Will cattle eat "not so good" hay?

[Angie]

The drought this past summer has me scrambling for hay. The guy next door cut his fields and baled them this summer but they have been setting out in a big pile. The outer bales have a good amount of mildew in them, I'm not sure about the inner stuff. There are about 150 bales. I hauled some over, mostly the outer layer, and threw it in my feeder to see of they would pick through it. They don't seem real happy with it but I have seen some chewing on it. How bad is that for them? Can it really hurt them or will they not eat the bad stuff?

[RiverPines]

I dont know about cattle, but I know thats a good way to kill goats!

I wonder if bad hay can be tossed to pigs?

[NativeRose]

There is little if any nutrition in old mildewed hay. The centers of the rolls might be somewhat ok but the outer layers are best removed. Mildewed hay will kill some animals like horses. The risk of respiratory problems in not worth it. Hope this helps.

[agmantoo]

Due to the drought here, hay for purchase is almost nonexistent at any price. I have been feeding some questionable roughage that exhibits some mold and I have had some negative consequences. Beef cattle are probably the most tolerant of any farm animals when it comes to feeding spoiled hay. The situation boils down to what your alternatives are. If you have no hay and none is available then the spoiled hay is your only choice. If you have some good hay and the spoiled hay you can minimize the negative side by blending the two. Drastic situations bring on drastic solutions. Each of us does what we have to to cope. That is what I am doing now in order to extend the short supply of feed on hand. Dairy farmers here feed bentonite blended with the feedstuffs as they tell me the bentonite ties up the mold and it passes through the animal. I do not know the ratio of bentonite to feed.

You cannot feed molded hay to hogs as they are less tolerant than cattle. Hogs should not be exposed to aflatoxin.