Dry clover bunches for winter feed?

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john_francis

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Is it possible and practical to dry red and white clover for winter feeding?

We have been feeding our tribe of rabbits fresh picked clover twice daily for months now and they love it - still giving them pellet feed as well but they're not so keen on them any more. Just introduced august apples and they've been getting dandy lion leaves three or four times a week too.

We're picking the clover out of a run that's 20 feet wide by a hundred feet long and for our needs so far it's proved to be inexhaustible.

Winter comes early in the North Atlantic provinces and I'm wondering if I scythe down some swaths would it be fit to bundle and save for over winter feeding?

Any shared experiences or suggestions would be greatly welcomed, heck we could have our first frost any time after this weekend!

Ohhhh, I need a rum toddie just thinking about it.......
 
Certainly you can dry it for winter. It will be excellent clover hay. The important thing is to make sure it dries thoroughly so it doesn't go mouldy. It can be tied in bundles and hung up or you can make a sling out of an old bed sheet and just toss the clover in there to store it once it is dry or nearly dry in the field. I did this one year with grass hay and it worked fine. I just tied a knot in each corner of the sheet and zip tied the knots to nails in the wall of the shed.
 
as usual Maggie is bang on - I ut up hay by hand - last year I underestimated how much I'd need (influx of rabbots in nov) this year I hope t get til christmas as least and more if I can figure ut storage :)

I don't harvet white clover specifically but sure I do red :)
 
I cut a bunch of grass, alfalfa, clover mix from the edge of the land set aside for wildlife and then laid it all out over the wire on top of the cages. I just flipped it and it's currently drying quite well. No risk of rained on hay since my rabbits are on an enclosed porch. As it finishes drying I'll just toss it in cardboard boxes so it can breathe (fresh cut hay in plastic containers will mold) but stay out of sunlight.
 

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