What is this hay?

Hay is a plant that has been cut, dried, and stored for animal feed. Many plants can be used as hay, but in Iowa today, alfalfa and clover are the most common. As Americans moved west onto the Great Plains in the 19th century, they would often use the prairie grasses that were growing there to feed their livestock.

What is hay called?

Hay is grass and other plants that have been cut, dried and collected. It can then be stored in piles (called hay stacks), or tied into blocks called bales. Bales can be round or box shaped (usually called square bales).

What all is hay used for?

Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs.

Is hay a wheat?

Hay is generally defined as the entire plant that has been dried. Both can come from various types of plants, including wheat.

What hay is made of?

Hay is made from the stems, leaves, and seed heads of plants that are fresh. It is cut and baled when it has the most nutritional value, and is fed to livestock.

What is Hay, and how's it made?

Is hay a straw?

So, what is the difference between straw and hay? Straw is yellow, and it is made from grain crops (like wheat) by removing the grain and chaff. Straw has no seeds, and it is used for animal bedding, mulch, or compost. Hay is yellow or green, and it is made from dried grasses or legumes (like alfalfa).

What is hay food?

hay, in agriculture, dried grasses and other foliage used as animal feed. Usually the material is cut in the field while still green and then either dried in the field or mechanically dried by forced hot air. Typical hay crops are timothy, alfalfa, and clover.

How does hay look like?

Hay Color

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.

Is hay same as grass?

Hay is a grass or can be a form of grass. When referring to it as a form of grass, it is a cut grass that has been cut then dried for the purpose of becoming an animal feed or food. If it's still not to be used as food, then it can readily be stored some place else.

How many types of hay are there?

Hay can be classified into three general types: legume, grass, and mixed. Mixed hay is usually defined as a blend of grass and legume plants, though some hay producers and horse owners may define it as a combination of several grasses.

What is hay straw?

Hay is a crop that is grown and harvested as a feed crop for cattle, horses and other farm animals. Straw on the other hand is a byproduct of a grain crop; in our area it's usually usually wheat straw that we see.

What is horse hay?

Hay can be broken down into two main categories: grass (e.g. Timothy, Fescue) and legume (e.g. Alfalfa, Clover). Grass hay is exactly what it sounds like – a short leafy plant – while legumes are members of the pea family. Not all hay is made equally, and each horse has its own preferences.

How can you tell the difference between alfalfa hay and timothy hay?

Timothy hay looks like long strands of dry grass. It can be light to pale green or light straw color, depending on its age and quality. The hay should have a fresh-cut grass smell. Alfalfa hay is higher in protein and calories, but timothy hay has more fiber and better calcium to phosphorus ratio.

Is alfalfa the same as hay?

One of the biggest differences between alfalfa hay and grass hay is the protein content. 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.

Is alfalfa a hay?

Alfalfa is a legume hay in the pea family and is sometimes called “lucerne”. These hays are higher in protein and minerals and are more palatable than grass hays. Alfalfa in particular is high in energy and is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals.

Can humans eat hay?

Drying out grass in the form of hay does not break down the cellulose. Therefore, similarly to grass, hay is not edible for humans.

What does hay smell like?

Color and aroma.

Good hay smells fresh and slightly sweet. Acrid or musty smells usually indicate the presence of mold.

What is rabbit hay?

Timothy Hay is by far the most popular and probably the best kind you can give your rabbit as their basic hay source. Timothy hay is a good all- around choice for unlimited offering to your rabbit. Timothy hay is a mix of leaves and stems from Timothy grass, which is a perennial bunch grass.

Where is hay coming from?

Actual hay is something an animal can eat. Hay usually comes from healthy and nutritious plants such as ryegrass or from legumes like clover or alfalfa. Hay will often be a mixture of plants and are produced on perennial crops, and lands that would not be productive for growing other things.

Do cows eat hay?

Hay is the most commonly used winter feed for beef cattle, but it's also the most expensive. Each cow requires a daily intake of 40 pounds of round-baled hay, which amounts to $1.61 if pricing hay at $80 per ton.

Is hay a wheat or grass?

Straw is a stalk, usually a waste product of wheat, that's used as bedding for barnyard animals. Hay—typically alfalfa or a grass—is used as animal feed.

What is mulch hay?

Hay as a mulch material is often prized for a relatively wide availability and low cost. In some cases, hay or straw may harbor a large number of weed seeds and require treatment to kill weed or grass seeds prior to spreading it as mulch.

Do chickens eat hay?

One treat your chickens will enjoy is a humble and inexpensive bale of straw or hay. Put a bale in the chicken run and get ready for hen enthusiasm as they gleefully tear it apart. Each bale holds thousands of tiny tasty tidbits hidden amid grass stems.