Hay and straw are harvested differently, and are most often different plants.
Hay tends to be more green, and contains more nutrients. It is used mostly as a feed on the farm (or in the garden farm or backyard for that matter).
Straw tends to be more yellow and brown, has more fiber, and fewer nutrients. It is mostly used as bedding, though animals will eat some of it.
Since hay has more nutrients, microbes like to grow in it, a bit more than they like to grow in straw.
The straw we get around here (New England) may be the stalks of wheat after the wheat seeds are removed, the stalks of oats after oat seeds are removed, or dry meadow grasses. Hay can be timothy, orchard grass, alfalfa a.k.a. lucerne, or others.
Sounds like you have some challenging situations going on around you. I pray the ducks will help cheer you up and make you smile.
Ducks need extra help in hot weather. Storey's Guide recommends that when the temperature is above 70F, the ducks have shade. For me, when the temperatures hit 90, I refresh the swim pan (a kiddie pool) with cool fresh water in the mid-afternoon, draw the shade cloth over at least half of the Day Pen, and keep a close eye on the ducks. They will pant when they are very warm. Most of my ducks are black or brown, so direct sun can really overheat them.
If it's going to be in the upper 90s or more, I move them for a few hours midday into the basement pen where it is nice and cool, around 60 to 70F.
Their swim pan is out in the Day Pen. But on the veranda, part of Little Fort Knox for nighttime, there is room for a couple of large (about 3 gallons) stainless steel mixing bowls. I set them down into the bedding and sand a bit so they won't tip over, and make sure there is fresh cool water in them for overnight. Sometimes the ducks cool off by stepping into the bowls.
Hay tends to be more green, and contains more nutrients. It is used mostly as a feed on the farm (or in the garden farm or backyard for that matter).
Straw tends to be more yellow and brown, has more fiber, and fewer nutrients. It is mostly used as bedding, though animals will eat some of it.
Since hay has more nutrients, microbes like to grow in it, a bit more than they like to grow in straw.
The straw we get around here (New England) may be the stalks of wheat after the wheat seeds are removed, the stalks of oats after oat seeds are removed, or dry meadow grasses. Hay can be timothy, orchard grass, alfalfa a.k.a. lucerne, or others.
Sounds like you have some challenging situations going on around you. I pray the ducks will help cheer you up and make you smile.
Ducks need extra help in hot weather. Storey's Guide recommends that when the temperature is above 70F, the ducks have shade. For me, when the temperatures hit 90, I refresh the swim pan (a kiddie pool) with cool fresh water in the mid-afternoon, draw the shade cloth over at least half of the Day Pen, and keep a close eye on the ducks. They will pant when they are very warm. Most of my ducks are black or brown, so direct sun can really overheat them.
If it's going to be in the upper 90s or more, I move them for a few hours midday into the basement pen where it is nice and cool, around 60 to 70F.
Their swim pan is out in the Day Pen. But on the veranda, part of Little Fort Knox for nighttime, there is room for a couple of large (about 3 gallons) stainless steel mixing bowls. I set them down into the bedding and sand a bit so they won't tip over, and make sure there is fresh cool water in them for overnight. Sometimes the ducks cool off by stepping into the bowls.
