On the hay.is it straw hay? .maybe go to your feed store and offer to clean up loose hay? I get the rotten alfalafa for my garden, and they are glad to get rid of it, but I think you want good stuff for the birds.anything less than 10$ is unheard of for alfalafa in Elko County..(I don't have a horse so don't hold me to that!) Funny that Jeepers 1540 and I are the only ones on here from Elko County, Nevada..(That's about 328 miles east of Reno on I-80) for those of you who don't know! Big J and I are neighbors, he has helped me tremendously. We tried asking 2.50 a doz for eggs, it didn't fly very well. 2$ works great. We sure don't get any deals on feed out here, so it's a good thing we like our chickens anyway!