Last Year's Hay.....

[Mea]

If i might give a bit of 'back story' to this question...

Last summer (2009) was a miserable one for hay in our area ! Getting two days with out rain was unheard of. So the quality and quantity was Not very good at all. Most farmers and hay dealers in our area held on to it to see what they need thru the winter for themselves. ( which does make sense... but helps me not ! )

Now, this spring... on Craig's List and privately, we are finding places with hay to sell. They are trying to clear their barns for This years hay. Some have second cut alfalfa at reasonable prices. ( $3. a bale )

My DH was wonder ing if hay stored thru a winter would lose too much of it's goodness to be worth any money at all ?? We know that " it depends".... on how it was stored , when it was cut etc. But for us to get second cut, could be a great boost to the does. ( well, 'i' think so )

Thanks for suggestions and ideas. Mea.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Hay stored properly should be fine. You want to make sure it was kept in a dry place, make sure it's free of mold, still smells good, etc. Definitely cut open a bale or two, and look at the whole stack of hay, not just the first few bales.

Also, I'd think it wouldn't cost as much as hay cut the same year. Unless hay is so scarce in your area that the sellers can charge whatever they want.

 

[cmjust0]

I don't buy hay in great quantities at a time...like, 20 bales at a time...so I'm buying "last year's hay" right now. Indeed, I know which way the hay was loaded into my hay guy's barn, and it's been coming out "LIFO" instead of "FIFO"...which means the later I buy, the older it is.

So long as it's been stored in the dry and mostly out of the sun, it should be fine.

If in doubt, call your county extension agent and see about having it tested.

 

[WallTenters]

It should be perfectly fine, if indeed it was barn stored. Once hay is dry, there's little difference nutritionally from dry hay from last year and dry hay from this year. Of course, hay eventually starts to break down (even if you can't see or smell it), so I wouldn't feed hay more than a year-two years old, just because you will eventually be loosing more and more nutrition.

We always feed our horses "last year's hay" *this time of year , as we prefer second cutting since my fiance is so allergic, and first cutting has more seeds/pollen (we feed grass hay).

Sounds like a great deal! I would supplement any dried hay with fish or linseed oil, unless your goats have access to fresh grazing.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I just bought another hundred bales of last yrs hay. We won't see hay around here until June if we're lucky and I can't run out. Our goats get the same hay as the horses.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I wouldn't really consider it "last year's" hay until this years haying season is underway.

 

[miss_thenorth]

We just came across the same deal. The lady wants to clear out her barn and is selling her hay for $1 a bale. I had looked at her hay in the late summer, and it was GOOD hay, but she wanted too much for it then. Glad I held out! It will come in handy ths summer too as we are wroking on reseeding our pastures.

 

[Mea]

I wouldn't really consider it "last year's" hay until this years haying season is underway.

I had not even thought of it that way ! durrrrr !

 

[Mea]

Thanks for the responses. I have high hopes of aquiring some second cutting to top dress the coarser hay we have now.

 

[cmjust0]

Or.. ..keep the courser stuff till winter. Course hay makes more heat. I like having really stemmy, stalky hay around when it gets really, really cold. There's something comforting about hearing the goats crunch eagerly through their hay when it's like 5 degrees outside.

Our goats seem to know what's best in regard to weather and what hay to eat, too.. When it's cold, they're prone to complain a little if you throw fine hay.. When its hot, they make tumbleweeds out of the stems of course hay.

Feeding finer grass hay in the summer and courser hay (heavy on timothy and/or red clover, for instance) when it's cold, though, seems to produce less overall waste...and less complaints.

That's just an offhand observation out of my own little herd, though.