Need Advise On Types Of Hay

[stano40]

Recently I bought 2 round bales of hay which was supposed to be good for cattle. It was a good deal but I should have paid attention to "What was a Good Deal" vs buying horse hay.

This time of year (Winter) is an expensive time to buy last years hay and I had to travel an hour and half up northern Maine for this great deal.

Whenj I got home with the hay my son said it smelled funny. When we cut open the wrapped bales the odor was over powering and I noticed white patch's on the hay. The bales were frozen almost solid. So much for a good deal and a waste of money.

I have 10 goats and would like to know how everyone goes about deciding what type of hay is good for their goats.

Another thing I would like to learn is what types of hay is on the market today in square or round bales. What is the difference in hay. I understand what mulch hay is and it's use's, I got 2 huge round bales sitting in my driveway now stinking up the place.

bob

 

[helmstead]

Sorry! I never buy cow quality hay - I wouldn't even feed that stuff to a poor, innocent cow!

Lucky me, my brother in law produces our hay for us now, but I can tell you in GA we paid through the NOSE for good hay. Rolls ran anywhere from $60 to $100 and were only about 500 lbs. Squares of grass (orchard fescue) were around $6 for a 40 lb. And alfalfa, in GA...UNGODLY expensive. Usually $15 to $25 for straight alfalfa squares, never more than 50 lbs.

 

[ksalvagno]

You will want to stick with horse quality hay. I buy orchard grass hay for my alpacas. I did get grass/alfalfa mix for the goats. I buy squares because I have to store hay in my hayloft. I paid $4.50 per bale. I don't have anywhere to store round bales.

If you can, buy for the year. My hay guy bales his second cut hay usually in August but this year was done in July. I ordered 600 bales and am good to go for the year. Too hard to find good hay around me in the winter.

 

[elevan]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

I bought my first round bale recently cause it was a good deal. The hay was good, but my plan to just pull off what I needed turned out to be a real pain. So if it's to fill hay rack, I recommend square bales.

I am lucky enough to have 2 suppliers that I trust - 1 is right across the road from me, but if they are out or low on stock then we have another that delivers to us.

Depending on which supplier, our hay is either alfalfa/ orchard grass mix or alfalfa / clover / orchard grass mix.

When getting hay you should always smell it...if you've got a cold and can't smell bring someone with you. If it smells musty, moldy or bad don't buy it.

Also instead of buying because they label it horse hay, cow hay, goat hay - ask them what it consists of instead, they should know - if they don't then don't buy it.

When you find a good supplier build a relationship with them.

Good luck.

 

[stano40]

It was my fault not to check out the hay. It was so cold out when I picked them up, plus when he pulled the bales out of the snow, it was then bells should have rung out ..... (DON'T BUY THIS HAY), but I trusted the person I was buying the hay from to have good hay. The bales were costing me $30.00 each bale.

From what I learned from going there is not to buy hay that is stored outside. Wrapped hay seems to hold more moisture, especially if it's baled wet.

I will have to start asking what type of hay from suppliers.

Is there grades of hay out there for different types of livestock?

bob

 

[elevan]

I try to skip first cuttings and go for the later cuttings.

Content is what I look for - I like alfalfa / orchard grass (but the clover mix is good too).

I also look for baled dry and stored dry hay. It should also be green and smell sweet (imo) As it fades in color to brown it loses nutrients.

My supplier across the road did give me 25 bales one time free that had been baled dry and then got rained on. They were left to bake in the hot summer sun for a week after that. They still smelled sweet so I took them, intending them for bedding only as long as I didn't see mold. They never molded, but I used them only for bedding anyway. Goats ate about half of what I put down.

 

[patandchickens]

Sorry you had this experience, although I think everyone runs into it at some time or another. Pile the hay outdoors somewhere for a year or two and it will make good garden mulch and then (when it composts down more) good garden soil amendment). Or you can use it for mulch right away but it is likely to seed a lot of pasture weeds and grasses into your garden.

Just checking, but you're sure this was a mold problem, rather than a fully-wrapped ensiled bale (haylage)? (Which DOES have an overpowering weird odor, not moldy though, and frozen bits in it would look white). If it was not fully-wrapped ensiled hay then definitely it does sound 'bad'.

I am leery of buying big bales (round or big square) from suppliers I haven't dealt with before or gotten consistent good references from other people, because it is just too darn hard to know what's on the inside of those big bales. Even if they are stored indoors they can be nasty and moldy inside and seem fine outside.

"Good for cattle" is often a danger sign, I know cattle people who won't buy hay advertised as cow hay

So if you must buy from an unknown supplier, small squares are a lot better idea IMO even though obviously they cost more per weight of hay. Not only can you break a random one open (paying for it of course) to see what's inside, but you can also tell from the feel of them as you load 'em up whether there are some that are ominously heavy. The heavy ones are very often the ones that have moisture/mold issues inside, either from being baled that way or acquired in storage.

Pat

 

[stano40]

Sorry you had this experience, although I think everyone runs into it at some time or another. Pile the hay outdoors somewhere for a year or two and it will make good garden mulch and then (when it composts down more) good garden soil amendment). Or you can use it for mulch right away but it is likely to seed a lot of pasture weeds and grasses into your garden.

Just checking, but you're sure this was a mold problem, rather than a fully-wrapped ensiled bale (haylage)? (Which DOES have an overpowering weird odor, not moldy though, and frozen bits in it would look white). If it was not fully-wrapped ensiled hay then definitely it does sound 'bad'.

I am leery of buying big bales (round or big square) from suppliers I haven't dealt with before or gotten consistent good references from other people, because it is just too darn hard to know what's on the inside of those big bales. Even if they are stored indoors they can be nasty and moldy inside and seem fine outside.

"Good for cattle" is often a danger sign, I know cattle people who won't buy hay advertised as cow hay

So if you must buy from an unknown supplier, small squares are a lot better idea IMO even though obviously they cost more per weight of hay. Not only can you break a random one open (paying for it of course) to see what's inside, but you can also tell from the feel of them as you load 'em up whether there are some that are ominously heavy. The heavy ones are very often the ones that have moisture/mold issues inside, either from being baled that way or acquired in storage.

Pat

So, by what you've written I could have bought a silage type hay. But what would the frozen white spots be?

I looked up on Wikipedia about silage and this is what I found.

Silage is fermented, high-moisture fodder that can be fed to ruminants (cud-chewing animals like cattle and sheep)[1] or used as a biofuel feedstock for anaerobic digesters. It is fermented and stored in a process called ensiling or silaging, and is usually made from grass crops, including corn (maize) or sorghum or other cereals, using the entire green plant (not just the grain). Silage can be made from many field crops, and special terms may be used depending on type (oatlage for oats, haylage for alfalfa but see below for different UK use of the term haylage).

Silage is made either by placing cut green vegetation in a silo, or by piling it in a large heap covered with plastic sheet, or by wrapping large bales in plastic film.

I'll tell you one of my neighbors is not fond of the odor and I can't blame her.

From readng how silage is produced I don't think this farm did just that to produce silage.

I just don't have a use for it on my 1 acre backyard farm. I have enough hay waste from the goats and chickens to rototill into the ground.

My goats do pick at it on their way to the pen in the morning I hope that won't hurt them.

bob

 

[Dreaming Of Goats]

I can get square bales across the street for $5 a bale, and they're leafy and green, however sometimes it has prickers. I'm pretty sure it's mixed grass/ weeds BUT..... The chickens like it!

 

[julieq]

And alfalfa, in GA...UNGODLY expensive. Usually $15 to $25 for straight alfalfa squares, never more than 50 lbs.

When we lived in Alabama we had trouble even finding alfalfa hay and usually had to have it shipped in. Apparently it doesn't grow well in the south as it's just too wet. Here in Idaho in the high desert they grow it locally for the cow dairies. We've paid anywhere 4.50 to 11.00 per small bale of alfalfa, depending on the weight, for the past two years.