08-28-2019, 10:12 PM
Hay vs Straw
Hay is dried grass. During drying, some nutrients are lost but most are retained. The greener the color of hay, the higher the nutrient content. Brown color means that lots of nutrients have been lost. This can occur when the hay is dried under direct sunlight or when rain fall on it during drying. Browning of hay hay can also occur when it is stored for too long or when stored improperly (like exposure to sun, high temperatures or rain). The best way to dry hay is to dry it as quickly as possible under indirect sunlight. Once grass have been cut, nutrient loss start as the plant respire. This will continue as long as the grass stays fresh. Prevent this by spreading the grass under direct sunlight for fast drying. This usually take an hour or two on a sunny day. Once the grass feels dry to touch, form them into a windrow so that the grass below will be shaded by those above. This is important because direct sunlight bleaches the grass and lead to nutrient loss. Every hour or so, turn the windrow to expose a new set of grass to the sun. Thus, no grass will be exposed to the sun long enough to get bleached. Once the grass have dried properly, store them under shade and bail when they cool down.
Never feed moldy hay to goats. It can cause serious health effects.
Straw is the dried stalk and leaves that are left after grain have been harvested. It has very little nutritional value and is often used as a cheap and abundant source of feed and as bedding. Nutritional value of straw can be economically improved by treating it with urea (more on this later). Small ruminants like goats can select the leaves ( more nutritious) and reject the stalks (less nutritious), unlike cattles. So, straw can be fed to goats and the leftover is then treated with urea before feeding to cattles.
Hay is dried grass. During drying, some nutrients are lost but most are retained. The greener the color of hay, the higher the nutrient content. Brown color means that lots of nutrients have been lost. This can occur when the hay is dried under direct sunlight or when rain fall on it during drying. Browning of hay hay can also occur when it is stored for too long or when stored improperly (like exposure to sun, high temperatures or rain). The best way to dry hay is to dry it as quickly as possible under indirect sunlight. Once grass have been cut, nutrient loss start as the plant respire. This will continue as long as the grass stays fresh. Prevent this by spreading the grass under direct sunlight for fast drying. This usually take an hour or two on a sunny day. Once the grass feels dry to touch, form them into a windrow so that the grass below will be shaded by those above. This is important because direct sunlight bleaches the grass and lead to nutrient loss. Every hour or so, turn the windrow to expose a new set of grass to the sun. Thus, no grass will be exposed to the sun long enough to get bleached. Once the grass have dried properly, store them under shade and bail when they cool down.
Never feed moldy hay to goats. It can cause serious health effects.
Straw is the dried stalk and leaves that are left after grain have been harvested. It has very little nutritional value and is often used as a cheap and abundant source of feed and as bedding. Nutritional value of straw can be economically improved by treating it with urea (more on this later). Small ruminants like goats can select the leaves ( more nutritious) and reject the stalks (less nutritious), unlike cattles. So, straw can be fed to goats and the leftover is then treated with urea before feeding to cattles.