[Gpdd] HEALTH [hay sources]

Louise August laugust at umich.edu
Fri Feb 20 12:32:46 EST 2004


Nancy asked about hay sources and storage and I replied to her
individually, 
but since there have been more posts about hay, I thought I'd post my email 
to her about my experiences with buying and storing hay

The feed store owner feeds the same hay to his goats and horses and seems 
very fussy - he assures me he wouldn't feed anything but the best to his 
animals. So I feel comfortable on that score. But I always discuss the 
content of the hay and its quality with him each time I buy, both to assure 
myself and remind him that I'm fussy too and won't buy just anything.

Forgive me if you know all this already, but I didn't when I began buying 
bales, so this might help you feel like a more informed buyer. Make sure 
the hay looks good and smells good. The outside layer may be a little brown 
but inside should be fairly green. Don't be reluctant to examine it. The 
hay's appearance will differ depending on the types on grasses and whether 
its first or second cut.

First cut, as the name implies, is the first mowing of a field for the 
year. The grass will have relatively more stalk than blade and will be 
lower in protein (not a bad thing). Second cut is from a later mowing after 
the firstcut field has re-grown. Its leafier (blade-ier)and less stalky and 
higher in protein, but not too high and will contain more brown leaves of 
grass. The GPs seem to like the brown as well as the green, so although it 
looks less appetizing to me, they dont seem to think so. I've come to 
prefer second cut because the pigs seem to eat more of it, so less waste.

Also, note the type of grass. All timothy is expensive and sometimes hard 
to find. Its not really necessary to insist on 100% timothy. I usually get 
sweet grass or mixed grass hays. I've also heard of meadow hay or orchard 
grass. The bales last fall had a sort of blueish cast to them - he said it 
was quack grass. Pigs loved it. Just be careful that you're not getting too 
much alfalfa. I'll still buy bales that have a little alfalfa, but not too 
much (way too high in protein).

As for storage... I keep the bale(s) in the garage on a tarp and loosely 
covered. To make it easy for me to handle in the house and so it makes less 
mess I chop the hay into smaller lengths (about 6-8 inches) with garden 
hand clippers and pack it into either the plastic bags with holes that pet 
store hay came in, or chop it into a large plastic container, like a big 
garbage can or storage bin. I've never had trouble with bugs, either 
arriving with the hay of getting into it while in the garage. There are 
mice in the garage and they seem to have no interest in it either.

Hope this helps, sorry its so long. 


Love from all of us,
Louise and her masters, Phineas, Delilah, Hillary, Pandora, Mostly,
Neville, and Mr. Norman, the rat





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