A hayloft is a space above a

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

or cow-shed, traditionally used for storage of

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

or other

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

for the animals below. Haylofts were used mainly before the widespread use of very large hay bales, which allow simpler handling of bulk hay. The hayloft is filled with loose hay from the top of a

wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

, thrown up through a large door, usually some or more above the ground, often in the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

end of the building. Some haylofts have slots or holes (sometimes with hatches), each above a hay-rack or

manger __NOTOC__ A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew"). Mangers are mostly used in ...

in the animal housing below. The hay could easily be dropped through the holes to feed the animals. Another method of using a hayloft is to create small bundles of hay (1–4 cubic feet), then hoist them up using a

block and tackle A block and tackle or only tackle is a system of two or more pulleys with a rope or cable threaded between them, usually used to lift heavy loads. The pulleys are assembled to form blocks and then blocks are paired so that one is fixed and on ...

—in this case a

hay elevator A hay elevator is an elevator that hauls bales of hay or straw up to a hayloft, the section of a barn used for hay storage. Hay elevators are either ramped conveyor belts that bales rest on, or a mechanized pair of chains that holds bales ta ...

to the room. This allows for more efficiency when moving hay around. The difference between a hayloft and a mow is significant. A mow is exposed to the weather, only elevated on a small platform off the ground. This is often used for drying hay. A hayloft is used for more permanent storage of hay. It is sheltered from the weather and where a modern-day

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

would be. A struggle in any type of keeping hay is that it must be totally dry. Otherwise, when piled up in a hayloft, it will start to

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...

. The

insulation Insulation may refer to: Thermal * Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer ** List of insulation materials ** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency *** Insulated ...

provided by the other hay ensures that

thermophilic A thermophile is an organism—a type of extremophile—that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between . Many thermophiles are archaea, though they can be bacteria or fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earl ...

bacteria involved in the decomposition will be at their ideal temperature, thus turning the good hay into the dirt. That is also why farmers are so determined to keep hay off the ground since it would absorb moisture. Haylofts in old buildings are now often used for other storage or have been converted into habitable rooms. However, farms that use small square hay bales may still use the hayloft for storage of hay. Many farmers now use bales of hay so large they must be handled by machinery, and these are normally stored in more open buildings or outside. Others have forgone hay in favor of grain or

silage Silage () is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. It can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants (cud-chewing animals). The fermentation and storage p ...

References

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{{Commonscat-inline, Hay lofts Agricultural buildings

See also

References

External links