Preparing for Winter with Animals!

Animals need a lot of hay. Like, a lot. Especially when you start filling your barns and coops. But, it's also tiresome and boring to water large fields of wheat.

Silos and Chests!

You absolutely HAVE to have a silo before winter. Seasoned players generally recommend getting a silo before a coop, despite the game rushing you to get one immediately.
You can get by without one, but it'll be an absolute pain because your animals won't be fed on rainy days before you can plant and harvest wheat (summer/fall).
Basically, silos will allow you to store large amounts of hay (240 pieces) at a time, so it'll probably be enough for a fully upgraded barn/coop (12 animals) through the winter.

Now, here's the controversial part.
Only build one!
You can always add hay in if you're running low, and just having one will take up less space. Besides, it's much cheaper to keep a chest nearby with extra hay in it.

But, the silo is important because you can cut grass with a scythe and there's a chance of hay being added to the silo.
So, let that grass grow as it wants! It's more hay going to your animals. In the first year, this shouldn't be so difficult. Every week or so, just sparingly go in with your scythe and fill your silo. Just leave enough tufts of grass in places so it can grow back.
On top of that, grass grows a TON on the first day of the season, so if you plant your grass on Winter 28th, you will have a ton when spring starts, so your animals will be able to go out and eat right away.

Once the silo is full, go into your coop/barn. Right click on your feeder. It'll give you one hay for each animal or how ever many spaces on the tray are left, whichever is less. Then, move your item slot to an empty (or non-hay) spot and keep right clicking until you're satisfied. Put this hay in a chest and then go back to cut more grass!

tl;dr:
1. Build Silo
2. Cut Grass
3. Right-Click on Feeder until satisfied
4. Repeat from Step Two!

[klm_luciano]

Be aware hay withdrawal does not work with fully upgraded barn/coop with autofeeder.

[bathtuub]

[h1]My ol' reliable hay farming method[h1] Buy the grass starter recipe from Pierre very early on in game and DO NOT sell the fiber you collect from clearing your farm. Make a bunch of grass starters and place them 5ish tiles apart in Summer or before you get a silo. Wait until there is a sea of grass on part of your farm and use the first level hoe to collect it AFTER you have a silo. Leave about a third of the grass behind to collect again in a few days. Check your silo every now and then and stop collecting grass if it gets full. Once you have a coop you can stand in front of the hay and take it out of the silo, leave a few days worth of hay in the silo and put the rest in a chest. Rinse and repeat after Spring comes around again, and ta-da, you have a crap ton of hay ready to feed your animals. :)

[Techhead7890]

I agree with Nox, the self-growing grass starters tend to work better for me unless I already need wheat/flour

[✪Lunatera✪]

hay and wheat are different items, better off just stocking hay in the silos and having animals free-range until the last day of fall, then scythe all your grass and and ride it out with 3 or 4 silos worth of hay. (you can also buy cheap hay from marnie)

no need to plant wheat, just make sure you have grass starters here and there and let your yard get overgrown by the grass, easiest way to have enough hay.

theres also a way to withdraw as much hay as you want for a chest at a time, i think it involves having your active hotbar full (large and deluxe bag helps alot)