Oat grass hay - opinions, please.

[John in WI]

Is it too rich for cattle?
Thanks,
John

 

[rkm]

Not sure what you mean by "Too Rich". If your talking about the protien content it depends on the stage it was cut as hay. Never seen oat hay extremely high in protein. I never could get it dry enough to make good hay.

 

[John in WI]

That's exactly what I mean. I've heard it can cause founder in horses and wondered if would cause bloat in cattle. I know sheep can handle it, but I've never used it.

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

Do you mean greenfeed (ie: allowing the oats to head out, then cutting it in the dough stage) or cutting it when its still in the leaf stage, just before heading out? We've fed greenfeed here for years and never had a case of bloat out it. Its one of the popular ways to feed cattle up here, as you can get several ton an acre out of a cut, and not have alot of inputs in.

Never cut oats in the grass stage, so I can't help you there, but I find it unlikely that it would be any hotter than any other lush grass, which is to say, not very.

 

[jp]

I'm feedin oat hay to cattle and horses right now. No trouble with bloat or founder as long as ya dont feed too much grain with it. jp