Grassy hay was rained on

[MindyLee]

Ok my hay guy is asking if I still want this field that I told him I would buy. Its only about a 100 bales BUT heres the problem...

It was cut Friday around noon. Then it rained for 2-3 hrs on it Saturday afternoon, then again for about 15 minutes yesterday. My hay guy just called to see if I still wanted it.

It is just grassy hay Nothing fabulous, but still really nice weed free grassy hay and its just lying on the ground cut. I just went down there to look at it and its brown on top. I flip it over and its green and wet under neath. He will flpi it for me so it will dry then bale it.

At $2 per bale would you still buy it or at least talk him down to $1? He's really good to me and would hate to make him mad by not buying it but...

I did grab a handful and gave it to my mares to see if they will eat it and they did. It is only a filler hay, not my overall good nutriance hay. I have most of that. BUT this is more a filler for in-between feedings in winter hay.

THANKS!

 

[chandab]

As long as its put up dry and not moldy, its biggest downfall will be its lower nutrient content (the rain will have leached some of that out). For the right price, if its put up dry and not moldy, I'd seriously consider it, especially this year, when hay of any kind can be hard to come by. [Almost all of our hay was rained on before baling this year, just the season we had.] If as you say, you plan to use it for munch factor rather than its nutritional value, then it would probably be just fine for what you want it for. Depending on the size of the bale, it would probably be worth the $2/bale

 

[AnnaC]

If you can be absolutely sure that it is 100% dry before it is baled up, then it certainly wont hurt for an extra winter munch.

Can you do some random checks before he bales?

 

[Jill]

I wouldn't buy it

 

[Riverrose28]

Hay is in short supply this year, even filler hay, if he will turn it and the weather is sunny or windy before baling then I would ask him if I can open a bale and check the middle, if it's dry then OK, but make sure that when putting it up that if you find any really heavy bales to set them aside. Also stack them loosly and if possable on the side. If you find any really heavy bales then they could be wet, so open one, if it's wet feed it first, the same if there are more then one keep them out if possable and feed them soon before they mold, don't put them up inside as they could get hot. If he wants to round bale it, then don't buy it.

 

[Marty]

I don't think your state is having a problem with lack of hay so I wouldn't bother with this at all. Once its cut it looses nutrients that way. Then once rained on those nutrients left are very compromised. By the time you get it and winter hits, your horses are going to need everything they can get so I'd say this hay is a wash and I'd get a new supplier of dry hay that is nutritious.

 

[Ashley]

I bought hay that was rained on after baleing but will never by stuff that was rained on for the horses. The calves maybe, depending on it as they can handle more.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

The most important factor in hay quality is the maturity when cut.

A LOT of rain can be an issue, but I make my own and sometimes it gets rained on. No big deal. Just make sure its 'made right' and everything should be fine. Grass hay is less damaged than alfalfa by rain.

Dr Taylor

 

[Genie]

I never like my hay to have been rained on but if it didn't get a lot of rain it might be okay.

The trouble with hay getting rained on i.m.o., is that it has to be flipped so many times to get it dry and safe to bale and put in the barns.

Spontaneous combustion is always a worry if the hay/straw is damp when baled.

Our hay is timothy and alfalfa mix and the "flipping"/"raking" will cause a lot of the good parts to be knocked off and left on the field.

 

[Loess Hills]

I wouldn't care how cheap it is, if it has been rained on more than once............you could have a real problem with mold......you may not find it right away, but it certainly could be there. And mold can be deadly in horses. I'd never put any hay in the barn that has been rained on, as you are really taking a chance.

 

[Genie]

I wouldn't care how cheap it is, if it has been rained on more than once............you could have a real problem with mold......you may not find it right away, but it certainly could be there. And mold can be deadly in horses. I'd never put any hay in the barn that has been rained on, as you are really taking a chance.

When you mention the mold it reminded me of when we had sheep. They started aborting their lambs. Possibly might have the same effect on horses. Even my good hay is always having the "smell test" as every so often there can be a small bit of musty smelling stuff in a bale.

I think I will change my response and say "I'd pass" on hay that has been rained on.

 

[Minimor]

More important than the length of time the rain lasted is—how much rain did the hay actually get on it? Hay that has just been cut and then gets rain on it fares much better than hay that is dry & pretty much ready for baling when it gets rained on. Fresh cut hay still has a high moisture level anyway, so the rain on it really doesn’t soak into it a lot. It’s wet, yes, but it’s still “wet” from the inside out. If you then get good drying conditions it will still dry out almost as good as it would have otherwise. If it’s dry & almost ready to bale when it’s rained on, then it soaks up more of the moisture, and has to start drying all over again. That is when you’ll start getting the damp/moldy smell to the hay—it may still dry “okay” but won’t be great quality any more and sure won’t smell nice.

This hay, assuming it dries well now and is baled dry, in not any more likely to cause your barn to burn down than any other properly dried hay would be. It likely won’t even have a mold problem. If, however, in those 2-3 hours it was a major downpour resulting in several inches of water so that the hay swathes are lying in water, then it could be a different matter, because the hay (the lower portion) cannot start drying until the water drains away. If that were the case the top portion of the hay could be nice & dry while the lower portion is still drying out—it will have to be turned at least once, more if it’s a very thick swath, and it could end up that some of the hay is over dry while some will be barely dry. All things to be considered—I wouldn’t automatically write this hay off just because it’s been rained on.

One of my hay guys here this summer has 1st cut grass/alfalfa that had a rain on it. It did dry properly after the rain and was baled dry, and he has 1000 or so bales stacked in the shed. I haven’t gone to pick any up yet but will, for $4 a bale (big heavy bales)—some others that have gotten some of that same hay already have told me that it is still beautiful hay. Believe me, I do not feed moldy/spoiled hay to my horses, I am very picky about what they eat—and I have no concerns at all about buying this hay for them. I only wish that it were as cheap as $2 per bale!

 

[Jill]

It's surprises me that so many would feed hay that has been rained on as outlined. Unless I had no other choice (and there's always bagged hay, hay cubes, complete feeds...), I just cannot imagine chancing it. Maybe that's because I'm not as up to speed on what it takes to ruin hay, but rained on isn't going to be something my husband or I would knowingly buy. And if the farmer can be talked into discounting by 50% due to having been rained on, it would make me think that a quality issue is expected by the farmer.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

It's surprises me that so many would feed hay that has been rained on as outlined. Unless I had no other choice (and there's always bagged hay, hay cubes, complete feeds...), I just cannot imagine chancing it. Maybe that's because I'm not as up to speed on what it takes to ruin hay, but rained on isn't going to be something my husband or I would knowingly buy. And if the farmer can be talked into discounting by 50% due to having been rained on, it would make me think that a quality issue is expected by the farmer.

When you are out at a fine Steak House and you order a T-bone, you understand in advance that there is going to be parts of that steak that are probably not going to be eaten. But, if you were very hungry, you'd chew on a bone if it was all you had.

Horses are the same way. Moldy feed and toxic weeds tend to be less palatable, but if the horse is hungry it will eat less palatable.

Even moldy hay won't be 100% moldy, if you feed enough they can eat around it.

Spontaneous combustion does happen, but is pretty rare and I've only been a part of one circumstance and that was baled shavings, not hay. But it was a devastating tragedy.

Although rain does rinse away some water soluble nutrients, it doesn't absolutely ruin hay. And when it gets rained on is important, fresh cut hay isn't damaged as much and 1 big rain doesn't hurt as much as a rain every other day for a week delaying the hay being made.

The biggest destroyer of hay quality is the machines we use to harvest it and the more we rake and tedder the hay the more quality we lose.

The biggest factor in hay quality is the stage of maturity when cut. Hay doesn't improve after cutting, so if it was beyond maturity it is less quality than if it never got rained on. Also, color is not a big factor. Don't let 'green' fool you.

Many hay dealers laugh behind horseman's back as they pick out poorer quality hay and pay more for it than they will better quality hay.

Dr Taylor

 

[Jill]

Thanks for the elaboration, but my opinion is the same. We're not going to buy hay that is as outlined in the original post. We also do not have any horse quality options around here for anywhere close to $2/b

Many hay dealers laugh behind horseman's back as they pick out poorer quality hay and pay more for it than they will better quality hay.

I'm not sure what a hay farmer would think of the hay we pick (but I've got a good guess). I think it's soft, leafy, beautiful, great smelling and I wouldn't mind sleeping on a bed of it

Our horses eat every scrap, and not because they have to.

If it's any indication, two of the vets in the equine practice we use have asked us "where do you get that hay?" because they also think it's so nice, and I think they've all remarked that they know we feed good quality

 

[bevann]

I always buy the best hay I can find.At $55 call fee and $155 emergency call fee my feeding a $2 bale of risky hay is not good practice here.Cheap bargain hay often ends up costing you somewhere in the long run.You might have to throw lots of it away and your labor is worth something.I recently paid $6 a bale for Kentucky blue grass with a little alfalfa in it and had to go 60 miles 1 way to get it.My horses will eat every blade.I'm glad to have it.Good hay is very important to me.

 

[Equuisize]

We live in a damp climate and had a very wet spring and early summer.

We talked to our hay guy about possible mold, this year.

Temperature inside a good bale of hay should be about 130 degrees or less.

If you get the hay rock salt it; stack it loosely; away from exterior walls;

let sit for about a week then cover loosely with cotton sheets or blankets so

any moisture will evaporate not get trapped under a tarp.

Actually good advice for any year.

 

[Minimor]

Maybe that's because I'm not as up to speed on what it takes to ruin hay,

Thats probably it exactly. Some people automatically turn down perfectly good hay just because it has had a rain on it. That is your option of course, but if you knew about putting up hay you would know that rain on the hay shortly after cutting does not automatically ruin that hay. It doesnt automatically mean that the hay will be moldy, or musty or even than it will smell bad, it doesnt automatically mean that the hay will be low in nutrients and it doesnt mean that it wont be horse quality. It could mean any of those things, if the hay producer doesnt let it cure properly before baling. I would point out that if the hay producer doesnt let the hay cure properly before baling its very possible that the hay will be poor quality/musty/moldy/unsuitable for horses even if it didnt have rain on it prior to baling!!
If the rain comes later, when the hay is dry, as I already said that is more likely to do more damage. If the hay is down and gets multiple rains on it…if the hay is raked (especially if two swathes have been raked into one in preparation for balingbecause then the hay is thicker & will take longer to dry if it gets wet) and then gets rained on, that will cause more problems.

I have fed hay that has had rain on it after cutting & before balingyet I have never fed moldy/musty hay to my horses. I dont even believe in throwing out a moldy batch of hay & letting the horses pick through itI pick out the spoiled part (in the case where theres one spoiled spot in the bale) or throw the bale out completely (in the case where the mold is here & there throughout the bale). When I put out round bales I pull the moldy bottom portion off the bale & haul it out of the pasture rather than leave it there. So yes, I am picky about the hay I feedvery picky compared to many people that I know!

In all honesty, Ive had rained-on-once hay that you would probably not recognize as rained on if someone didnt tell you it had been rained on. And, of course, Ive seen rained on hay that I wouldnt touchjust as Ive seen non-rained on hay that isnt worth having.

We also do not have any horse quality options around here for anywhere close to $2/b

We dont either. Thats why I said I only wished that I could get some at that price! Oh, actually I could get someit was advertised at $2 and I was told I could have it for $1.50 (a friend of mine has it). Its a grass mix hay and while I have no doubt the quality of hay is good the bales wont be real big and Id have to drive an hour to get there, then pick it up out of the field (and I hate that, its a lot of workdid it for years, now prefer to load from a stack. Old age I guess?) and drive home. Since I have only my ½ ton to haul with I couldnt put on a huge load, and what I save in hay price would be made up for in gasI decided I simply dont have the time to mess with that so passed on it. In recent years Ive been paying $4 to $5 per bale for horse quality haybut Ive also looked at hay that was moldy and/or weedy crap that was also priced at $4 and $5 per bale. Just like with horses, a higher price doesn't guarantee quality! I dont go by price & I dont go with the word of the hay seller, unless its a seller that Ive dealt with before and know that he can be trusted to be accurate in his assessment of hay quality.

Should add too, just to leave nothing to assumption…we have a very low incidence of colic, so our hay choices havent been causing our horses any health problems!

As an added thought about alternatives to hay--the one and only time I bought bagged hay it was being sold in a local tack store as an experiment--and that proved to be the crappiest "hay" I've ever bought. It was COARSE and so horribly dusty, and brown colored--the horses didn't want it & it sure wasn't what I wanted to feed! The store never brought any more in, and bagged hay has not been available in our city since then.

 

[Helicopter]

I have a chronic founderer and all her hay has to be soaked for an hour then drained well before feeding to leech out some of the sugars. I'd love to have the rain already do that job for me. If it has dried really well before baling I'd be breaking my neck to get it.

Great filler for everyone else.

 

[rimmerpaints]

If it gets rained on it should be tossed up and dried before bailing.