Unleashing the Power Straw vs. Hay for Soil Enrichment

Straw is a far better choice for coop bedding than hay for us both because of its price and far lower moisture content. A lot of people use hay and straw interchangiby, but they are totally different and serve 2 very different purposes here on the farm. Hay is dried grass used to feed animals in the winter. The grass is mown in the summer & spread all over the field to dry it in the sunshine. There is a difference in the quality of straw as well as hay, clean good quality straw is a wonderful bedding and provides warmth. Color– While the color of both straw and hay can vary, straw is typically a yellow or golden color, and hay is typically a shade of green. HAY and ALFALFA: • Use as livestock feed. Farmers process the crop into hay, silage or meal. All these forms of the feed can be stored. Hay is green, especially when seen next to the more golden hue of straw. HOW IS IT MADE? Plants are harvested when alive and usually cut before the seed matures ... In other words it is a waste product of wheat. Unlike hay, straw is not usually used as livestock feed because it isn't very nutritious, especially dry straw. Hay and straw are the exact same thing, only harvested at different times (hay was cut when green and then dried; straw was cut when the plant had already ... It has no nutritional value for animals because it's made of the plant stalk with the seed head removed, leaving a hollow tube. (Think of a ...