Calculate how much hay you need for livestock, including daily hay use, total hay pounds, hay tons, bales needed, hay shortage, hay surplus, and estimated hay cost. Use this calculator for cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and mixed livestock.
Daily hay:
The calculator estimates hay intake from average animal weight and daily intake percentage.
Total hay needed:
Daily hay is multiplied by feeding days, then adjusted for waste and reserve.
Bales needed:
Total hay pounds are divided by bale weight to estimate the number of bales needed.
Supply check:
Available bales are converted to pounds and compared with total hay needed to estimate shortage or surplus.
A hay needed calculator helps plan feed inventory before winter, drought, dry-lot feeding, or a long pasture gap.
It can help compare hay needs, bale count, hay tons, daily intake, hay cost, available supply, shortage, surplus, and cost per head per day.
Your result shows estimated hay needed in pounds, tons, and bales. It also shows daily hay use, hay adjusted for waste and reserve, available hay, supply difference, days covered, dry matter, total hay cost, and cost per head per day. These are estimates based on the values you enter.
Multiply the number of animals by average animal weight and daily intake percentage, then multiply by feeding days. Add hay waste and reserve to estimate total hay needed.
Calculate total hay pounds needed, then divide by bale weight. For example, 120,000 pounds of hay divided by 1,200-pound bales equals 100 bales.
Hay waste depends on feeding method, storage, weather exposure, trampling, refusal, and feeder design. Many hay plans include a waste percentage plus an additional reserve.
Days covered estimates how long your available hay supply may last based on daily hay use before adding future purchases.