# what KIND of hay for sheep feed?



## watchdogps (Jun 16, 2011)

I have no idea what the different hays are, and wouldnt be able to ID it. I need to know what I am looking for when I go to buy some hay for winter feeding of my sheep!


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 17, 2011)

It really depends on where you're located.  Around here (Maryland) we have timothy, orchardgrass, fescue, alfalfa, clover, teff, ryegrass, or any mix of those types.  

What kind of sheep are you feeding?  Breeding animals? Pets?  Most grass hays will be just fine for animals who aren't breeding or growing (like lambs).  If you have ewes that will be lambing, some kind of hay with higher protein (like alfalfa or a grass/alfalfa mix) is nice to have while she's lactating.  

If you give us some more info we can help you out more!


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## watchdogps (Jun 17, 2011)

Duh! I forgot you all dont know me! Im in Ohio, and it will be a ewe and a whether. Pets, no breeding, and they will be adults.


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## patandchickens (Jun 17, 2011)

There is much too much too much to learn about hay-buying to be able to just read something on the internet and then really know what you're looking at. Not so much in terms of hay type (which doesn't matter excessively) as in terms of hay QUALITY.  You need to see/feel/smell/feed a bunch of hay before you can start to get a sense of it.

So I'd suggest you ask around (horse owners and horse boarding/training barns are a good place to start) to find a GOOD TRUSTWORTHY hay supplier. Then just tell your hay supplier "I want a good quality grass hay, no mold, doesn't have to be real high protein but needs to be relatively fine and not too stemmy/coarse".

The key here is "good trustworthy" of course, that is the reason for asking a buncha people for recommendations.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 17, 2011)

Please forgive me for what I am about to say, but horse owners are IMO not the best people to judge hay.    Well, some might be GREAT at judging hay, but some are just terrible!  Many horse people just want timothy because that's the name they recognize, and they think seed heads are a GOOD thing because, well, I don't know why, they just do.  In my job I meet and talk with all different types of farmers, and I feel comfortable in my generalization that horse owners are not always the best forage experts.  There's a reason for this though...most horse people don't count on their hay (or pasture) providing good nutrition, because most horse people feed grain.  Pasture to them is for exercise.  Hay just needs to be there for the forage, and most don't really care to know the details (except that it's not moldy).  They would be good for providing names and numbers of hay growers/sellers though.  

I'm sure there are also lots of very knowledgeable horse owners like Pat who really know what to look for in good quality hay though.  

If you have adult sheep that are not breeding, I'd ask for a nice second cutting grass hay.  The hay should be soft, not stemmy, and have few seed heads or weeds.  The hay should be green and smell nice and sweet, not musty or off at all.  You could also probably get away with a decent first cutting hay, because sometimes it's nice to have coarser hay in winter, but second cut is better if you can only buy one type.  Talk to several hay people and see what they offer. Make sure it hasn't been rained on (a little rain just after it's cut is ok, but generally rained on hay is not very nutritious).  You can buy a bale and cut it open, because sometimes looks are deceiving.  Sometimes bales on the outside of the stack are faded from sun, but the inside of the bales are just fine.  

Here's  an article that will give you lots of information.


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## patandchickens (Jun 17, 2011)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> Please forgive me for what I am about to say, but horse owners are IMO not the best people to judge hay.    Well, some might be GREAT at judging hay, but some are just terrible!


I would not disagree with you at all... however I was suggesting horse owners as being perhaps the easiest people to find to ASK about hay. Because there are typically a lot more of them around than real livestock farmers; also serious livestock people tend to either do their own hay (so they won't necessarily be able to tell you who to buy from) or they buy giant quantities and again may not be much help for finding out about buying two-sheep-sized quantities.

The idea is to ask A WHOLE LOT of horse people (or anyone else either) to try to benefit from the Law of Large Numbers 

The difficult thing -- the reason to do some real legwork to find a good person to buy hay from -- is that  IME a large proportion of hay producers are um at least as ignorant as some horse people about hay  AND of course they're tryin' to sell you their product; and there are a nontrivial number of hay dealers who will sell you any ole thing with all sorts of assurances about how good it is, if they detect that you're a small-scale beginner. 

As with what Katie says about horsemen, there are also a lot of knowledgeable and honest hay guys out there too -- all's I'm saying is that I would not want to rely on random chance to land me on one of their doorsteps as opposed to one of the other type 

Pat


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## watchdogps (Jun 17, 2011)

I just found out someone I know and I know they take good care of their goats, got sheep! I think I will ask her if I can get some hay when she gets hers!


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## equinecpa (Jul 3, 2011)

I'm new to sheep this year ...so far have been feeding horse quality hay to the sheep when necessary.   I was wondering about feeding a weedier hay to the sheep ...it seems the first thing my sheep eat when they are turned into a new pasture is tree leaves, select weeds and then the coastal  grass.  I have noticed they don't tend to clean up the coastal hay.  Is a weedier hay acceptable?


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## carolinagirl (Jul 3, 2011)

My sheep will eat Coastal Bermuda hay this winter because that's what is available around here.  As long as the hay is nice and green and smells good, it should be fine for sheep.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 15, 2011)

If you're just feeding pets and not productive animals, I would suggest a good grass hay. Make sure it is nice and green, also leafy (sheep aren't big fans of stems; they will eat it, but mostly pull it out of the hay feeder looking for the leafy part of the hay). You can expect a 150 lb ewe to eat about 3 lbs of hay per day for maintenance (which is what you're feeding for). A wether would likely be the same. (Though I don't know how much your sheep weigh.)

Also when feeding your wether, make sure his calcium and phosphorus ratio doesn't get out of whack because it can result in urinary calculi (which are like kidney stones).

Even when feeding hay, make sure your sheep have access to a loose mineral (designed for sheep and sheep only) and clean fresh water.


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## Beekissed (Jul 15, 2011)

equinecpa said:
			
		

> I'm new to sheep this year ...so far have been feeding horse quality hay to the sheep when necessary.   I was wondering about feeding a weedier hay to the sheep ...it seems the first thing my sheep eat when they are turned into a new pasture is tree leaves, select weeds and then the coastal  grass.  I have noticed they don't tend to clean up the coastal hay.  Is a weedier hay acceptable?


My hair sheep seemed to prefer the weedier, rougher hay over the good stuff, especially at the end of winter.  I usually bought and stored my hay accordingly so that they would be eating the rougher stuff in the early spring and the more nutritious, greener, leafier hay in the fall and mid-winter.  

Around here, if someone is putting up square bales it is for horses, round bales for cattle.  I've found that the farmers here aren't too choicy about the quality of hay they feed their cattle....moldy and rotten from sitting out in a row in the field all winter?  Who cares, give it to them anyway!  

So, I tend to buy my hay where the horse folks buy.  Horses seem to be a bit pickier about their hay and will waste a lot of the nastier hays.  I always ask those who have horses where they buy their hay, if their horses clean it up well, if it seems to store well and if it keeps their horses in good condition.  Then I go to their supplier and ask for a sample bale and see if my gals like it.  I break open the bale and examine it for texture, leafiness, freshness.  I smell it and even taste it.  

Sometimes I get lucky and get really good hay, some years I haven't~one has to be quick around here, as hay gets snatched up real fast!  Those are the years I've supplemented with pumpkins, apples and sunflower seeds a good bit more.


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