Old hay.......Is there a use for it?

[sprite1978]

My mother in law is selling good hay for £3 per bale, but she also has lots of hay from a couple of seasons ago. Its quite dry, but would people be intersted in it for lamminitics etc?

Not an advert, but genuinely interested in if it has a value.

 

[AndiK]

I dont know if it has a value but I tend to use any hay left over from the winter as bedding for my ferrets.... I normally get it right and only have a couple of bales left over.... Someone might be interested for using it as bedding for little furries.... worth a try...

 

[cm2581]

Owners of laminitics would probably take your hand off for it!!

 

[miss_c]

I have mine on hay from 2009 and it's just what they need so that they can eat but not get the calories!

 

[sprite1978]

I knew it would be suitable for someone. She doesnt think anyone will want it but at £2 a bale, i think someone will bite her hand off!

 

[Dubsie]

I'd bag it in small bags and sell via an advert in local PO window as rabbit/guinea pig bedding for £1 a bag. Local shop here is selling bags of about 2 slices worth of hay for £3.95.

 

[sprite1978]

I'd bag it in small bags and sell via an advert in local PO window as rabbit/guinea pig bedding for £1 a bag. Local shop here is selling bags of about 2 slices worth of hay for £3.95.

I know.. Its extortionate. Its like the tiny bags of shavings for sale in Tesco for about £3. Imagine how much it would cost to bed down your horse on that!

 

[JoBird]

If you get stuck, use it for bedding this winter. I did with hay I was given very cheaply that my horses didnt like - it saved me an absolute FORTUNE on bedding!

 

[0ldmare]

Does the sugar content reduce with the age of the hay? Genuine question, but can't see why that would be.

 

[sprite1978]

That was actually what I was wondering? I think it does have less nutritional value.

 

[alligator40]

i like/prefer to buy 2/3 yr old hay providing its barn stored for my natives.
its as nutritionally beneficial as they need it and is as filling as "fresh" hay.
also, for some reason, its very cheap as it seems no-one else wants it as they think its "bad" for their ponies/horses

 

[Fii]

I really would'nt use old hay for small animal bedding, i have done in the past, and it was usually far to dusty.
The hay/straw that is sold for loads of money per slice in pet shops has been cleaned/ dust extracted.
Just send it my way for the ponies.

 

[Penny Less]

Just to say not suitable for rabbits because of mixy risk. The hay sold in petshops etc is usually sterilised or something.

 

[LaurenM]

I'm using old hay at the minute and am paying £3.50 per bale. Last years hay is being sold for £5-£6 per bale in my area and even then they will only sell if you are a regular bulk buyer.

My gelding is a good doer and my new mare needs to gradually put on weight. They're both doing fine on it.

 

[indie999]

Hi

I kept hay for a couple of years and it was ideal for a good doer, it depended how it was stored ie check for any mould etc and it can be dusty. But ideal. The nutritional value is usually poor. More roughage than nutritional. If they are on rich grass and need fencing off , worth keeping old hay and giving them ie restricted grazing.

If you smell it you will know if its completely off too dank.

 

[jeeve]

Mulch - Gardens.

Old bales of mouldy lucerne hay sell for $8-9 in Australia for use in gardens. My mum uses it around fruit trees, vege gardens, and any new garden bed she is starting. She also uses straw as well.

 

[AndySpooner]

When I was a lad, how bad is that phrase, old horsemen used to say that you could only feed horses hay that was a year old at least.

Having thought about this over the years, there is a lot of sense in this. I first started working around farms in the late 60's early 70's and there were a lot of people about then who had actually worked with horses instead of tractors, so their knowledge of horses was really good.

Hay was fed to working horses on an ad lib basis and it was recognised that lots of low feed value fibre was required to keep horses healthy, ie to avoid laminitis and colic. It is safe to say that older hay, particularly that didn't contain rye grasses, was low in sugars. Energy was fed in the form of oats which were fed by the bucket full to working horses.

Obviously variations would occur in different areas, but broadly speaking horses benefitted from higher amounts of low feed value feeds and a lot more exercise.

It is, in my view, the mistaken concept of feeding rich feeds, coated in molasses, fresh hay and haylage, and a lack of real work which causes many of the health issues and behavioural issues that are so difficult to deal with today.

I appreciate that it is impractical to feed 1 or 2 year old hay nowerdays, but folk fail to take into account that hay or haylage alone is more than enough to maintain the horse and provide enough for an amount of exercise, without extra hard feed.

We should be looking to produce fit muscled horses, through an appropreate diet and exercise regeme rather than fat horses through overfeeding and lack of proper exercise.

 

[McNally]

Also my y/o would buy hay like this cheaper to throw out in the field for the ponies out there- they are not laminitic but hay is so hard to come by here and they get through so much! I would certainly advertise it People can have a look and if its not for them just not buy- you have nothing to loose.

 

[sprite1978]

I'm using old hay at the minute and am paying £3.50 per bale. Last years hay is being sold for £5-£6 per bale in my area and even then they will only sell if you are a regular bulk buyer.

My gelding is a good doer and my new mare needs to gradually put on weight. They're both doing fine on it.

I dont know how people pay those prices... Obviously no option not to. I think we've priced it about right for here. (W yorkshire) £3 for last years, £2 for the year before.

 

[intouch]

I got some mouldy bales - used them to build raised beds in the garden.

 

[hobnob]

When I was a lad, how bad is that phrase, old horsemen used to say that you could only feed horses hay that was a year old at least.

Having thought about this over the years, there is a lot of sense in this. I first started working around farms in the late 60's early 70's and there were a lot of people about then who had actually worked with horses instead of tractors, so their knowledge of horses was really good.

Hay was fed to working horses on an ad lib basis and it was recognised that lots of low feed value fibre was required to keep horses healthy, ie to avoid laminitis and colic. It is safe to say that older hay, particularly that didn't contain rye grasses, was low in sugars. Energy was fed in the form of oats which were fed by the bucket full to working horses.

Obviously variations would occur in different areas, but broadly speaking horses benefitted from higher amounts of low feed value feeds and a lot more exercise.

It is, in my view, the mistaken concept of feeding rich feeds, coated in molasses, fresh hay and haylage, and a lack of real work which causes many of the health issues and behavioural issues that are so difficult to deal with today.

I appreciate that it is impractical to feed 1 or 2 year old hay nowerdays, but folk fail to take into account that hay or haylage alone is more than enough to maintain the horse and provide enough for an amount of exercise, without extra hard feed.

We should be looking to produce fit muscled horses, through an appropreate diet and exercise regeme rather than fat horses through overfeeding and lack of proper exercise.

Well said. It depresses me to see horses that are hacked out maybe twice a week on scoop after scoop of hard feed which goes straight to their stomachs and bums! Killing the poor animal with what we consider as kindness. What is considered of as "hard work" seems to have changed dramatically over the last few decades (both with horses and with people!!!).

 

[depurple1]

Many years ago I moved to a new yard, and I had to clear out a barn before I could use it. There was loads of old hay, it had been there for as long as anyone could remember, it was years old. I gave it to the local pig farm who were really happy to have it and even picked it up!

 

[jenki13]

I know my Dad doesn't sell the haylage we make for at least 4 months after is made if at all possible. We don't make hay as much now but never had much trouble getting rid of that or haylage that was over a year old. Also I think our haylage is sold at £4.25 a bale & hay would be £3/3.50... it's still pretty cheap round our way. Haylage will always be more expensive though with the fact you have to buy the wrap and run the wrapper on top of tractor/mower/baler.

So can't see why you wouldn't be able to shift it, put up an ad in a local shop or newspaper?

 

[Miss L Toe]

As long as it is not dusty or mouldy it is fine to feed to equines, I bought a load of poor hay at £2.00 a bale in order to feed to my ponies when stabled in winter, I prefer to feed a little alfa oil and/or other feed to balance out any deficiency in their forage. most buyers know what they want, and I would think £2.00 is a min and £4.50 a max price, a lot depends on quality and the weight of the bale.

 

[Hedgehunter]

As above, if it isn't mouldy and has been stored well it should be totally fine for horses, Iwould keep it and feed it first this winter, as looking at our meadows, there won't be much ahy cut off them this summer! AGAIN!!!!