EMPTY BARN WILL SOON BE FULL OF HAY

Well, here is an interesting dilemma.  In a province with an abundance of fields and amazing weather that allows three crops in a season, there is a shortage of hay for sale.  Our wonderful donkeys need hay that is not as rich as the hay for other equines and grass eaters.  Why?  Donkeys are desert creatures that are designed to eat scrub, bushes and other plants not considered very edible.  The lovely hay in BC is high in nutritional value with alfalfa and other lovely grasses.  And our donkeys get ill if they eat too  much of it.
Imagine, we have to look for lower grade hay and when we do find some for sale, we need to buy it in large quantities.  Sometimes we have even had to have it tested to be sure it isn't too good.  We have been lucky enough to have some farmers who have saved this type of hay for us but with so many donkeys in our care now, we have to find more and more.
So here is a picture of the empty hay barn that will soon be full of hay.  This barn is at the old Refuge location which is a bit of a pain as we have to load and haul the hay twice to feed the donkeys at the new location.  Better this though than being short of hay part way through the winter. The new barn at the new Refuge will also hold lots of hay.  I will post a picture of the barn when it is full of hay.

Also, here is a picture of the big round bales of hay that we sometimes get. There is a giant spike on the front of the tractor that skewers the bales and lifts them.  They are HEAVY.  The smaller square bales are easier to handle but harder to find for sale. 
The hay we are purchasing in the next few days is coming from Enderby - not too far away - but we are now looking farther away - Caribou country, and the lower mainland. For the Donkeys!!!