Left over hay

[Brangusman]

Hey yall im new to the board but had a question... you know the hay thats always left in the bottom of your hay ring that the cows dont eat? Im wonderin if i could take that hay mulch it up add some minerals, cotten seed mill, molassis sum things like that and feed it, cuts back on buyin feed and uses up hay that would other wise go to waste.. its a thought i had let me know what yalls thoughts are on it Thanks in advance Ben :cowboy:

 

[1982vett]

You need to change the way you feed hay. Their shouldn't be any........

you know the hay thats always left in the bottom of your hay ring that the cows dont eat?

Feeding hay isn't rocket science. Fed correctly.........

it, cuts back on buyin feed and uses up hay that would other wise go to waste....

Blunt, maybe, but that is the way it is.

let me know what yalls thoughts are on it

 

[Brangusman]

No feeding hay isn't very hard but your always gunna have some left over if you dont please let me know what your doin differently than me, i feed in hay rings, do you roll yours out? thanks Ben

 

[1982vett]

No feeding hay isn't very hard but your always gunna have some left over if you dont please let me know what your doin differently than me, i feed in hay rings, do you roll yours out? thanks Ben

I do both. Feed only what they will consume in a day and don't feed again till they are hungry.

 

[SANDTRAP]

You need to change the way you feed hay. Their shouldn't be any........

you know the hay thats always left in the bottom of your hay ring that the cows dont eat?

Feeding hay isn't rocket science. Fed correctly.........

it, cuts back on buyin feed and uses up hay that would other wise go to waste....

Blunt, maybe, but that is the way it is[*].

let me know what yalls thoughts are on it

[*]
i liked you a whole lot better during the drought, you were a little more humble and not so much of an arrogant a$$

 

[cowboy43]

You did not say what type of hay you are feeding, if is a rank steamy type of hay they will leave the steams even if they are hungry, I have fed coastal with steamy johnson grass mixed in and they ate every thing but the johnson grass stems.

Do you spell it steam or stem ?? something don't look right

 

[Angus Cowman]

You did not say what type of hay you are feeding, if is a rank steamy type of hay they will leave the steams even if they are hungry, I have fed coastal with steamy johnson grass mixed in and they ate every thing but the johnson grass stems.

Do you spell it steam or stem ?? something don't look right

stem stemmy

 

[kerley]

Hey yall im new to the board but had a question... you know the hay thats always left in the bottom of your hay ring that the cows dont eat? Im wonderin if i could take that hay mulch it up add some minerals, cotten seed mill, molassis sum things like that and feed it, cuts back on buyin feed and uses up hay that would other wise go to waste.. its a thought i had let me know what yalls thoughts are on it Thanks in advance Ben :cowboy:

I also feed in hay rings. I only feed hay in the winter months. My experience has been that when it rains on the hay, the bottom hay against the ground will asorb much moisture and rot. The livestock won't eat the rotted hay [Thank God]. I doubt there is any economical way to use this rotton hay so I just drag it around my pasture and have had no problems. Time is also money.
~Tom.

 

[mtncows]

It depends on the hay.Usually I unroll mot of mine but when I do feed in rings,I am mindful of what type of hay I had. Unfortuneaately,I wind up making a good bit of hay later than I'd like and some of it is over ripe.If you leave this till its cleaned up,you starve cows.Let them eat most of it then put another bale out and put the ring on the new hay.A lot of times they will browse through it and get the good hay thats left.

 

[upfrombottom]

I, like allot of people, have hay that is stored in a barn and hay that is stored out in the weather. For those that cut there own, they know the nutritional value goes down, each and every time it is rained on, after it is laid on the ground, as with all crops. The cattle producers experienced enough, that buy in hay, want to know the hay producer personally, or have test data at hand, to ensure the quality.

Does anyone that has their hay tested, pull their specimens from the outer layer of baled hay, that has been rained on? I don't, nor do i think anyone else does. If they did they would find that it has very little or no nutritional value whatsoever. It's kind of like eating celery. It takes more energy to chew and digest than will ever be gained from eating it. So why force your animals to try and survive on it. I for one do not. This is a cost trade off for not having a barn to store it in.

The barn kept hay is another story altogether, as if it is rained on it is usually not stored inside for fear of spontaneous combustion. I keep and feed this hay to my weaned calves be cause it is generally more nutritious.

 

[dun]

I, like allot of people, have hay that is stored in a barn and hay that is stored out in the weather. For those that cut there own, they know the nutritional value goes down, each and every time it is rained on, after it is laid on the ground, as with all crops. The cattle producers experienced enough, that buy in hay, want to know the hay producer personally, or have test data at hand, to ensure the quality.

Does anyone that has their hay tested, pull their specimens from the outer layer of hay, that has been rained on? I don't, nor do i think anyone else does. If they did they would find that it has very little or no nutritional value whatsoever. It's kind of like eating celery. It takes more energy to chew and digest than will ever be gained from eating it. So why force your animals to try and survive on it. I for one do not. This is a cost trade off for not having a barn to store it in.

The barn kept hay is another story altogether, as if it is rained on it is usually not stored inside for fear of spontaneous combustion. I keep and feed this hay to my weaned calves be cause it is generally more nutritious.

If we are going to feed hay we feed the outside hay until shortly before we start calving, then we use the barn hay.

 

[novatech]

Hey yall im new to the board but had a question... you know the hay thats always left in the bottom of your hay ring that the cows dont eat? Im wonderin if i could take that hay mulch it up add some minerals, cotten seed mill, molassis sum things like that and feed it, cuts back on buyin feed and uses up hay that would other wise go to waste.. its a thought i had let me know what yalls thoughts are on it Thanks in advance Ben :cowboy:

It really depends on what they are leaving on the bottom. If it is good hay then pull the ring off the top and don,t feed them more until they eat it. Sometimes it is not edible. Cattle can somehow separate the good from the bad, even toxic from non toxic. I don't think grinding it up and flavoring it with something would be very smart. You could kill your cows that way.

 

[novaman]

I wouldn't waste the time and effort cleaning up scraps and trying to refeed them. Put out quality feed and do so with the best management and you should wind up with acceptable waste amounts. Use this waste as bedding or push it up on the manure pile and recycle it that way.

 

[angie1]

I don't think grinding it up and flavoring it with something would be very smart. You could kill your cows that way.

This is so. Don't try to fool your cattle into eating something they otherwise would not.

Here left over hay like that is good for bedding in the field ~ move the ring and the cattle will have a place to lay off the snow. I am thinking since you have Brangus that you are not in an area where that is an issue, and don't know if bedding areas are considered in the south. Otherwise, dragging the leftover as Kerley suggests is a good solution.

 

[Brangusman]

Thanks for the replies.. i feed bermuda hay, like a couple of you said i move my hay ring and let them pick thru the left overs... i guess i wasnt thinking about if they didnt eat it before i shouldnt feed it to them now ... i havent tried draggin it around the fields, i usually let them lay on it and then gather it all up and burn it. thanks for all the replies Ben

 

[msscamp]

I doubt there is any economical way to use this rotton hay.....
~Tom.

It makes really organic matter for sandy/clay fields.

 

[shaz]

Hi Brangus man,

I unroll my hay which is stored outside. The waste is probably higher than hay rings and you really have to do it every day. The upside is the distribution of hay and seed and there's no ground damage.

Timewise - it's probably not as good as what your doing now.

 

[BC]

I don't like to burn the piles, but scatter it out and let it add organic matter back to ground. My sandy soils need that organic matter to help hold rainfall in summer so it doesn't leach on past the roots.

I know a lot of people like to clean theirs up and make the place look pretty, but I always felt it made better grazing the next summer. Just need to find a new place to feed every year and over a period of years you place will improve.

 

[angus9259]

All that assumes the stuff in the bottom of your hay ring is really inedible. If your cattle know if they stand there and look at you long enough you'll bring out a fresh bale, they might have you snowed.

I sold some cows to a guy who feeds them 3rd cutting stuff that got rained on . . . when he takes out a dry 1st cutting bale they'll sit there and bawl all day long like it's some kind of animal cruelty.

Take a look in the hay ring and ask yourself if they should be eating it. If so, wait till they eat it before you take another bale out. If not, drag it out.

 

[jshep]

I am glad for all that has been said on this hay matter . I have been burning hay for a week with the left over stuff no hay ring until this Friday. I never thought of rolling in out. l just put a round bale in the woods. Most outside in the weather still new to all this. I thought about giving some hay to the chickens. But i do like putting the rest in the field is the best ideal. Thank you all.