# Selling Pet Hay



## msweeten (Jan 22, 2015)

I attempted to repackage our timothy hay last summer for small pets. I was able to sell some at a local farmers market. I stuffed 1+ lb into 2 gallon ziplock bags. But it wasn't the best way to package it. I did sell some at the market and on ebay. But it was slow (I'm in a pretty rural place to start with).

What suggestions do you have for packaging hay for this market?


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygRvui8eQL0[/ame]


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## RosewoodfarmVA (Oct 5, 2005)

Most hay balers can have the length adjusted down to 16" or so. I've seen small bales like that at feed stores for goats, rabbits, chicken lay boxes etc. You can make even smaller bales if you have someone manually trip the baler arm while feeding in the hay but you have to make sure the current knots have pulled off the knotters before you trip again. Not sure if the added time handling double the bales and the lack of 'stackability' during transport would make them attractive for the producer as I doubt they would command a much larger price than normal bales. Certainly something to consider though if you sell in an area populated with small hobbyist types whose hay usage would make a small bale appealing to them.


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## msweeten (Jan 22, 2015)

RosewoodfarmVA said:


> Most hay balers can have the length adjusted down to 16" or so. I've seen small bales like that at feed stores for goats, rabbits, chicken lay boxes etc. You can make even smaller bales if you have someone manually trip the baler arm while feeding in the hay but you have to make sure the current knots have pulled off the knotters before you trip again. Not sure if the added time handling double the bales and the lack of 'stackability' during transport would make them attractive for the producer as I doubt they would command a much larger price than normal bales. Certainly something to consider though if you sell in an area populated with small hobbyist types whose hay usage would make a small bale appealing to them.


Thanks... but we only have a big square baler right now. So this isn't an option. I doubt we ever get back into small bales.


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