Hay - What's the diff in "cuts" and how much do you pay?

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jimmywalt

jimmywalt

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Question about bales of hay.............

What is the difference between cut 1, cut 2 and cut 3?

How much do you pay for a rectangular bale of hay (the size that would fit in about a 30 gallon trash bag)?

Hay.jpg
 
Typically, alfalfa 1st cut hay will have more grass than alfalfa. 2nd and 3rd cut alfalfa hay will be mostly alfalfa and therefore higher in protein.
Ist cut grass hay will have more stems the blades of grass as the plant is much taller when cut. 2nd and 3rd cut grass hay will have finer stems with more blades of grass. (blades are the actual grass leaves)

I make about 5000 bales of grass a year and I sell 1st cut for $5. I sell 2nd and 3rd cut for $7.
 
I been buying some second cutting for $ 5 a bale. I am parting company with this farmer, because the hay is either really good or full of black dust and the rabbits won't eat it then. I have to give it to the chickens for bedding.
So I found another farmer locally but he only has first cutting. I bought some at $ 4 a bale. It is nice hay, but very stemmy and just won't work well in my hay racks. So I finally found a farmer who has excellent second cutting. These bales are $ 6 each and weigh about 80 pounds each she tells me. I have asked them to set aside enough to keep me in hay till next summer when the second cutting is ready again. I will try to get some here and stacked up. Usually I try to
stay ahead about 5 or 6 bales because hay is my primary feed. I gave up pellets back in July this year for the main herd. I do still buy a single bag of pellets, but it is for my mommy rabbits and their litters. I want the babies on pellets so when I sell them, there is no problem with changing over their diets.

What I can suggest about hay is only buy 1 or 2 bales at a time at first from a new source. That way if the rabbits don't like the hay or there is something wrong with it, then you are not out a lot of money. I have 2 big plastic trash totes that I keep 1 bale of hay in each of them. That way I don't have mess
all over the place. It seems to be quite normal for me to keep a few bales on the back of my pickup this time of year. I have a cap on it, and it is in the garage unless, I am running a errand with it. I need to get a few pallets so I can have a stack in the one corner of the garage near my bunny room.
 
1st cut of alfalfa mix we always sent to the cattle farmers. It had the most weeds and stemmy. Cutting it at a better time and managing the field better can reduce that. The stuff we buy now is always leafy, green, weed free, low dust, and the field is treated with trace minerals. The guy is seriously into producing quality hay and organic grass fed beef. He's obsessive about his hay fields to the point he and his children will walk up and down the hay field hand pulling weeds throughout the year.
 
$5....$7.... Man, I'm jealous!! I haven't seen that since we bought our horses 13 years ago!

We're experiencing the lowest hay prices we've had in years and I'm paying $12 for a 50# bale of good second cut grass. That is feed store prices, though since none of the farmers keep it around for very long. Even at farm prices, the lowest I've seen is $8, and that wasn't very green at that.
 
You can probably get acceptable hay here for less than $4 a bale. People like to do a lot of pure alfalfa and then let it get sunbleached though. The organic legume hay we get is $10/50lbs.
 
I shied away from alfalfa because of our humidity in this part of the country
when it's cut and baled. My feed dealer warned me that it could easily mold.
"WHICH"....is true to a certain degree. I had several bales last time I used it
that smelled "musty"... I pitched it over the fence.

I buy brome hay 2nd or 3rd cutting @$5.00 a bale. Usually in lots of 10 bales.
I store them above the rabbit room inside the barn.
 
This fall I bought second cut Timothy/Brome/field grass mix for $4.50 a bale. The seller and his wife even helped me load! Then we got to talking, I admired his Tibetan Mastiff and it turned out I know his mom through the dog show world. She was living on the property so on the way out I popped in and surprised her.

I definitely got more than my $4.50 a bale's worth!
 
I was thinking about hay and found this post. But I was wondering about the different types of hay. Such as, what type is best for buns? I know that each has their own taste performance, but that aside. How much is a typical square bale in your area? I'm also checking the local ads for it. But want to make sure that I get the right stuff.
I have fostered wild rabbits in the past and they just LOVE clover. AND I mean LOVE it.

DSCF1416 (450x338).jpg
These little ones came from the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (St. Joe prison). Mother was used as a football. Some of the prisoners stepped in and saved these 4. Guys that killed the mother got time in the hole. The one that started it got stabbed by someone. :shrug:

Anyways,
We have a huge clover patch in the side pasture from Spring till early Fall. Provided it is cleaned and is pesticide free, would that be OK for my adult buns?
 
The guy I get my hay from charges $6/bale, but I basically get my hay for free because he lets me just fill up a big plastic trash can with his 'loose hay'. Last time, I was able to get most of it from a broken bale, so that was nice. I don't know what kind of hay it is, just grass hay I think, but it's saving me a bundle. I started out buying pet store hay.... :lol:
 
I get small squares (50 pound) bales for $3.50 per bale, second cut mixed grass. Most of this guys hay fields are fescue, clover, a little orchard grass, and some timothy.
His price is $3.50, but usually he asks for a dozen or two dozen eggs in trade for a bale. Works fine for me.

He also gives me any broken bales for free throughout the summer which I use as bedding for pigs and chickens. Last year his production was low because it was so wet he only got two cuttings, but he still did 1100+ large round bales and about 10,000 small squares.
 
....we pay $19 for a bale of straw. $22 for hay.

$4, $5, $7 would be awesome. I'd buy a whole barn full. <br /><br /> __________ Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:09 pm __________ <br /><br />
wamplercathy":10lj3wz8 said:
I was thinking about hay and found this post. But I was wondering about the different types of hay. Such as, what type is best for buns? I know that each has their own taste performance, but that aside. How much is a typical square bale in your area? I'm also checking the local ads for it. But want to make sure that I get the right stuff.
I have fostered wild rabbits in the past and they just LOVE clover. AND I mean LOVE it.


These little ones came from the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (St. Joe prison). Mother was used as a football. Some of the prisoners stepped in and saved these 4. Guys that killed the mother got time in the hole. The one that started it got stabbed by someone. :shrug:

Anyways,
We have a huge clover patch in the side pasture from Spring till early Fall. Provided it is cleaned and is pesticide free, would that be OK for my adult buns?
Click to expand...

That's awful :(

From what I've heard horse quality hay is the best for rabbits. But we just get whatever kind, if they have pellets it shouldn't matter much.

Yes clover is fine for buns
 
Basically there is grass hay and there is legume hay (alfalfa, clover, someone was asking about peanut once). Legume hay is debated some because it is richer and lower fiber. Pet animals instead of breeding stock in particular can have issues with the calcium and protein levels since they don't have a use for that much. Grass hay is mostly equal. Lower protein and higher fiber. The different hays don't matter beyond some preferences. Some are fairly stemmy like timothy and timothy is the worst for allergies. Some are drier and usually have more brown pieces like brome but as mentioned above even those have their place. Meadow, orchard, and blue grass tend to be sweeter. The animals will care more about the quality than the type. You want to choose hay that is fresh smelling, dry, clean, and mostly green. You might want to ask to break a bale open if they are very tightly bound and don't seem dry enough to check for moisture and heat (composting that will lead to mold) in the middle or if they seem too dry and dusty. Any musty smell and don't buy it.
 
wamplercathy":oo1icwqj said:
Found this website:
http://fmicrofarm.com/printables/


For those that feed hay, does this chart come close to hitting the mark with your rabbits?
Click to expand...

That chart is for sprouted barley fodder (a fresh green feed, as opposed to a dried hay product), so wouldn't apply to hay. If you would add it to one (or more) of our discussion threads on fodder, I think many people would find it to be very helpful.
 
MamaSheepdog":2ceclzdb said:
wamplercathy":2ceclzdb said:
Found this website:
http://fmicrofarm.com/printables/


For those that feed hay, does this chart come close to hitting the mark with your rabbits?
Click to expand...

That chart is for sprouted barley fodder (a fresh green feed, as opposed to a dried hay product), so wouldn't apply to hay. If you would add it to one (or more) of our discussion threads on fodder, I think many people would find it to be very helpful.
Click to expand...

I placed it on 3 well followed threads. Hope it comes in handy for others.
I'm glad that my Rabbitosis can be useful. :p :lol:
 

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