What is the best grass hay?

Orchardgrass and timothy hay are both excellent, but orchard grass gets the nod as the best of the two. It has a higher protein and calorie content and balanced levels of calcium and phosphorus.

What kind of grass makes the best hay?

Alfalfa- It is probably the best high quality feed for livestock and as a cash crop but it requires deep, well drained soils and high fertility for high yields. While it can be used for grazing, it is best adapted for hay or silage.

What's better timothy or orchard grass?

Orchard Grass is higher in protein (10-12%), higher in calorie content and contains the same balanced levels of calcium and phosphorus as Timothy grass. The higher calorie content of Orchard Grass is a result of higher fiber digestibility compared to Timothy Grass.

What is the best hay to grow?

Hybrid and improved vegetative bermudagrasses will produce a large quantity of high quality hay, but it usually requires more management than do other summer grasses. Horse owners usually prefer a weed free, high quality bermudagrass hay, whereas cattlemen may settle for less at a lower price.

What kind of hay is the best?

Hay Production Basics, The Grasses

How do you pick good hay?

What should I look for in good hay?

Good quality hay should be bright green in color with little fading. A bleached, yellow, brown or black color may indicate aged hay, mold or poor storage conditions. Storage condition and age have a significant effect on vitamin content of hays.

What is the best grass hay for cows?

Timothy hay is recommended by many experts due to its ease on various animal's digestive system as well as promotion of bowel regularity. Additionally, there have been scientific studies done that show Timothy hay is an ideal feed for pregnant or lactating cows.

What hay has the most protein?

On average, alfalfa hay has much higher levels of protein, ranging from 15% to 21% depending on when the alfalfa was cut. This is much higher than the protein levels of grass hay, which typically contains 10% or less protein.

What is the difference between timothy hay and regular hay?

Alfalfa hay is higher in protein and calories, but timothy hay has more fiber and better calcium to phosphorus ratio. If you feed your horse a mixture of these two types of hay, it will get the best combinations possible for optimum nutrition.

What hay is best for cows?

Fine alfalfa or oat straw best is best for cattle. Avoid coarse hay for young calves, sheep, and goats. Give dairy producing cows nutrient-rich hay to aid production.

What grass has the highest protein?

Grass and Hay With the Highest Protein

Bermuda grass, which is also a favorite of homeowners trying to grow a beautiful lawn, is relatively high in grass protein. Its crude protein levels can be as high as 16 percent, and it has a total digestible nutrient content of 55 percent.

What cut of hay is best for horses?

Second Cutting

This is the most common cutting of hay that horse owners give to their horses, and for a good reason. It is greener and more substantial, with more leaves and a sweet smell. This hay contains a lot of protein and fat, so it is excellent for horses that exercise.

Is fescue hay good for cows?

Cattle tend to avoid consuming tall fescue, because it is a more course and fibrous forage. Animal gains tend to be lower on these fields but are a good source of forage for the beef cow herd. When cattle are turned out to graze a fescue mixed stand, the cattle will eat around the less palatable fescue.

Is orchard grass hay good for cows?

A sought-after grass known for its soft, highly palatable leaves, orchardgrass is suitable for horses, cattle, and small ruminants. It has good quality forage with heavy spring yield and moderate fall production but is less drought tolerant than fescue.

Does tall fescue make good hay?

In Pennsylvania, Tall fescue has been used primarily for conservation purposes but is well suited as hay, silage, or pasture. It is well adapted to the soil and weather conditions of Pennsylvania (Table 1).

What grass has the most protein for cattle?

Giant King Grass when cut every 40-60 days is excellent animal feed. It has high-protein and high palatability. It can be the entire diet or a part of a mixed ration for dairy cows, cattle, sheep, goats, camels and other animals and even pigs and some fish.

Is Timothy hay the same as Timothy grass?

Timothy Grass has a slightly higher protein and is greener in appearance. Timothy Hay is a mix of leaves and stems from Timothy grass, which is a perennial bunch grass. Timothy Hay is high in fiber and low in protein which is a combination critical to the health of rabbits and other small animals.

Does Bermuda grass make good hay?

Bermudagrass is the single most important warm-season forage grass grown in Oklahoma. It is well adapted to the Oklahoma climate and soil types, which makes it relatively easy to maintain. It has the potential to produce high yields of high-quality hay and pasture.

What grass is bad for cows?

Sorghum, Sudans, Millets and Corn.

Four main categories of sorghum and millets are grain sorghum, forage sorghum, sudangrass and sorghum-sudan-grass hybrids. These all put grazing cattle at risk for prussic acid HCN poisoning.

Is Bermuda hay good for cows?

This grass species is an excellent warm-season perennial grass that stands up to grazing pressure and responds well to fertility and moisture. Cows can meet their nutrient requirements on bermudagrass during the growing season and with stockpiled forage in the fall, if calving timing is correct.

Does buffalo grass make good hay?

Uses. Buffalo grass is an important forage species for most types of livestock in the Great Plains. Even in the winter, it maintains enough nutritional value to support grazing animals. It can withstand overgrazing better than most native grass species due to its low growth habit.

What is poor quality hay?

Poor-quality hay may be damp and moldy with a musty or fermented smell. Hay that appears weathered, straw-like, or brown is likely low in nutritional value. If hay has been cut late in maturity, seed heads will be apparent in grass hay and blooms will be evident in alfalfa hay.

What is low quality hay?

Characteristics of low-quality forages include high fiber content, low crude protein (CP) and energy (total digestible nutrients or TDN) content, and reduced fiber digestibility. Low-quality forages also may have tough, coarse stems and reduced leaf-to-stem ratios, which can reduce palatability to livestock.