Hay novice

[christij]

Okay, my dad keeps advising me not to purchase first cutting -- says it's better to wait for the second. And I'm thinking anything has to be better than the stuff I bought last fall. They have access to green pasture and browse cuttings when we or neighbor trim. (They herd gets excited now when they see our neighbor on his little Kubota!) But for those nights and rainy weather I would think fresh hay would be nice to have.

[KSALguy]

if your talking alfalfa, the first cutting is long and stemmy but if your feeding goats it doesnt matter much, they will eat it, but yes the second and third and fourth cuttings are better due to being mostly leaf and less stem,

[goatkid]

By the time first cutting is cured, I'm in dire need of hay, so I buy enough to tide me over until second cutting is ready. My goats have always been quite happy eating first cutting alfalfa hay.

[Liese]

Here in my area of NC, it has been so dry we may not get a second cutting, so I am filling the barn with what I can. I feed in a tier system: the leafiest hay goes to the sheep, following morning the remainder is fed to the goats and what is left goes to the guardian llamas - this is how I got thru the last bit of winter. Hay stores were short last year and may be worse this winter.

[ozark_jewels]

Even first cutting grass hay can be very leafy and green *if* its cut during the right stage. If the weather is wet and the farmer can't get to it, or if they are just waiting to get the most quantity(at the cost of quality), you can get some pretty stemmy first cutting. But if its not put up late, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. We just baled our first cutting(123 round bales), and I am extremely pleased with the quality. I'll show you what I'm talking about when you come down next week.
Whatever cutting you buy, make sure it is leafy, green, not dusty, and not musty.