Hay Probs

[elmtreefarm]

Here's some pics of my hay. If anyone can tell, is there any reason my girls seem like they don't care for this hay? ImageUploadedByHomesteading Today1428486915.979915.jpgImageUploadedByHomesteading Today1428486929.262269.jpg
But they seem to LOVE this hay
ImageUploadedByHomesteading Today1428486953.634836.jpg
ImageUploadedByHomesteading Today1428486966.692461.jpg
We're new to this so any advice would be great!

[idigbeets]

If I had to guess the first bale is a later cutting, def more brown dry stuff in there. Hard to really judge hay just by a photo, smell, texture, moisture, are important.. I've had cattle turn down what appeared to be a perfectly good bale... could be the rake pulled a lot of dirt into the bale, baler picked up a dead animal.. its tough to tell.

If you really want to get more data, send a sample of each out to be tested...

[elmtreefarm]

The second set of pics-the hay does smell a lot sweeter and actually smells yummy. The first seems more stemmy than the second which seems to have a lot of flowers and such in it. My neighbor has horses which love the bales that my girls don't seem to like. So we're confused as to why our girls don't seem to get enough out of it. They eat it, but still seem hungry and seriously will gallop towards me if I have some of the round baled hay. It's like they can smell it a mile away lol

[elmtreefarm]

Would the same place that tests soil test hay?

[G. Seddon]

Your county agricultural extension agent can help you with soil testing and direct you to the appropriate organization for hay testing.

[bruce2288]

If your cattle are eating it and still seem hungry, it may be short on protein. Lack of protein lowers and slows dthe digestive process, to the point they may not be able to get enough nutrition even though they have adequate feed. A lb or 2 of protein cubes from a feed store would solve that. Or they may just be spoiled and want the better hay.

[elmtreefarm]

When I went out to brush them today (they're highlands and I'm gonna milk them so I'm handling them a lot), I noticed it looked like they've lost weight. This worried me so I started feeding them the round baled hay which they ate up in no time flat whereas they scoffed at the square baled. I'm sure the square is low on protein even if it looks ok. Weight loss doesn't lie.