Questions To Ask Before Purchasing Hay Bales

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Feeding your horse the right kind of hay is quite important. Since it is the only source of nutrients for your cattle and horses, you should always ensure that you buy the right kind of hay bales. While it might seem simple as choosing the right hay able, there are quite a few intricacies you need to keep in mind before making your choice.

After you have found a trusted supplier to buy hay bales near me, you will need to know the right questions to ask. If you are currently looking for better ways of understanding the right way to buy hay bales for your livestock, this article is an ideal read. Here you will learn some of the fundamental questions that should be a part of your buying process.

  1. What Is The Moisture Content Of The Bale?

This is perhaps one of the most important things you need to ask before you finalize your purchase. Considering the moisture content of the hay bale will further enable you to understand if the bale is of good quality and worth your purchase.

More moisture in hay can be a good thing, but only up to an extent. If a hay bale is stored for a long time and it retains the moisture, which can give rise to mold growth. This can be quite toxic for your horses and can even cause death. This is why you should always prefer hay grown in the desert region. The dry and hot climate there keeps moisture out of hay.

  1. What Cutting Is The Hay?

Another important thing you should pay attention to is what cutting the hay you are buying is. This is necessary to know since there are so many types, and each cutting is very different. While earlier cuttings used to have bigger stems since they used to grow faster, you will see smaller stems during the middle of the year.

On the other hand, the last cutting is mostly just clippings, meaning it will just be leaves. You should understand your requirements properly to know which time of the year’ hay will suit them the best.

  1. What Type of Stems?

You should also take note of the type of stems your hay bale has. It has been seen that softer and more flexible stems are suitable for horse feeding as they are easier to digest. You should understand that as hay matures the digestibility and protein levels decrease.

So you should always check to see if the stems are coarse and thick, which means the hay is more mature. This mainly happens if the hay is grown in a humid or wet area. Since it takes longer to harvest, it matures quicker.

In Conclusion

With these three simple questions, you can be sure to find the perfect hay bale of your purpose. That being said, the supplier you choose also plays an important role. Please make sure they are reputable and experienced in the field.