Building Haycocks/Aftercare

After the haycocks have been built in the fields and before they are gathered for hay to be transferred to a long term storage facility such as a hayshed or into a large hayrick there is need for ongoing maintenance and gathering. Especially at first the haycock will settle and shrink and ropes will need to be re-tightened, possibly within a day or top and especially if there are large winds. Ropes are re-tightened by pulling the rope taut and re-knotting/tucking over the original attachment point. Sometimes a top of a haycock can slide down and can simply be judiciously pushed back into position by judicious use of the pitchfork.

Should it appear the haycocks are not in a safe location, perhaps in a part of field susceptible to flooding, it may be wise to move them to a safer location. This will be done my equipment used for gathering as described in the next section.