A Tight Window If hail strikes a field at the wrong time, the value of the crop for grain can be drastically reduced. differences between baled hay, hay cubes, and hay pellets. We're not around right now. Any of various annual cereal grasses of the genus (Triticum) of the Mediterranean region and southwest Asia, especially (T. aestivum), widely cultivated in temperate regions in many varieties for its commercially important edible grain. No sweet feed or additional gain added ever. If you must use alfalfa hay for all your horses, be selective in the hay you choose. Moisture (max).. 14.0%. The nutrition the horse needs, the cost of the hay, and the availability of the feed needs to be carefully balanced to make owning a horse possible for many people. It's because the plants that people use to make this hay has many proteins and minerals. In the Middle East a limited amount of barley is eaten like rice. Alfalfa Hay is also higher in Calcium, with about 3 times as much as Grass Hay. It has a wide range of cultivation and matures even at high altitudes, since its growing period is short; however, it cannot withstand hot and humid climates. Oat hulls are a source of furfural , and oat flour has been used as a food preservative in ice cream and other dairy products. Emmer was grown in predynastic Egypt; in prehistoric Europe it was grown in association with barley and einkorn and club wheats. The choice between alfalfa and oat hay depends on price per unit of energy or protein and the type of horse being fed. Barley is classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Liliopsida, order Cyperales, family Gramineae. "The beards (awns) on bearded wheat can cause. A cost-effective way of feeding some horses. We use Alfalfa & Grass hat for our goats. Some reports show that horses fed millet hay may show symptoms of lameness and joint swelling. When feeding barley hay, be aware that awns from the heads may catch in a horse's teeth or cause ulcers in the horse's mouth. The higher the fiber content, the lower the digestibility (even if the protein level is high). I need all the help I can get. Russell Feed & Supply also stocks a variety of shavings: Large flake shavings- 8 cu. If this is the main source of forage in the diet, the horse will consume too much starch, leading to such problems as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and even laminitis.". Jobs. Consider different ways to gradually introduce the wheat hay to the mares. Learn More Large Round FERTILIZED RFV $ 210.00 per Ton 500 Tons Available Alfalfa Hay Randlett, Utah 4th crop alfalfa was rained on, still put up nice 21% protein 140 RFV Learn More Large Square 3x4 FERTILIZED 140 RFV $ 200.00 per Ton 450 Tons Available Alfalfa Hay I have now transitioned them to bermuda grass, which is the only grass hay available in my area, and Standlee timothy grass pellets. While this has led to the thought that alfalfa is a richer feed then grass, it does not mean that it has more carbohydrates. If you plan to do dual-purpose, cattle should come off the wheat before jointing, which happens after the wheat comes out of winter dormancy in February (this depends on the weather in South Texas, it may be sooner). Grain hays are high in digestible fiber which are readily broken down by microbes in the cecum or hind gut of horses when harvested at a soft dough stage although rice hays often fall in the poorly digested range. Thank you for this article! endstream endobj startxref Mixing the grain hay with the hay regularly fed and gradually increasing the amount of grain hay over a period of 7-10 days works well with most horses. Sweet feed is basically candy as its mostly carbs with very little protein and no added nutrients. Usually the best forage hay is locally grown and is not overly irrigated so it does not develop large stems. Winter: Rye?, beardless wheat, triticale, spelt. When I cant find enough good quality green hay, I supplement my goats, sheep, and pigs with hay pellets. Changing to a legume hay suddenly can make an animal sick, or cause a ruminant animal to bloat. Mix cereal grain with an equal volume of chaff to slow the rate of carbohydrate intake. Im glad you find it helpful! 200 tons big bale wheat straw $105 fob stack. As a rule of thumb, leafy hays have higher nutritional value than stemmier hays. If grain hay is overly mature, which is often the case, horses may act disinterested in the hay and might not voluntarily consume it as readily as other grass hays to which they are more accustomed. Burning Question: Is It Time For A High Efficiency Woodstove? Always select good quality, clean straw when buying it for feed. First-cut alfalfa can be stemmy, but only if it is too mature when harvested. We also carry round bales, alfalfa cubes, alfalfa pellets, and straw. Check your pasture regularly for poisonous plants and unwanted weeds. I think if it is cut late, you could say it is grain since the grain will be in the heads. Regardless of whether you are buying a grass hay or a legume hay, it should be green on the inside of the bale. verb). (Photo courtesy Dr. Emi Kimura, Vernon, TX). Husband has just told me that the hay barley has no beards on them. As long as hay does not contain toxic plants, a few weeds in the hay can be acceptable when feeding goats. Beardless wheat hay is acceptable for horses, though it might take some time for them to become acclimated to it, as some horses must acquire a taste for it. But it must be cut before the dough stage. Clover hay is the other legume hay suitable for horses but not as popular with horse owners. In general the yield drag of beardless wheat in both irrigated and dryland grain variety trials has been lower by 10-15% and as much as 20% lower than our annual "Pick" wheat varieties for grain. Wednesday, September 18, 2019. Retail hay market holds in the desert Southwest. %PDF-1.5 % https://thriftyhomesteader.com/zinc-deficiency-goats/. Unless you are buying directly out of the field after baling, try to buy hay that has been protected from weather by a tarp or hay shed. Beardless barley, oats, rye and tricale are also good hays. It is an excellent source of good quality protein, fiber, and mineral and is more palatable than grass hays. Or animals simply are not growing as much. Later cuttings tend to grow more slowly and the stems are finer and softer. 5 Less Obvious Features To Consider. The dried up and dead stalks are still standing in the field, so then the farmer goes back and cuts the brown stalks and bales them as straw. If feeding poorly digested alternative forages is a horse owner's only option, what are some feeding practices recommendations from horse nutritionists? We are getting a load of grass hay tonight so hopefully he will start growing his hair back, but in the meantime I wonder if he needs a supplement? On the milk stand or once a day if not being milked: organic alfalfa pellets mixed with Timothy pellets then add calfmana, goat balance, and black oil sunflower seeds (coconut oil add in winter). Forage Barley is a beardless spring barley developed as a forage. In the UK, it is fed to dairy cattle Since the higher fructans help produce higher milk yields, however, it is not suitable for all horses since they may not be able digest the fructans, which are converted to toxins in the hind gut resulting in laminitis. With this in mind, check out our previous blog posting here and here regarding how to feed your horse, and always measure the amount of feed that is right for your specific situation. Thanks. While the lower relative nutrition level of grass hay makes it a good filler, it does have relatively more carbohydrates. Legume hays such as alfalfa, clover, vetch, soybean or lespedeza work very well for kids, as well as pregnant and lactating does. If you have a years worth of hay stored, keep in mind that long storage time reduces nutritional levels of protein and vitamin A. If I had a horse I wouldnt buy it. All Rights Reserved. Normal horses can tolerate NSC levels of 20% or higher. Increasing demand for dairy and meat products coupled with the changing poultry farm practices is primarily driving the market growth. First a clarification Alfalfa does not really use more water than other crops. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of our to goats and find your article helpful. Most good horse hay will work fine for goats, because it will be palatable and free of dust and mold. They love it and dont waste any of it! Cattle do well on it and horses colic or founder and can die on it. Although I quickly learned that hay is food and straw is bedding, I just assumed that all hay was the same. After all wheat is just a grass with plumper seeds than most. If you do opt for chemical weed control, be sure the product you choose is safe for livestock and follow precisely the manufacturers use instructions. As a result, if you fed your horse enough alfalfa to make them feel full, then you would likely be feeding them too much energy in their diet, and they could certainly act too hot. Beardless TAM 401 wheat with early grain development. $120/bale CL. supplement and oat based sweet feed. Wheat should be rolled coarsely or cracked, but not finely ground, for optimum performance. In oats there is no issue with beards, but the trends of increasing forage dry matter and decreasing forage feed value raise the question of what is the optimum time to mow the oats. They are divided into three series: the diploid, or einkorn, containing 14 chromosomes; the tetraploid, or emmer, containing 28 chromosomes; and the hexaploid, containing 42 chromosomes. Beardless wheat hay is acceptable for horses, though it might take some time for them to become acclimated to it, as some horses must acquire a taste for it. Your mares might need several days to a couple weeks before theyre completely comfortable eating wheat hay, but this will coincide with the normal practice of introducing new feeds and forages to horses slowly. Thank you for this post. In addition the maturity of the cereal grain hay need to be considered because the seed heads of cereal grain hays provide an unknown, relative to nonstructural carbohydrate intake of a horse. For example, some growers expecting 80-100 bu. Mixed Grass Hay. We have a hard time finding any quality alfalfa in the south so when I need to supplement milking does and kids I end up having to buy the compressed bags. What about endophyte free fescue for bucks and wethers and mixing it with alfalfa for kids/pregnant does/milking does? Ive been feeding everyone mostly alfalfa for five years!! Feeding horses is never an easy topic to simplify since every horse is different. Johnson grass mix big, nice bales - 4'x5 1/2'. Traditional feeds for horses include grass or alfalfa hay, corn, oats, a sweet feed of some type or commercially developed feed. \n7f +0E&0M&& 8@XaQ-` ;x Matt Gard, a Fairview, OK, farmer/custom hayman, doesn't run cattle. Wheat Hay-Beardless. Grain hays are high in digestible fiber which are readily broken down by microbes in the cecum or hind gut of horses when harvested at a soft dough stage. Jan. 3, 2023. I think its an effective way to get them back into shape after a birth too. And in fact, it is usually a lower carbohydrate feed than most grass hays, making alfalfa ideal for feeding to horses with special needs like insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, laminitis, or even PSSM. Markets. The meaning of BEARDLESS WHEAT is a wheat in which the outer glumes are without prominent awns. Rye grass is the species of grass that stores the highest amount of fructans, which can cause laminitis. All Rights Reserved. The nutritional profiles vary greatly between the legumes and the grass hays. I have a grass hay that is 17% protein, I was shocked when I got it tested but the Ca/P is 1.46. Oats. Wheat hay, if harvested right, can fit the bill as a palatable beef cattle feed, just like it does for stockers and other cattle in winter grazing programs. While grass hay is lower in protein and calcium it is still a great source of feed for most horses. The color of the grain varies from one type to another; white wheats are mostly winter wheats, red are spring wheats. Otherwise there is probably mold growing in them, which can kill goats. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2023 Texas Wheat - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP, Variety Trials and Certified Seed Directory. Grass Hays are generally lower in overall nutrition than alfalfa hay, but this makes grass hay ideal to meet the needs of filling a horse up and making them feel full, while still meeting their nutrient needs. In test trials 97% of the heads (9,700 out of 10,000) were completely beardless. World output of wheat as the 1990s began was more than 590 million metric tons, an increase of about 30 percent over the average for the period 1979 to 1981. See More @ https://www.valuemarketresearch.com/report/alfalfa-hay-market. When using a wet razor we always recommend that you . While milk cows should have alfalfa, beef cattle should stick with grass hay. Thats a shame. When it looks like grass, it can be cut and baled as hay. Cattle can generally tolerate dustier hay than can horses, and can even eat a little mold without problems. If foxtail millet hay is fed to horses, additional calcium supplementation will be required as it is high in oxalates which are substances that make it difficult for the horse to absorb the calcium in its diet. Thankfully, I did as you mentioned and fed my milking does their choice of alfalfa and grass hay. 55 0 obj <>stream Sudangrass is 56%, fescue 53%, prairie 51%, baled milo stubble 49%, and baled corn stover 49%. Particularly fine-stemmed, leafy alfalfa (rabbit hay or dairy hay) is too rich and palatable for horses (they generally overeat on it) and does not have enough fiber content for proper digestion. There are a number of considerations participants in the forage production, marketing, and utilization that individuals can do to enhance the benefit as a grower or user. I would love to try the hay forage! Horses can do well on grass or alfalfa (or other legume) hay. Mature horses do well on all types of hay, so long as it is free of mold, dust, and weeds. $300/ton $200/bale Oat/barley/beardless wheat mix $250/ton $150/bale Triticale $200/ton. Alfalfa hay is the classic here. Oat hay we would yield approx 4 to 4.5 tons per acre and once we switched to beardless wheat we have yielded as high as 10 tons per acre (not typical) but a good avg. 85 lbs - 100 lbs per acre for . Semi load delivery available for additional charge. Score: 4.1/5 (26 votes) . Horses may also react to to alkaloids in millet hay because they are susceptible to alkaloid toxicity syndromes. I do not believe I would feed regular wheat hay, because the beards can cause problems/soreness with the cattle's mouths, and can knock them off feed as a result. Everything we do is with the quality of the product in mind. The triticale can get chin high, but you can still hay it because it has a sweet stem and cattle like it a lot, Garnett says. Ill see what I can do about getting the right type of hay for them. Others worry about the Calcium to Phosphorus ratio being too high. The protein level varied from 19 to 26%, while calcium varied from .97 to 1.31%. While horses consume around 3.1% of their body weight in dry food every day, donkeys eat . You didnt mention a free-choice loose GOAT mineral, but thats the ideal way to give goats supplemental minerals, especially bucks. Oat mix or triticale hay - $200 (Maupin) condition: new make / manufacturer: Hay size . This means that grass hay, not alfalfa hay, is a more dangerous food for an obese horse, or a horse with laminitis concerns. Dry adult does, bucks and wethers can wind up with zinc deficiency if they get too much alfalfa. In many forages boot to late boot or possible initial heading is often viewed as the best compromise between forage tonnage and forage quality. Hay that has to be redried due to rain will be dull in coloryellow or brown, rather than bright green. About 2 of the energy and 3 of the protein and other nutrients are in the leaves of a forage plant (whether grass or legume). Registered in England and Wales. Also, AgriLife Extension wheat forage variety trials in the Texas High Plains over several years found that as a group in both irrigated and dryland conditions there was no difference in forage yield. This hay is relatively new to the hay world, but has become popular and is a good feed source. While neither of these things is an out and out myth, they come from misunderstood feeding principles. States. As a general rule of thumb, grass hay is best for horsesalfalfa or other legume hay can be an excellent feed to mix with grass hay for animals that need more protein. Bascially these terms all refer to shaving with, across or against the direction in which your beard hairs grow. Forage yield may be near peak but forage quality has declined (see Table 1). They liked to better then the winter wheat. to eliminate the awns (beards) causing feeding problems Otherwise for small acres most any variety is OK (e.g. Barley hay should be green. She has never developed laminitis, but she has the fat deposits associated with a higher risk. EquiMed and Horse Health Matters are registered trademarks of EquiMed, LLC. Wheat is a tall, annual plant attaining an average height of 1.2 m (4 ft). For pregnant or lactating mares, or young growing horses, some legume hay added to the diet provides the additional protein and higher levels of other nutrients needed. Subsequently, horses will select the grain-heads and consume less of the fiber portion of the forage. A mix of grass and legume hay often works well. I also dont recommend protein pails or mineral blocks. Do you have any suggestions? Early bloom alfalfa (cut before the blossoms open) has about 18 percent crude protein, compared with 9.8 percent for early bloom timothy (before seed heads fill), 11.4 percent for early bloom orchard grass, and lower levels for most other grasses.