Young Black Haired Girl At The Haystack

Loose hay was taken to an area designated for storage—usually a slightly raised area for drainage — and built into a hay stack. The stack was made waterpro as it was built (a task considerable skill) and the hay would compress under its own weight and cure by the release heat from the residual moisture in the hay and from the compression forces. The stack was fenced from the rest the paddock in a rick yard, and ten thatched or sheeted to keep it dry. When needed slices hay would be cut using a hay-knife and fed out to animals each day.
On some farms the loose hay was stored in a shed or barn, normally in such a way that it would compress down and cure. Hay could be stored in a specially designed barn with little internal structure to allow more room for the hay. Alternatively an upper storey a cow-shed or stable was used, with hatches in the floor to allow hay to be thrown down into hay-racks below.
Depending on region, the term "hay rick" could refer to the machine for cutting hay, the hay stack or the wagon used to collect the hay.