No oat straw to be had. Anywhere?

[TotalMadgeness]

Since 2018 I've been happily controlling my pair of fatties' weight using e-feeds oat straw chaff and small bales of oat straw from a local farmer. Trouble is due to wet summers 2019/2020 the farmer hasn't made any oat straw bales since 2018. So I thought that's ok there is always those lovely big bales of oat straw chaff from e-feeds! But sadly they've stopped making their chaff (which was really good & really cheap).

Efeeds told me oh its fine, just buy top chop zero. Sigh.

 

[chaps89]

No straw around here in Bucks, hay chap said crops didn't grow enough so when they tried to make straw it was all too short to bale.
Honeychop do a plain oat straw chaff if you can get hold of that?
I've been feeding barley straw (had to have a big Heston bale rather than small which is a bit of a faff with storage) and they're doing well on that.

 

[FestiveG]

We get honey chop chopped oat straw chaff. Seems to be ok for availability.

 

[DirectorFury]

I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to get oat straw for the past 5 years!
Depending on where you are in the country would the EasyPack oat straw bales be an option? https://www.easypackhaylage.com/product/easy-pack-compressed-straw/
The stockists can normally order it in. Nearest stockist is ~150 miles away from me or I’d be doing this!

Edit: farmer YO has said he’s struggling to get straw of any description for his cattle and has resorted to using hay for bedding them ?.

 

[ycbm]

I have a winter's supply of barley straw which I'm feeding but when I bought it at £5 a bale they told me that is in very short supply because the stalks didn't grow long enough this year.
.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

DirectorFury : I contacted EasyPack to see if I could buy a pallet of their oat straw bales (which I had done before I discovered efeeds) but they said they are now using barley straw for their oat straw compressed bales. Which doesn't sound legal to me lol...??!!

Actually I noticed my local farmer has big round bales of barley straw in his shed but I thought there could be a risk of choke with barley straw - something to do with spikey barley heads?

I'll check locally for Honey Chop Oat Straw - I seem to recall I couldn't buy it locally last time I looked and I couldn't buy a pallet of it either.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I have used barley straw for mine in the past. I don't like it as I always end up with spiky bits in my clothes, gloves etc but horses did alright with it.

 

[rabatsa]

I have fed barley straw for years. This year I got 10 bales of oat straw as the barley straw was non existant. My supplier however gave me preferrence over everyone else (he owes us a lot of favours) and all his remaining straw sold off the field in minutes.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

When I fed straw it was always barley have never been able to get oat

 

[milliepops]

I've got a different problem, i can only get oat straw and as I want it for bedding it's not ideal because they are stuffing it in their mouths instead! OH managed to get me 2 bales of wheat last week but I think I'm heading for a winter of buying shavings for the nursery shelter, urgh

 

[RHM]

I have been struggling too. I ended up ordering honey chop from - https://www.equisupermarket.co.uk/ after none of my local stores stock it.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I've got a different problem, i can only get oat straw and as I want it for bedding it's not ideal because they are stuffing it in their mouths instead! OH managed to get me 2 bales of wheat last week but I think I'm heading for a winter of buying shavings for the nursery shelter, urgh

I’ll do you a swap ? I have lovely clean wheat straw but would love oat.
Honeychop do a packed oat chop. It can be purchased online from Milbry hill, 2 bags come in at the right weight for £6.99 delivery.

 

[Orangehorse]

The plain oat straw/grass chaff that I have been using has apparently increased massively in price, I have just been told and the feed merchant won't be stocking it. It was good as no alfalpha.

Think back to last winter, here it rained all winter and we grew NO wheat at all, usually our main crop. In an effort to grow something we sowed spring barley, which struggled in the hot dry spring (remember?) but did eventually manage to grow to maturity. However the straw yield was less than half the usual. So there really is a huge shortage of any straw of any description in this part of the world anyway. I don't think everywhere was as bad, but certainly growing conditions all over the country were poor.

 

[Abby-Lou]

Have you tried on facebook ? Agree it is hard to get hold of, but well worth the effort tracking it down. I managed to get sorted locally,but I did have a nice chat with this producer maybe worth seeing if they will send on a pallet https://www.ossichaff.com/

 

[DirectorFury]

DirectorFury : I contacted EasyPack to see if I could buy a pallet of their oat straw bales (which I had done before I discovered efeeds) but they said they are now using barley straw for their oat straw compressed bales. Which doesn't sound legal to me lol...??!!

Well there goes that plan! I’m also pretty sure they can’t sell barely straw under the banner of oat straw - that would be like me selling stones from the garden as diamonds?

For those of you who feed chaff - how do you feed it? Just put it in a bucket? When I’ve tried that in the past M has just tipped it over and scattered it round her stable. It’s why I’ve tried for so long to get ‘proper’ straw that could go in a haynet. (Feel free to tell me I’m being stupid and unimaginative!)

 

[Abby-Lou]

I gave up on bucket chaff as it got tipped n spread over floor, much prefer oat straw in a haynet

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Mine currently has Top chop lite but loves it. He has refused other straw.

Our yo has increased straw prices to the point that every DIY-Er has swapped to pellets! Ive just ordered us a pallet. I think he buys it in, he doesn’t grow it and just can’t get any.

 

[Red-1]

Since 2018 I've been happily controlling my pair of fatties' weight using e-feeds oat straw chaff and small bales of oat straw from a local farmer. Trouble is due to wet summers 2019/2020 the farmer hasn't made any oat straw bales since 2018. So I thought that's ok there is always those lovely big bales of oat straw chaff from e-feeds! But sadly they've stopped making their chaff (which was really good & really cheap).

Efeeds told me oh its fine, just buy top chop zero. Sigh.

What is wrong with Top Chop Zero? Asking as Rigsby has it for tea! (EMS and Lami).

 

[ycbm]

What is wrong with Top Chop Zero? Asking as Rigsby has it for tea! (EMS and Lami).

It's bloody expensive!

3 times the price per kilo as what TM was buying, which I also used to feed.

 

[Red-1]

It's bloody expensive!

3 times the price per kilo as what TM was buying, which I also used to feed.

As long as it is an OK feed. I also tried to buy some oat straw bales, none to be had locally. When he was on a lot of Top Chop Zero (a couple of big round scoops 4 times a day) his poos dried up, so he only has one feed of it now, with a bit of speedy beet, for his vitamins.

When I fed it at volume, it was rather expensive!

 

[FestiveG]

I put ours in oblong type plastic box things, drilled holes in them and then tied them to uprights in the shelter. This keeps them in place more or less. Doesn't stop the cob using them as a po but then nothing much does!

 

[J&S]

I have just started to introduce some straw in my ponies' diet, companion needs to loose weight and retiree could do with something to chew on when hay is finished. I went to have a look see how they were doing and retiree was munching the straw not the hay! I have given it to them in nets, quite a small bale cost 4.50, in S. Devon.

 

[atropa]

I feed Topchop Zero in a large trug, first day I tried the trug was tipped over within seconds but since then I've cable tied it to her hay rack so she can't tip it. She doesn't take a huge amount of interest in it to be honest. Would rather feed straw from haynet if I could find it

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Since 2018 I've been happily controlling my pair of fatties' weight using e-feeds oat straw chaff and small bales of oat straw from a local farmer. Trouble is due to wet summers 2019/2020 the farmer hasn't made any oat straw bales since 2018. So I thought that's ok there is always those lovely big bales of oat straw chaff from e-feeds! But sadly they've stopped making their chaff (which was really good & really cheap).

Efeeds told me oh its fine, just buy top chop zero. Sigh.

I found that too, so had to opt for Top Chop 0

 

[TheHairyOne]

We have had to go with barley this year as zero oat straw to be found anywhere. Horses dont like it quite as much, but they are eating it when they are hungry. Its noticably a lot shorter than normal I have to say!