This first picture is from the earliest settlers here in Lacreek valley.
They pitched hay in wagons, brought the hay to the stack, put as much hay as would stay into a loop of rope that went up over the stack and was attached to a team of horses on the other side, who pulled the hay in the loop up onto the stack. The men topping out the stack spread it around. They made longer taller stacks back then (stationery).
This next picture is of an overshot stacker as things got a little more mechanized. There was a stacker head and a back stop. They pulled it ahead and built up the hay behind it. Again they made longer stacks that were stationery (built in one place and fed out of the same place, fenced out as the stackyard).
These pics are last year, after mowing an area, we straight rake it with a dump rake.
Then we push the hay up the windrows into bunches with a hay sweep.
Bunches
More Bunches
A bunch is pushed up to the stacker head with a sweep.
Pushing a bunch onto the stacker head
The header pushes the bunch up over and into the cage
A view from the back side as a bunch goes into the cage.
The bunch goes up and over, the big steel arm you see sticking out at the top is for packing the hay and moving it around some to get an even stack as it is built.
Opening up the cage in the back to pull the stacker away from a completed stack.
Cleaning up around the stack with the sweep
After that we scatter rake the whole area to get any loose hay picked back up.
They pitched hay in wagons, brought the hay to the stack, put as much hay as would stay into a loop of rope that went up over the stack and was attached to a team of horses on the other side, who pulled the hay in the loop up onto the stack. The men topping out the stack spread it around. They made longer taller stacks back then (stationery).
This next picture is of an overshot stacker as things got a little more mechanized. There was a stacker head and a back stop. They pulled it ahead and built up the hay behind it. Again they made longer stacks that were stationery (built in one place and fed out of the same place, fenced out as the stackyard).
These pics are last year, after mowing an area, we straight rake it with a dump rake.
Then we push the hay up the windrows into bunches with a hay sweep.
Bunches
More Bunches
A bunch is pushed up to the stacker head with a sweep.
Pushing a bunch onto the stacker head
The header pushes the bunch up over and into the cage
A view from the back side as a bunch goes into the cage.
The bunch goes up and over, the big steel arm you see sticking out at the top is for packing the hay and moving it around some to get an even stack as it is built.
Opening up the cage in the back to pull the stacker away from a completed stack.
Cleaning up around the stack with the sweep
After that we scatter rake the whole area to get any loose hay picked back up.