this time of year they are unlikely to have any and if they do, it may not be fit for use after nearly 12 months storage. There's always a big sign up outside with a sale list written on it.

sasha.p · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 502 Location: gwent

henwife thank you i will take a drive up there to take a look for any signs i have been driving along all the lanes in the area to see if there are any stores stacked close or signs by where i could get some but im a bit weiry of knocking on doors just incase they think im cheeky lol. we have a chipper its just we do not have time at the moment to chip any branches not sure how much a tree surgeon would charge for a trailer full? bigger bark would be better than the small stuff think i will approach a tree surgeon and ask but if anyone has a rough idea how much i would be looking at let me know thanks all Smile

mojo · Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:40 pm Post subject:

lots of tree surgeon will give you wood chips if you take it regularly they need somewhere to get shot of it..............just ask

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7424 Location: isle of lewis

i wouldn't worry to much about knocking on doors although sometimes it takes nervres Wink

lost count of the number of times ,we see a car pull up ,and wonder if it somebody wanting something
normally it's somebody using a mobile
but quite often it's somebody wanting eggs Very Happy

we don't have a sign up , Cool

sasha.p · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 502 Location: gwent

well we finnally got around to knocking on doors lastnight and have got to collect a large round bale at the weekend so should be sorted just wondered for those of you who do deal with large round bales how much do they usually cost?the farmer wanted £15 but my husband said he was flapping over everything going wrong with the foot and mouth etc so he is giving him £20 for the hassle just wanted to know what they normally sell for as we would like a permanent supply when we get our pigs

Woodburner · Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:48 pm Post subject:

Those things weigh half a ton - literally! I assume you have a truck capable of transporting one but how are you going to get it off again? Those things have killed people, well perhaps not killed, but they have definitely hospitalized people.