It is difficult to produce milk or meat from average hay unless it is soaked
in water-diluted molasses, or -
� The quality is exceptional as when containing mostly leaf with few
stems and at least 30% legumes.
� It is made from perennial ryegrass or endophyte-free tall fescue and
clover no more than 3,000 kg dry matter/ha or lb/acre which is about 25 cm
(10 inches) high, and cut with a lacerator with a hay chute and haybar*
after at least four hours of sunshine, then turned each time the top is
drier than the bottom. The last turnings should put it into windrows. This
halves drying time which improves the feed value and palatability compared
with cutterbar or disc-mown hay. Cows relish a certain amount of lacerated
hay, but always need some greens.
*A haybar of 5 cm inside diameter pipe is bolted to the bottom front of a
heavy flail type lacerator forage harvestor so it bends the pasture over to
5 cm from ground level so it gets cut off at that height and is dragged
around the haybar to lacerate it, but is not cut into shorter lengths. The
lacerator leaves the hay spread out for fast drying. Turn it as soon as it
is drier on top than underneath. A haybar reduces the power requirements so
a mowing tractor can travel about 50% faster. This system makes full length
hay that packs more tightly in bales. Baler pressure adjustments may have to
be loosened. Animals like it so much that they turn up their noses at other
hay. If you have both, feed the other hay until it is all finished. If you
feed poor quality hay then good quality hay each day, in two days animals
will learn to wait for the good.
25 cm (10 inch ) high grass and clover hay lacerated pre-flowering and baled
within 36 hours has a feed value almost as good as grain and more minerals.
Good quality hay can reduce the requirement for grain or concentrates and
give healthier animals than those fed too much grain, even with over-mature
hay or with too much very short (< 15 cm) immature pasture. Good hay is also
valuable for rearing calves to build their rumen.
As pasture grows in height above 25 cm (10 inches) it decreases in feed
value. Add to this taking longer to dry so it loses feed value and the net
animal production per hectare or acre cut doesn�t increase, in fact can
decrease if they eat less of a poorer quality feed.
When invited to Cornell University in 1982 they were making hay from 90 cm
(three feet) high mainly orchard grass with no clover at that height, so I
pointed out to them that it was �bedding� and a reason they had to feed so
much grain to get animal production. The crude protein of lacerated 25 cm
tall hay can be double that of 90 cm clover-less hay which costs twice as
much per kg of protein.
If you have both, feed the other hay until it is all finished. If you feed
poor quality hay then good quality hay each day, in two days animals will
learn to wait for the good.
On 25/1/06 05:36, "F. W. Owen" <fwo@bright.net> wrote:
> * I have tried to supplement with hay to
> * lengthen rotations and maintain gains during
> * the summer as you just mentioned - - but have
> * had limited intake unless I lock animals into
> * a lot or sacrifice paddock. They seem to
> * prefer walking about while taking short grass
> * down farther, except during some fall
> * periods... I assume the lush fall growth is
> * just not as tasty. Do you have any tips on
> * supplemental hay palitability or is there
> * just no way to compete with grass?
>
> and
>
> * ...but the answer to your question is in your
> * own e-mail. You must lock the animals into a
> * lot or paddock. It doesn't have to be a
> * sacrifice paddock though. If you put 100 cows
> * into a 2 acre paddock, they will eat all the
> * grass, then they will eat the hay. Then you
> * move them to a fresh 2 acre paddock and
> * repeat the process. Because they are not in
> * any one paddock long enough to eat the
> * regrowth, they don't hurt the grass. The
> * palatability of the hay isn't much of an
> * issue to what they will eat, but the quality
> * of the hay will impact production. This
> * technique is a wonderful way to ration high
> * quality grass and supplement with low quality
> * hay.
>
> Hi,
>
> I have doubts. My experience is here isn't quite as good as the responder
had
> in MIssouri.
>
> I would be happier if he had just left out the word "wonderful".
If he had
> left it out, I would not have replied.
>
> I'm pretty sure that the cows would anticipate the next day's paddock and
> decline too much of the hay opportunity.
>
> You could, of course, force them to eat it, but it's hard to be that
resolute
> with your hands on slack udders at milking time.
>
> Unlike the responder above, I think the palatability of the hay would be a
> fairly significant issue if this plan were to work.
>
> However, I think it would work with balage, some of the cows would eat that
> before they grazed the grass.
Best wishes,
Vaughan Jones
Hamilton
New Zealand
