old hay

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have a chance to get some old hay for free. This stuff is about ten years old. Been stored in a dry barn. Is it still ok to use as feed, or what other uses does it have?

-- STAN (sopal@net-port.com), October 28, 2000

Answers

I wouldn't bother with it as feed unless you ration it out with better stuff. Even then you'll probobly notice that the animals ignore it in favor of the new. You might be able to use it as bedding or even to reseed some areas of pasture in the spring. I don't believe you'll sicken the animals with it, but I don't believe you'll be doing them any favors either, and ten years is a long time there has to be some rot in there somewhere. They are handy for holding down tarps, and small wind breaks etc.

-- Ed Weaver (edzreal@postmaster.co.uk), October 28, 2000.

I'll second Ed. It would also depend on what kind of animals you're thinking of feeding. Most of the nutrients will be long gone, but there is still bulk left in it. I'd break it down into small flakes and check each one before feeding it. Otherwise, bedding, mulch, dry matter for compost, insulation around the foundation if you want to risk it, pile it up over a cistern or well pit, make an above ground root cellar, put them over carrots and a few other vegetables in the garden that can stay out most of the winter with some protection, if this is a bad winter stack the bales in smallish piles in a grove or other out of the way place. Deer and other wild animals can use them for shelter and something (although poor) to eat. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), October 28, 2000.

Stan, I would use that old hay for bedding or around the garden ONLY. Old hay often has mold in it or is very dusty. When livestock are fed this sort of hay they will tend to have respiratory problems. I made the mistake of doing that when I was first getting animals and my milk cow was wheezing. A friend that knew a thing or two about critters happened to stop by and when he heard my cow he asked me where I was getting my hay. I bought all new stuff immediately.

-- Amanda Ss (aseley@townsqr.com), October 28, 2000.

A long time ago this topic came up on a thread on agdomain. It was the opinion of many it was Ok to feed old hay to goats as they held the same old adage that goats will eat anything. i don't know what kind of livestock you have i mind, but, i would hesitate feeding hay that is that old, 10 yrs, to any livestock. Of cousre the choice is yours, but I wouldn't recommend it. Just my humble opinion.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), October 28, 2000.

I wouldn't feed it, but you can use it to make great raised garden beds -- mark them around the outside of the bed area and secure if you have to with steel posts, fill with soil and plant. Whenthe hay bales eventually decompose,you'll have tons of great compost. You can also build excellent compost bins in a similar way. Some folks around here (northern WI) pile them around the foundations of houses for insulation in winter, or the barn, but I'd be afraid of it harboring pests.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), October 28, 2000.


Send some of that old hay this way!! We use all we can get -in the garden,to add organic material.Spread it now and till in. Will be ready to go by planting time.Yes its weedy but we mulch everything any way, so not a problem. Or. stock pile it and use as mulch thru the summer ,then till it in, in the fall when you put garden to rest. Got to love all that organic material.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), October 28, 2000.

During some of the really bad drought years here, some of the ranchers had some 5 year old hay tested. It still tested to have 9 percent protein. It had originally had about 12 percent. This was square bales that had been stored in a barn. They fed it out as it was that or liquidate the herd. The cows did OK. I have fed 3 year old hay to horses because it was all I could get at any price. The horses did wheeze. When it would rain a little on the broken bales, they didn't wheeze, so we began to lightly sprinkle the hay with water when we put it out. The horses liked it much better and didn't have the breathing problems. If you HAVE to feed stock hay that is that old, check for mold as already recommended. If you are being given a lot of hay, have it tested for protein content. I think that costs about $10 here. Otherwise, use it for insulation for cold frames, make temporary dog houses out of it, etc. and feed newer hay to the animals.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), October 29, 2000.

I have an old hay question of my own for you folks. Does anyone else seem to get an abundance of slugs in hay or straw mulch? I've got a lot of slugs to begin with, and using old straw a lot the last 2 years as mulch in the garden seems to have really increased them. Anyone? John

-- John in S. IN (jsmengel@hotmail.com), October 29, 2000.

If you are feeding cattle (all I really know about), and if there is a feed mill in your area, you can probably take in the hay, perhaps ten bales at a time and have it ground up with additives. My standard mix for ten bales is to have added 200 pounds of cracked corn, 50 pounds of loose salt, 50 pounds of loose minerals and 50 pounds of molasses. Discounting hay cost, ten bales will product about 700 pounds of feed at less than seven cents per pound. I just use it for a treat. If I was trying to use it as a growth supplement, I would have cotton seed meal added.

A dry cow can winter fine on ten percent protein. Growing stock needs more if you choose to give it. Except for the heifers I run separate from the herd, they don't get any supplements beyond block salt and round baled hay. If a cow comes off good pasture 'grass fat', it doesn't hurt them to lose some weight during winter. (Same probably goes for humans.)

If possible, try to use it as bedding before going on the mulch pile or on the garden. The urine and manure will enrich it.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), October 30, 2000.


John, I use a lot of hay and grass clippings as mulch (try to keep it 6 inches deep all summer) and it does seem to increase the slugs - I guess they have cool dark damp places to hide when it's hot out. But it didn't increase them to epidemic numbers - a couple of saucers and an old can of beer brought 'em back under control.

-- Eric in TN (ems@nac.net), November 01, 2000.


Stan, I wouldn,t feed that hay, particulary to horses. Depending on how dusty it is you could feed it to cattle. Some of the older farmers around me claim, that as long as it don't get wet it's ok no matter how long it's stored at worst case you might have to re-bale it so you can handle. I don't know how much you have, but you can easly sell that hay for mulch hay to contractors. Most contractors around hear will pay $1.00 a bale and they will provide the labor and equipment to pick it up. ( Move over Bill Gates) To fine a contractor, place an add, where ever they are working on highways you'll fine them. Good Day.

-- Richard V. Miller (richard.miller@1st.net), November 03, 2000.

John, I use wood chips, large pieces of pine bark, for mulch on the garden (the straw blows away, we got lots of wind here) and find it does increase the slugs, if we get long periods of rain, I use slug bait and that helps, but there are still a few. I feel the advantages overwhelm the alternative of not using the mulch. Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), November 03, 2000.

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