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Hay is made from the stems, leaves, and seed heads of plants that are fresh. It is cut and baled when it has the most nutritional value, and is fed to livestock.
What are bales of hay made from?
It’s entirely made from plants, and is cut or mowed multiple times a year. Hay ground, or a hay field, may be seeded with a mixture of alfalfa, clover, timothy, ryegrass, fescue, or other grasses and legumes.
What is difference between straw and hay?
Hay is a crop that is grown and harvested as a feed crop for cattle, horses and other farm animals. Straw on the other hand is a byproduct of a grain crop; in our area it’s usually usually wheat straw that we see. Hay often is made up of a combination of different plants growing in a field or meadow.
Is hay just dried grass?
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs.
Can you make hay out of any grass?
Although you can’t make haystacks as above form suburban lawn (you’ll need taller grass and lots of it), grass clippings are excellent for making hay in smaller amount. The two most important things to check are: The lawn shouldn’t be chemically treated: no weed-killing solution or chemical fertilizer used.
What can be made from hay?
What to do with extra hay: Bedding & Nesting material for nesting boxes, coops, hutches, and run-ins. Filler for the pool the pigs built. Seeding. Mulch for yard, around trees, or in pumpkin patches. Entertainment – chickens and pigs LOVE to scratch, roll and play in fresh hay.
What is dried hay?
hay, in agriculture, dried grasses and other foliage used as animal feed. Usually the material is cut in the field while still green and then either dried in the field or mechanically dried by forced hot air.
Is hay a wheat?
Most hay is grown to be used as animal feed, and is generally, as Mary Beth correctly notes, timothy, rye, alfalfa or a specialized grass. But cereal crops like wheat, oats and barley are sometimes grown for animal feed as well as human consumption. When the plants are left intact and bundled up, it’s hay.
Why do farmers leave hay bales in the field?
If they are scattered around the field the farmer is just waiting for a convenient time to pick them up and move them. If lined up along the edge of the field they are being stored there. Big round bales can handle being left outside, and even if the outside looks weathered the inside will be good for a year or longer.
Can chickens eat hay?
While not common, providing hay for chickens can be a good thing. It’s an inexpensive way to provide food and a little entertainment to these animals. A hay bale in a chicken run gives birds the opportunity to search for a variety of tasty treats. Many chickens don’t enjoy eating straw or hay, however.
Can I make my own hay?
You don’t need a tractor and big farm equipment to make hay, it’s extremely easy to do on your own. All you need is access to grass and somewhere to dry and store it. If you have poultry I’m going to assume you have a backyard of sorts, but you can even dry hay inside your own house you are so inclined.
Can humans eat hay?
Hay is edible for humans. It just is not as digestible for humans as it is for other animals like cattle. Some upscale restaurants serve food with hay in it. It can be used as a flavoring component in food or as a presentation component or garnish.
How do farmers make hay?
Hay Today. Today, the process for growing hay still involves letting the plants grow to maturity, then cutting it, letting it dry in the sun, raking it, and gathering it up in some form, whether that be round or square bales, or as loose hay.
Is hay ruined if rained on?
Rained-on hay often has relatively high protein values compared to fiber content unless there’s great leaf loss. Leaves contain a lot of the plant’s protein. As soluble carbohydrates leach, structural fibers make up a greater percent of forage dry matter. The digestibility of rained-on hay can decline 6 to 40 percent.
Can you grow hay in your backyard?
Commercial farms have little difficulty raising hay or sourcing out their needs, but smaller farmers and urban hobbyists can also grow, harvest and bale hay even on a smaller scale. Haying can be challenging, and some farmers simply enjoy that challenge.
Can you bale hay without raking?
A rake can do this. However, since a rake’s job is to put hay into windrows for baling, it simply piles the hay into swaths once again. Therefore, in moist climates, a tedder, which spreads the hay for increased sun and air exposure, is most likely a necessity.
What is hay making?
Hay making is the process of turning green, perishable forage into a product that can be safely stored and easily transported without danger of spoilage, while keeping nutrient loss to a minimum. Feeding hay to livestock helps reduce the amount of concentrate feeding, and thereby, the cost of feeding.
What is hay made from in Australia?
The wheaten hay is made from the Baroota Wonder variety, which is well recognised as a dedicated wheat variety for making wheaten chaff for the equine industry. Wheaten straw for fodder substitution is a common by-product of the extensive wheat industry in Western Australia.
