What is the best grass seed for hay?
Ryegrass- If alfalfa is the “Queen” of forages, ryegrass is the “King”. Perennial ryegrass is a bunch-type grass that is palatable with high nutritive value. It has a long growing season and excellent yields with good fertility.
What is grass hay made of?
Hay consists of grasses, and sometimes other types of plants, that are dried and used for livestock feed and other applications. The grasses are dried in the field where animals graze, or are cut when dry, then collected, baled and stored in a dry place, advises Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Can any grass be hay?
The most common mixture of hay can include grasses like Bermuda, timothy, orchard grass, brome, fescue and other grasses endemic within a particular region. In some other instances, oat, wheat and barley are cut when they’re still green so that they can be made into hay.
How long can you keep a bale of hay?
You can store hay indefinitely if the stack is managed correctly; although, in humid climates, using hay within three years of harvest is ideal. Hay growers need to bale it at correct moisture levels because if it’s baled too damp the hay will generate heat, which leads to molding.
What’s the difference between hay and grass?
The main difference between Hay and Grass is that the Hay is a dried grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants and Grass is a family of plants. Hay is also fed to smaller animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs. Pigs may be fed hay, but they do not digest it as efficiently as fully herbivorous animals.
How can you tell the difference between alfalfa and grass hay?
One of the biggest differences between alfalfa hay and grass hay is the protein content. On average, alfalfa hay has much higher levels of protein, ranging from 15% to 21% depending on when the alfalfa was cut. This is much higher than the protein levels of grass hay, which typically contains 10% or less protein.
What’s the difference between timothy hay and grass?
Grass hay is grass hay. They are not different products; it’s all the same Timothy grass hay. The reason the term “grass hay” is used is to distinguish it from legume hay, such as alfalfa or peanut, which is richer. For the small pet consumers, however, they just label whatever type of hay it is and leave it at that.
Can cows eat straight alfalfa hay?
Alfalfa-grass hay is a good feed for producing beef cows. Alfalfa hay may be used as a protein source for cattle being fed poor quality grass hay or grazing corn stalks. A small amount of alfalfa hay (5-1 0 lb/day) will furnish all the protein needed by these animals.
Is too much alfalfa bad for cows?
However, the utilization of alfalfa by grazing beef cattle has been limited due to its propensity to cause pasture bloat. Ruminants are unique in their ability to readily digest the cell wall components of forages and it is this ability that gives them a competitive advantage over other meat producing animals.
Can cows bloat on alfalfa hay?
Bloat risk is highest when alfalfa is in vegetative to early bloom stages of growth. However, as many a dairy farmer can attest to, cattle can still bloat on alfalfa hay, and long term frozen alfalfa should be considered bloat reduced, not bloat safe.