How long will my hay last?
Bales on hand and who's eating them → how many days of hay you have, the run-out date, and how many more bales get you to pasture.
Runs out about —
50.6 lb a day, waste included · 7.1 bales a week · 5,000 lb on hand
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Hay run-out forecast & planner
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How it's calculated
- Hay on hand = bales × weight per bale.
- Hay per day for each group = number of animals × body weight × daily intake (% of body weight) × (1 + waste %).
- Days left = hay on hand ÷ hay per day (all groups). The run-out date is today plus the whole days left.
- If you set a date when pasture is back, the shortfall is the days between the run-out date and that date, and bales to buy = shortfall days × hay per day ÷ bale weight, rounded up.
- Starting intakes: horses 2%, cattle 2.5%, sheep and goats 3% of body weight a day. All are inside Extension ranges (University of Minnesota: horses willingly eat 2 to 2.5% when given free access; Oregon State: horses 1.5 to 3%, beef cattle 1 to 3%, sheep 2 to 5%, goats 2 to 6%). Change them to match your animals and your hay.
- Waste depends on how you feed. University of Minnesota measured 57% waste feeding round bales to horses with no feeder versus 5 to 33% with a feeder. University of Missouri found 20% (open-bottom ring), 13% (sheeted-bottom ring) and 5% (cone feeder) for cattle. The 15% default is a middle value; pick yours.
Worked example
Two 1,100 lb horses at 2% intake with 15% waste eat 2 × 1,100 × 0.02 × 1.15 = 50.6 lb of hay a day. 100 bales × 50 lb = 5,000 lb, which lasts 5,000 ÷ 50.6 = 98.8 days, so 98 whole days. If that's 82 days short of pasture, you need 81.2 days × 50.6 lb ÷ 50 lb = 82.2, rounded up to 83 more bales.
Sources
- Hay for horse diets — University of Minnesota Extension
Horses given free access to hay willingly eat 2 to 2.5% of body weight a day.
- Calculating livestock winter hay needs — Oregon State University Small Farms Program
Dry matter intake by species as % of body weight, plus 10 to 50% extra for waste depending on the feeding system.
- Feeding horses with a round-bale feeder — University of Minnesota Extension
5 to 33% hay waste with a feeder, 57% without.
- How you feed hay this winter is more important than ever — University of Missouri Extension
Cattle feeder losses: 20% open-bottom ring, 13% sheeted-bottom ring, 5% cone feeder.
Questions
Should I use the weight of the bale on the receipt?
Weigh a few bales if you can. Small square bales vary a lot, and a bale that is 10 lb lighter than you think shortens your winter by the same share.
Does this count grain or pasture?
No. It assumes hay is the whole forage ration. If animals also graze or get hay cubes, lower the intake percentage to the part hay supplies.
Can I mix horses and goats?
Yes. Add a row per group. Each group has its own count, weight, intake and waste, and the totals add up.
Does it work in kilograms?
Yes. Switch the unit to kg and bale and body weights convert. The percentages don't change.
By the All Things AI team · Last tested · Questions or a wrong number? support@allthingsn.com
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