Cleaning out the Hay Loft

One of our larger tasks this year is doing repairs to our barn. We had a lot of trees fall on it and just do damage here and there. The hayloft is probably the easiest parts of the barn to check off our list.  Thankfully the hay loft had no issues currently except for being dirty!

The kubota makes things easier!

There was quite a bit of old, smelly moldy hay that had gotten wet when a tree fell against the back of the barn and let water in the rear window. That hay went into one of our compost piles. Other than that, there was not much up there other than mouse poop. Thankfully the way the windows and access from the downstairs are set up, it makes it very difficult for any wild animals to make a home up there. Mice being the exception.

Before.

Whenever you are cleaning out an old barn or hayloft or a similar place, it's important to wear a mask so you aren't breathing in anything yucky. Also make sure to wear gloves and wash your hands well. Some wild animals spread some very unpleasant things in their poo and you wouldn't want to be exposed to that!

After. & We even found a gate hidden under the hay!

We removed the old hay bales but left the newer ones which we will have other uses for. We extended the kubota's bucket up to the window to make cleaning easier. No carrying anything :) Once it was all clean, we were able to put our new truckload of straw up there as well! So much more convenient. Although cleaning it out up there was not a huge task by any means, it still feels nice to check it off our list!

Now there is room for our new straw!