Could someone PLEASE tell me the difference between straw and hay??

[Moogie]

We always bought hay for our horses - it looked like dried johnson grass, to me, lol.

Then today my husband came back from the feedstore with what they said was "coastal hay". It was very fine grass with tons and tons of seeds in it.

Since we're now paying over $12 for a bale of hay, I just wanted to make sure they hadn't accidentally given me straw instead of hay.

And - why do so many BYCers think straw is better than hay for muddy pens?

 

[Poultrybonkers]

A straw is something you drink with. J/k i dont know im curious now.

 

[bockbock2008]

Never heard of "coastal hay" around here.

straw is the stalks of wheat after they harvest the seed tops.

hay is actual types of grasses grown out and cut.

 

[ruffles]

Straw is slippery and yellow, wider than hay.

Hay is finer, greener.

 

[bockbock2008]

Also straw is usally cheaper. Around here 3-4 dollars a bale. We got good alfalfa for 6 this year and didn't even have to load it!! I've heard hay is outrageous down there around you

 

[JohnHenry]

Hay is just dried grasses. Straw is Wheat straw, long strong stalks with wheat (seed) on the end.

 

[tsmith1499]

I have heard of and seen "coastal hay" in Forida. Disney World uses a TON of it. What you probably had was Timothy hay. Hay is used for feed and straw is used for bedding. Where are you buying your hay at? Because for $12.00 a bale I will deliver you some of the prettiest hay in the country. You should be able to buy hay for $3.00 -$7.00 a bale depending on variety. I have NEVER seen ANY hay worth $12.00/bale. I assume we are talking about a sandard size bale of hay. You should be able to get straw for $1.00-$3.00/bale.

 

[turbodog]

Quote:
There ya go. Straw is just lots of tough stalks with some leaves, hay is lots of long thin leaves with a few stalks. Straw is often a yellowish color (around here anyway) whereas hay, is a tan or even pale green color.

 

[Soulshadow]

I use 2nd cutting hay( grasses) for our rabbits to eat and for the nest boxes (softer). I use Straw (is what is left after wheat harvest) to keep animals warm.

 

[Moogie]

Quote:
Yes - we've had a horrible drought here in Texas that's lasted all year - we're down 13" in rain for the year, and we don't get that much to begin with.

I've read that they're now shipping in hay to Texas from Louisiana and Oklahoma, which is perhaps why that hay looked so strange. I've never seen any that looked like tall grass and never seen seeds in it before. Weird. Those big round bales of hay are now going for $175 each. We used to buy the small rectangular bales of hay for $3 when we had horses in the 70's - this year, as I said, it's $12 or more. And the biggest problem is that people are stealing hay from stores - I've read several local stories on how the hay just disappeared from different store lots and represented a huge loss (tens of thousands $) for the store owners. And it's even being stolen out of the fields where it's baled - people just load up in the middle of the night.

Adding a link about hay theft:
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/09/22/hay-the-latest-target-for-thieves-as-prices-skyrocket/