Your Animals Favorite Kinds of Hay

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

My sheep and goats are really picky about their hay. Their favorites are as follows in order of decreasing favorite.

Alfalfa, Oat, Sudan and Millet, Coastal or any other grass hay.

Surprisingly they love coastal grass pasture.

My cows eat everything - the sheep think they are strange.

[Tango]

My animals disliked Bermuda in Florida. It was a loss. Here they love it. Their favorite however is the hay I buy in square bales which is a mix of Orchard, Timothy, Brome, Fescue, and clover. I never feed alfalfa anymore. Way too expensive for the waste but it would be their favorite if I did.

[speshuled]

our goats never seemed to like alfalfa very well . mostly we had about as much luck with a grass mix . slowly we have been changing over to bermuda . the horses would rather eat thear hay than grain . the goats seem to like like it real well also . i'm seeding another 5 acres this spring to get the bermuda started .

[Rockin'B]

I have three calves that are fed alfalfa and alfalfa/grass mix. They like everything but the alfalfa stems. The plain refuse to eat them.
It doesn't really break my heart, I'll put the stems, manure, and straw form the stalls in the bottom of a bunch of new tall raised beds.

[Boleyz]

My animals favorite kind of hay is also my favorite kind of hay...whatever's the cheapest by the bale.

I've found that if I consistently feed them whatever is the cheapest hay I can buy, they ALWAYS end up eating it and loving it!

[uncle Will in In.]

To have any kind of grass hay that is decent hay, it must be cut before it puts on seed heads. Due to rainy weather, I've had to postpone cutting for a couple weeks. The only way to get cows or horses to touch it was to starve them to it. Orchard is the most often grass mixed with alfalfa here. Baled on time and dry, livestock love it.

[wildhorse]

Brome/alfalfa

[Jen H]

The goats love orchard grass hay, the weedier the better for their delicate taste buds. The sheep prefer orchard grass/clover with as few weeds as possible. The llamas don't seem to care either way.

[Liese]

My sheep hate fescue. Guess what they grow most around here! Finally found someone has a mostly OG mix. This year am going to fill my barn with much more than I need just to have a hedge on price increases. We had some alfalfa bales given to us 2 years ago and although they were already a year old they held up well.
My goats and llamas like alf. and non-moldy weedy hay. But weedy hay in round bales seems to mold because so much is thicker leaved & stalked. Going to cut my own with the scythe and leave it loose in the hay loft after drying under cover.
Should try planting sections of Bermuda and Coastal to see how they like it. I am in the upper Piedmont, any suggestions on varieties with good results?

[Gracielou]

Got a great guy I get hay from. I usually buy around 700 sq. bales and 80 rolls. It is a mix of alfalfa, orchard grass, some clover and some timothy. I have horses, mules, mammoth donkeys, sheep, goats, and alpaca. They love it and clean up-no waste. He stores the rolls in a shed for me till I haul them out to the lots. Couldn't ask for better hay or a better set up.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

"Should try planting sections of Bermuda and Coastal to see how they like it. I am in the upper Piedmont, any suggestions on varieties with good results?"

Go to seedland.com and check out their Ranchero Frio blend. It is one of the few Coastal bermuda varieties that can be planted via seed vs sprigs.