cubes vs loose hay

[hopalong]

Anyone have any information about how many # of alfalfa cubes would equal a 100# of alfalfa hay.

I was aksed and since I seldom use cubes I got to wondering

 

[dun]

Depends on the cubes. The ones around here are mostly filler. We used to cube alfalfa just like baling except they were extruded through a die. 100 lbs of them would have been equal to 100 lbs of hay.

 

[hopalong]

Thanks dun, the discussion was mainly about the cost of feeding cubes as opposed to loose hay,

 

[novaman]

:lol: I thought you were just kidding as in what weighs more a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers. A pound is a pound. Cubes are just compacted so they are more dense. I don't think there would be any comparison in cost of feeding cubes vs. loose hay. For the cost of a few bags of cubes I could buy a big round of dairy quality alfalfa hay.

 

[TexasBred]

Anyone have any information about how many # of alfalfa cubes would equal a 100# of alfalfa hay.

I was aksed and since I seldom use cubes I got to wondering

Actually it would depend on the quality of the alfalfa in the bale.....most cubes are made from dehydrated alfalfa meal and are typically guaranteed at 17%...BUT....you don't get the benefit from the long stems and eNDF from the cubes that you would get from the alfalfa. I don't think I would even try to replace one with the other.