How can I cheaply cut some grass to see if it passes as hay?

[blueriver]

If its dormant there will be no nutrional value, just filler. On the other hand ... in its prime stage it is excellent hay for any type animal. My horse's, mule's, donkey's, cow's and even the pigs like it.

Cutting, raking and baling you loose alot of the seed from the head which is good it re seeds your field. If it's thick, tall and only grazed the seed head can and will founder a horse. I have not read or heard of any founders from the seed being in the bale itself ... I even like to feed square bales scattered over an area where I would like to establish the bahia ... the animals eat and the seeds fall off or are passed thru them ... they walk it into the ground and later bahia is growing.

 

[Egon]

Scythe!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[beppington]

Scythe!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Oh man I'd have to develop new skills??

That could work, though ... now ... where can I get one??!

 

[bullbreaker]

Boone - I think Bahia is what they stand in & eat 24/7 now. However , my parents do supplement by feeding them horse feed twice a day. Maybe they just like to munch, munch, munch, so any ol' "grass" will suffice, in between their morning & eve sweet feed servings.

BEPP I have bahia here. Thanks for explaining it in that way. Think its best if you haven't done it to crossfence and let them naturally pick it from ground.



Haha! I don't think my Bahia has the "nutrients" Cheech & Chong are lookin' for! :laughing: :thumbsup: BETTER them than me !

BTW : Nice looking place there,also love them oaks ? in background. Also did you ever get the cart you where looking for ?

Boone

 

[beppington]

Boone - I think Bahia is what they stand in & eat 24/7 now. However , my parents do supplement by feeding them horse feed twice a day. Maybe they just like to munch, munch, munch, so any ol' "grass" will suffice, in between their morning & eve sweet feed servings.

BEPP I have bahia here. Thanks for explaining it in that way. Think its best if you haven't done it to crossfence and let them naturally pick it from ground.



Haha! I don't think my Bahia has the "nutrients" Cheech & Chong are lookin' for! :laughing: :thumbsup: BETTER them than me !

BTW : Nice looking place there,also love them oaks ? in background. Also did you ever get the cart you where looking for ?

Boone

Cart? Not sure what cart you mean? ... maybe my memory is going even faster than I thought

 

[bullbreaker]

Cart? Not sure what cart you mean? ... maybe my memory is going even faster than I thought

:laughing:

My mistake should have said "wagon" ! http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/trailers-transportation/230992-where-can-i-get-big.html

Boone

 

[beppington]

:laughing:

My mistake should have said "wagon" ! http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/trailers-transportation/230992-where-can-i-get-big.html

Boone

Oh! Duh! I shoulda known what you meant ... No, I didn't, yet ... Got too many irons in the fire I guess. Need to focus. But then the cart also isn't a top priority right now, since I'm putting up a pole barn. I'd like to have a hay wagon living in that barn, though, sometime after it's complete :thumbsup:

 

[slowzuki]

Grass piled in a heap on a wagon will go bad in a hurry. It needs to be cut and left to dry before harvesting for feed.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Making good hay is an art. If the grass is too mature, the nutrition and palateability suffer. If it gets rained on the nutrients wash out. If it's baled too wet it can catch on fire or grow toxic molds.

To make consistently good hay, a farmer either has to be on a first name basis with God, or has to live in a dry climate and irrigate. I have a neighbor who cuts about 60 acres of pasture for hay every spring. Three years out of four it gets rained on. One year it rained so much the hay rotted in the field before he could get it baled.

 

[beppington]

Making good hay is an art. If the grass is too mature, the nutrition and palateability suffer. If it gets rained on the nutrients wash out. If it's baled too wet it can catch on fire or grow toxic molds.

To make consistently good hay, a farmer either has to be on a first name basis with God, or has to live in a dry climate and irrigate. I have a neighbor who cuts about 60 acres of pasture for hay every spring. Three years out of four it gets rained on. One year it rained so much the hay rotted in the field before he could get it baled.

Aw crud ... I am far from being on a first name basis with God :laughing:

But thanks for the info - This makes me even more convinced that I should start slow & learn rather than jumping into buying thousands of dollars worth of haying equipment right off the bat.