In a Post, earlier this month, Moving an 800 lb Hay Bale by Hand, I showed the size of Round Bales we get and it also shows how Is how I roll it out. Now, in this Post, I’m going to explain how I meter out the hay so that I always feed my animals the same amount, and make my bale last a set number of days! I do this using pallets! 

It occurred to me that each Pallet is about a Meter (39”) wide and 48” or 4 Feet Wide, 

Which made me think of the saying, “to meter out”. Which, according to Webster’s Dictionary is to,

“to give (something) to the people who one decides should get it : to give out or distribute (something)”.

I had never made a connection between the two before. Although, at least in this case, it makes perfect sense! 

Actually, while these Pallets are about a Meter wide, I actually roll the hay the other way, From end to end, or bottom to top, which is 48 inches. 

Then, after rolling it out, I roll up the amount from one Pallet. That is the amount for each the Goats, and Sheep. 

To be honest, the first couple of Bales I did this way were more by fluke than on purpose, but it worked so well, my 800 lb Bales lasted about 3 weeks, or 21 days. Which means about 38 lbs per day. The estimated combined weight of our 7 sheep is 575 lbs. While the goats weigh in at about 450 lbs total for all five. So, a total combined weight of about 1,025 lbs. Goats require about 4% of their body weight, and sheep at least 3%. So, our 800 lb bale lasting 21 days means we’re feeding and average of about 3.7% of their combined body weight. While these are just rough numbers, I love that it works out almost to the day every time, and it seems like it’s keeping the animals in pretty good shape, we also supplement their hay with a little feed, and some treats like fruits and vegetables. We do our best to help keep everybody happy! 

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