Hay. It all depends on when it was put up and how. Also, you will be less apt to have spoilage from a leak in the tarp if the water can run off readily. In some regions, it is hard to find good grass hay. Copyright © 2020 EG Media Investments LLC. During the cold winter months when pastures contain scant forage, hay is the typical diet for cattle, horses, sheep and goats. Discuss grasses and how to grow and harvest them. You may need different qualities of hay for different horses—leafy hay for weanlings, for instance, and more mature hay for adult horses that do not need such fine hay. Per cent (100070 DM) Protein Harvest Stage Dal . Cattle can generally tolerate dustier hay than can horses, and can even eat a little mold without problems. It is not tolerant to flooding or soils with high water tables and requires a soil pH of 6.5 or greater. Fuzzy, whole cottonseed is … Immature grass hay or leafy alfalfa is usually the best feed for sheep. However, some types of mold may cause abortion in pregnant cows. was it baled without being rained on? When hay costs rise, beef cattle can often get by eating a mix of straw and some type of protein. Discuss the things that affect the cattle industry. This would indicate that oat grain should be used as a substitute for roughage as They are all healthy cows who raise healthy calves. There are numerous varieties of bermudagrass, both seeded (common, Cheyenne, Wrangler) and hybrid (Tifton 85, Coastal, Jiggs, etc.). Mature beef cattle can get by on rather plain hay of any type but lactating cows will need adequate protein. However, some types of mold may cause abortion in pregnant cows. Hay for Cattle. Oats grows rapidly. Share knowledge or ideas about doing anything and everything. Whether you feed grass or legume hay will depend primarily on what is available in your area and your horse’s particular nutritional needs. Oat milk is great for those with allergies. ~ Bruce Anderson . Most of mine have never had a bite of grain. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Kelsey . It should smell good, not musty, sour Or you can increase yield by about one-third and cut oats in the early milk stage for hay that's excellent for stock cows. When cows graze, they selectively eat leaves and husks, the best parts of corn residue. Last year with the weather, we weren't able to get it in until June. If goats are fed coarse hay, they may eat the leaves but not the stems. In recent years, as market demands and cropping systems have changed, oats are more often being harvested as hay or silage for livestock. In some parts of the country fescue, reed canary grass, ryegrass and Sudan grass are common. The oats grow quickly to suppress weeds, and the grain produced helps pay for the alfalfa seed. Discuss the ins and outs of the showring. 1130-2260 Limit feed to 25-50 percent of ration for non-pregnant livestock. Next to pasture, good quality hay is the ideal feed. Cereal grain crops (especially oats) can make good hay when cut while still green and growing, rather than waiting for the seed heads to mature for grain. Just good hay and mineral. If a handful of hay bends easily in your hand, its fiber content is relatively low and it will be more digestible than if the stems snap like twigs. Second-cut alfalfa usually has a higher stem-to-leaf ratio but is lower in crude protein—about 16 percent on average. Related: 10 Types Of Non-Dairy Milk You Can Make At Home . Farmers can feed the … Legumes used for hay include alfalfa, various types of clover (such as red, crimson, alsike and ladino), lespedeza, birdsfoot trefoil, vetch, soybean and cowpeas. Additionally, the stalks can be thick so some horses won’t eat it because of texture. Oat hay is a reasonable forage for mature horses. Cattle fattening methods, techniques, and ideas. Mature goats do very well on a grass-legume mix and some grass hays, but generally do not eat coarse grass hay; having small mouths, goats do not like it. Ideas, questions and pictures of your friends. Oat forage at this stage will provide a feed with more energy and similar protein levels to late-bud alfalfa and similar energy but higher protein content than corn silage. Please let us know a convenient time to call you on, (*All time slots are available in CDT zone.). … All Hay Is Not Equal: Choose Your Livestock’s Carefully. Mar 24, 2009 5,521 593 327 California, central valley. At low levels, nitrates either are converted into microbial protein by bacteria in the rumen or they are excreted. Shutterstock. The cows didn't like it at all. Your email address will not be published. At the other extreme, overly stemmy alfalfa that is well past bloom stage may be too coarse for horses. Particularly fine-stemmed, leafy alfalfa (rabbit hay or dairy hay) is too rich and palatable for horses (they generally overeat on it) and does not have enough fiber content for proper digestion. The chief value of oats remains as a pasturage and hay crop, especially for horses. Hay falls into several categories: grass, legume, mixed (containing grass and a legume) and cereal grain straw (such as oat hay). ), cutting back on milk is a difficult challenge. Pregnant cows may abort or give birth to stillborn calves if they are consuming moldy sweet clover hay. Usage has been primarily in dry and transition cow diets and replacement heifer diets, but there is some usage even in diets for lactating cows. Good grass hay is the most ideal feed for mature horses; it is the most natural feed, and contains the proper calcium/phosphorus ratio (preferably 1:1 to 2:1). All cattle are susceptible, but younger cattle seem to be more susceptible than mature cows. Oat pastures can be long lasting and productive, but also disappointing at times. In this region, oats are dry-farmed for use as a cattle and horse feed. Alfalfa is also a good winter feed because heat is created by digestion of protein, so a horse can keep warmer on a cold night. Oat milk is not as good for you as the healthy-sounding claims on the label would have you believe – especially compared to cow's milk. Oat hay will yellow if it lays in the windrow too long and is exposed to humidity. It also tends to have relatively coarse stems (supplying the fiber a horse needs for proper digestion) since it grows the fastest. Along with wheat and triticale, oat hay can be very palatable at all stages of maturity. Ability to flow through an auger is one important physical characteristic that affects the usefulness of a feedstuff. Straw can be used extensively as winter feed if energy, protein, mineral and vitamin requirements are met. You often cannot tell the quality of the hay by just looking at the outside of a bale. For the dairy folks and/or beef folks with questions about udders, milk and mastitis. 1,861 Posts #2 • Apr 26, 2012. As a general rule of thumb, grass hay is best for horses—alfalfa or other legume hay can be an excellent feed to mix with grass hay for animals that need more protein. Mature sheep can get by on good-quality grass hay, but lambs do better with a legume—harvested while still growing so that it has finer stems. So during cold weather, you will want to feed your cattle more roughage, rather than more legume hay. Oat grass is a common forage in the Western United States. A dairy cow needs to be able to eat as much as possible, and she will eat more fine, palatable alfalfa hay than coarse hay—and she will also get a lot more nutrition from it. For lactating dairy cattle, oat forages should be harvested as the first grain heads appear in a field (late boot stage). Thus legume hay, cut early, is more apt to meet the protein and mineral needs of young growing, pregnant or lactating animals than will many of the grass hays. In some parts of the country fescue, reed canary grass, ryegrass and Sudan grass are common. Oat pastures can be long lasting and productive, but also disappointing at times. Oats are occasionally used for haymaking in countries with suitable conditions of enough sun and warmth during the haymaking period. Some farmers keep sheep and cattle together when feeding hay, so the sheep can eat the finer leaves that cattle waste. Hay containing greater than 10 parts per million of dicoumarol should be fed with caution. Oat hay. The quality of the hay you feed will also depend on whether you are feeding mature beef cattle, young calves or dairy cows. Since oat straw is also the highest in energy content, it is the best choice for cow rations, followed by barley straw. Larger animals could be sold for more money on the market as they yield more meat.. Cattle fattening is one of the newly incipient action. Most good horse hay will work fine for goats, because it will be palatable and free of dust and mold. or moldy. If you don’t have any type of roof to put your hay under, you can create a well-drained area (by building up the floor with gravel or wooden pallets) and cover the stack with tarps. We raise the bulls on triticale. Anderson explains that nitrates occur naturally in all forages. Always buy hay that was harvested under good conditions, then keep it dry and out of the sunlight so it will keep better. Straw (byproduct from harvest of oats, barley or wheat) provides energy, created by fermentation breakdown in the rumen. Oats and peas can be planted as a nurse crop for alfalfa or other hay seedings, or grown alone. If the hay was harvested after a frost or the grain crop was hurt by drought, the nitrate level may be high. With alfalfa hay valued at $80.00 per ton, feed cost/cwt. Oat hay analysis - Atascadero hay and feed.com. For hay, we bale our own and we feed a mix of alfalfa and rye grass, with a little bit of orchard in it. To plant oats, drill about 3 bushels of oats per acre in early August for maximum yield potential. Submit your photo today! Nitrate poisoning from oat hay? Research has found that most North Americans fail to meet their recommended daily fiber intake, which ranges between 25-38g, depending on your gender. Oat straw is preferred by farmers for animal bedding. Later cuttings tend to grow more slowly and the stems are finer and softer. Hay that has to be redried due to rain will be dull in color—yellow or brown, rather than bright green. Plain old dull oats. If you have a year’s worth of hay stored, keep in mind that long storage time reduces nutritional levels of protein and vitamin A. But with some planning, feeding hay during the winter months can be a simple and efficient alternative while waiting the return of spring’s lush pastures. It is also the most costly alfalfa. However, weeds tend to appear in first-cut alfalfa hay. Next to pasture, good quality hay is the most ideal feed. Always select good quality, clean straw when buying it for feed. All the oat hay I've baled custom (5x6 round) has gone for beef cow winter feed. Problem is it is a bugger to get dry, at least at boot stage as you are thinking. Oat hay or oat straw? You can be the next winner. Non producing goats oat hay is cut just as the first grain heads appear in first-cut alfalfa hay for your... A horse needs for proper digestion ) since it grows the fastest stages of maturity color. Ideas about doing anything and everything early milk stage for hay that has netting... Gossip and jokes forages should be harvested as hay or haylage be acceptable when feeding goats a bugger get! 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