what's the difference between hay and straw?

[Lisa202]

Hi All,

I have read that you shouldn't use straw...only hay, (in the coop and/or run) and now I'm reading that you should use Hay and not straw?? What's the difference and is one better for one place and vice versa?

 

[madimorg]

Easy... think of hay as "green and fresh" and straw is "dead and dry". Hay will be grasses and they are cut when still green, therefore have nutrients and can be used as feed for some animals. Straw can be stalks from wheat after it's been harvested and it's dried up and has no nutrients... therefore straw is what you use for bedding.

 

[elmo]

To quote a landscape architect friend from another chicken forum:

Straw is a waste product consisting of dry stems of different crop plants. It has little nutritional value and is used for animal bedding. Hay is a high quality forage crop, usually grasses or legumes, that has been cut, dried, and cured so that it retains most of its nutritional value and can be used as animal feed. Straw is cheap, hay is expensive.​

 

[carrlr]

Quote:
Exactly...however both become nasty after awhile with hay being much nastier and quicker to deteriorate. I actually prefer to use pine (NOT Cedar) shavings in my coop.