Safe to eat hay?

[chickengeorgeto]

Alfalfa hay is not silage. Silage is generally made from grain (primarily corn). Alfalfa is sometimes used as a component of haylage, but that product is not as common as silage and neither are anywhere near 80-90% crude protein - haylage is 50-60% water, and silage is 60-65% water. Alfalfa hay is generally in the 15-18% crude protein range, depending on stage of maturity when cut. Properly baled hay should not ferment at all and can be stored for prolonged periods of time with little nutrient loss, unless it gets wet or is exposed to significant weathering (wind/sun).

And what happens to any hay including bailed Alfalfa when it is dumped on the ground in a chicken coop or run?

A: It becomes wet and if just allowed to sit there as it were it will stew in it's own juices and become silage or something that looks like silae?

I find that modern livestock feeding methods are a little out of kilter. Foe instance you can no longer feed poultry litter to cows even though it has been put through one of those wonderful and marvelous fermentation process similar to those that at is supposed to be good for a rose garden.

Yet one of the universality preferred foods that is coveted by all chickens is cow manure.. Old or used poultry litter is rich in Cellulose, Corn, Soybean Meal, Alfalfa Pellets, Molasses, assorted hayage and something called Urea that does bossy good.

This is evidence that those who seem to cheer the loudest for sustainability are often the biggest stumbling block to environmental progress.

Besides, bailed Alfalfa stems is usually much to tough for a chicken's gut. Even horse owners usually only feed a single leaf of Alfalfa to their equines each day because too much Alfalfa is bad for horses as well as poultry.

 

[MountainManFowl]

I put a flake of alfalfa hay in with my chickens reguralarly. They love it. The devour the leaves and light stems right away, so there's nothing left to get moldy or gross. If you want to give your chickens some alfalfa, just monitor how much they can consume in one sitting, leaving only coarse stems, and feed accordingly. They will sift through what's left over and convert it to bedding. Remove it if it becomes wet, but otherwise, kicking around it gives them something to do.

As far as nutrition is concerned... good alfalfa hay is an awesome supplement to winter feeding! Chickens consume a lot of greens throughout the year. So, feeding straight seed and meal diet through the winter isn't exactly a complete ration. Alfalfa is loaded with vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, which is hard to come by this time of year.

Regarding the high protein content; alfalfa is high in protein, for a plant. It must be carefully fed to grazing animals, who's digestive systems are naturally calibrated to a low protein diet. However, a chicken is a true omnivore. Higher protein is no issue for your chickens. At 18-20% protein (that's excellent alfalfa. Most, especially non-irrigated, and late season alfalfa will be more like 16%), the protein content is only slightly higher than sacked feed.

Besides, it's just fun to watch the chickens go nuts! Sprinkle a little scratch on top of a flake of good alfalfa hay, and enjoy the show

 

[lifeteacher]

Hello and
I have a mixture of hay/straw in all of my chicken coops,
And the hens love it.
They scratch in it and it's easy for them to make nests with it.
They won't realy eat it but they will play with it and scratch it.
Goodluck,
Fionn.

 

[lifeteacher]

Agree. Moderation. I would not add a whole bale. I did add several bales around the bottom of our chicken tractor one winter when we were expecting an arctic blast. Most of the hens were afraid of them and stayed away, but one goofball couldn't stay away and ate so much of it she got sour crop. I thought she needed a half bra! Lol It wasn't really impacted and she continued to eat other food, just couldnt seem to digest that straw. Finally, I turned her upside down and gave her a good crop massage and some disgusting brown liquid oozed out then in a few days she was back to normal...yeah being a chicken tender is so glamorous ; D