Hay or Straw???

[WoodlandWoman]

Hay is referred to as first cut, second cut, etc. The plants continue to grow throughout the year and are harvested more than once. There is a difference in the nutritional content and texture, between the cuts.

My understanding of straw is the same as MayberrySaint's. I've only used straw as bedding for our sheep. We always had more trouble finding straw, than we did hay. We've always used just the pine shavings, with deep litter and the chickens turned it themselves.

There are a lot of different ways to do things and regionally differences, also. This is just our experience.

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
WOW!

If straw was 3.50 a bale I'd buy a dozen bales to last me years! Here, a single bale of straw runs me 8.50.... I used left over orcard grass bales from haloween from the supermarket now because thats free. I just compost the bad ones.

 

[MayberrySaint]

Silkiechicken,

You need to rent a uhaul and go over the mountains to your east. I'm pretty sure you could get quite a bit of cheap straw there. That is prime wheat country. Of course with the price of gas...it might not be worth it.

 

[akyramoto]

Quote:
WOW!

If straw was 3.50 a bale I'd buy a dozen bales to last me years! Here, a single bale of straw runs me 8.50.... I used left over orcard grass bales from haloween from the supermarket now because thats free. I just compost the bad ones.

yup straw for me is $7.50 a bale, but last year I got lucky & got 10 bales for free from my local drugstore, they used it for a fall display & were going to throw it away!!

 

[Zenbirder]

I have an arangement with the feed store to collect the scrap that falls under the bales of hay they sell. It has some seed in it, but not much and the girls enjoy scratching around in it. I get an old big cardboard box from in back of the furniture store and load it up. Best of all it's free and I am doing them a favor by removing it!

 

[Bailey]

Wow $8.50 a bale for straw!

We had a no hay last year in Western MO and were feeding livestock grain and straw for roughage. Even so straw is about $2.50-$3.00.
The problem I have with the deep litter method is I need the mulch...
I run a batch of straw under the girls for about a week then mulch between the plant rows. After a week or so = a couple of good wettings - rain watering etc, I pull the mulch up over the root zone of the plants. Don't have to worry about burning the plants w/ excess Nitrogen and keeps me from weeding.

You might consider contacting a farmer and buy baled straw "in the field" for a buck a bale or less.
If you're really young, & strong put an ad up on the rural feed store / coffee shop bulletin board saying you'll trade labor for "shares" putting up hay and straw- You just take your pay in hay or straw- by the ton- if you get hay- you can trade that for straw... or sell it to fellow urbanites for their rabbits, horses etc.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

I love the deep litter directions! (being I am not sure what to do yet)

I am brooding with pine shavings now!

my coop is 12ft by 4ft =48 squ ft
how many bales (or how much pine shavings) would I need to start?

also would it be possible to use dry grass (or dry leaves) clipping in place of pine shavings?

Thank You so much for the information in advance!

This forum was a great find!!