Hay Maturity – Many folks think that 1st cutting is the best and most nutritious hay. That may or may not be the case. The maturity of the hay at the time it is cut is the biggest factor that affects hay quality. If the hay is more mature and in the reproductive stage (seedheads or blooms present), the quality will decrease. Hay that is in the vegetative state is generally more nutritious. A lot of times, first cutting hay will have seedheads and lots of stem, thus reducing protein, energy and digestibility levels.
Hay Species – Depending on the class of livestock you are feeding, you will need varying degrees of nutrition levels. Horses that are trail ridden only occasionally (or never) are not going to have as a high a plane of nutritional requirements as a racehorse in training. Likewise, a broodmare with a two month old foal by her side needs more protein and energy than mare in the last 90 days of gestation. Again, who you are feeding will dictate the type of hay you might need. Grasses and legumes have differing nutritional values. Additionally, within those groups, forage species can have varying levels of protein and energy.
Rain – Rain is not good for hay once it has been mowed. If rained on within a few hours of being mowed, the hay will not be as negatively affected as when it is rained on when dry enough to bale. Digestibility and dry matter yield both decrease with rainfall events. If the hay is allowed to dry adequately before baling, it can still be fed to some classes of livestock. However, supplementation will most likely be needed to make up the difference in nutritional needs versus nutrition supplied. All this depends on both the hay and the livestock.
Storage – Storing hay inside (barn/shed) is best. This protects it from rain (and snow) and sun. However, having adequate storage can be difficult when dealing with large round bales. Many times, those large round bales are stored uncovered outside. This will reduce the quality and dry matter. In this case, you will most likely need more hay and will also need supplementation. If those round bales are stored up off the ground and covered with a tarp, quality and dry matter loss will be minimal.
Weight – The only way to know for sure how much a bale of hay weighs is to weigh it. This isn’t that hard to do with small square bales, but can be challenging for large round bales. However, a livestock scale will work if one is available. Small squares can vary in weight by as much as 30-40 pounds, depending on hay species and baling specifics. Large round bales can vary by as much as 1000 pounds since there are different sizes available. Since hay in this part of the world is bought and sold on a per bale basis (as opposed to per ton), it is important to know how much hay (by weight) you’re really getting.
Amount – Without knowing the weight of the hay, it is virtually impossible to even estimate how much hay you’ll need to feed your livestock through the winter. As a (very broad) average, an animal will eat approximately 2-2.5% of its body weight in dry matter every day. Notice that was dry matter – not just hay. Hay is typically 85% dry matter or higher. This dry matter recommendation is a basic way of estimating “how much” the animal will eat. It does not take into consideration any specific protein and energy requirements based on nutritional needs for the animal or group of animals. If you feed any supplemental feeds or the animals are grazing, that dry matter intake goes into the equation as well.
So, let’s do some quick math. Say you have 10 horses that don’t do a lot of work that weigh 1000 pounds each. Your hay weighs 800 pounds (large round bales) and tested at 88% dry matter. How much hay will you need? Well, you also kinda need to know (or guess) how long you’ll feed them through the winter. We’ll say that you expect to feed hay for 4 months (120 days). You are a good grass manager so you have enough pasture to supply their nutritional needs the other 8 months.
1000 lbs X 2% dry matter intake = 20 pounds of dry mater (DM) per day per horse
20 pounds DM per day/per horse ÷ 88% dry matter = 22.72 pounds of hay as fed per horse per day
23 lbs hay X 10 horses = 230 pounds of hay per day for all 10 horses
230 pounds per day X 120 days = 27,600 pounds of hay for the herd for the winter
27,600 lbs hay needed ÷ 800 lbs per bale = 35 large round bales of hay
In this example, we have determined that you would need 35 bales to feed 10 1000-pound horses for 120 days. The same type of math could be used if you’re using small square bales to feed horses or small ruminants. There are lots of other variables that come into play, like feeding loss and weather. But, this would at least give you a start on how much hay you need. These numbers do not take into consideration the protein and energy levels that may be needed for animals that require more of these nutrients. This just looks at dry matter. You could be feeding enough dry matter, but if the hay is poor quality, the animals could be starving with full bellies.
Hay Testing – The NC Department of Agriculture will perform a nutritional analysis on your hay for $10. That’s a pretty cheap investment to find out exactly what you are feeding. Approximately one gallon of dry hay is all that is needed. Forms are available at your Extension office or online, and your local Extension office may be able to get the sample to the lab for you. You’ll have results in about 2-3 weeks.
Contact your local Extension office for additional information or with help collecting hay samples or interpreting hay reports.
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