Why Is One Type Of Straw Better Than Another?

mikefoxo

I hear people saying one type of straw is better for feeding and another type is better for bedding. Why is this? Is it not just all the same?

bbam

No.
Oaten straw for example is near as we can produce to bamboo. It's hard and tough. I couldn't imagine animals eating it. I've heard it's hard enough to injure new born lambs!
We used to handle 1000's of squares and oaten would tear the hands of you, like bales of porcupines.

Barley straw is much softer and golden. By far the superior straw in my reasoning. Wheaten some where in middle.

For feeding if you can get barley straw with some grass through its mighty stuff.

mahoney_j

I'm feeding oaten straw to cows and calves and can't keep it in front of them.nutritionist advised it ,usually for me it's feed oaten or wheaten straw and barley for breeding.

mahoney_j

I'm feeding oaten straw to cows and calves and can't keep it in front of them.nutritionist advised it ,usually for me it's feed oaten or wheaten straw and barley for breeding.

biddy2013

mahoney_j wrote: »

I'm feeding oaten straw to cows and calves and can't keep it in front of them.nutritionist advised it ,usually for me it's feed oaten or wheaten straw and barley for breeding.

same as, my dad says its the best straw he's seen in years, calves going mad for it too. FEeding it to suckler cows with baled silage and they go for the straw first

Miname

i had oaten here a few years back and the stuff became plagued with rats, it might have just being something else but i had never seen as many with wheaten or barley.

Greengrass1

What ever is the cheapest and easiest to get. Got OSR straw thus year. Not worth a shire. Father reckons he might have gotten farmers lung from it

freedominacup

Oaten then barley then wheat imo

the al kid

traditionally oaten straw was considered the best feeding straw but poor for bedding purposes(no absorbancy).Barley straw out on its own for bedding purposes and in my opinion second to oaten in feeding value.Wheaten straw middling for bedding and poor on feeding value.

Al

bob charles

its called marketing. Selling the same product to the same people at a higher price

Base price

We normally feed wheaten with brewers grain and meal for fattening cows. It is the cheapest and only require it for roughage.
Calves/weanlings normally get whatever we have on hand but alot depends on the quality also as bbam said if there is a bit of nice grass through it all the better. Good wheaten is better than bad barley or oaten.

onyerbikepat

Funny, but I thought Oaten straw was the best for bedding. It is rough as hell alright.

Base price

onyerbikepat wrote: »

Funny, but I thought Oaten straw was the best for bedding. It is rough as hell alright.

Horse people used to use oaten in stables because the horses were less likely to eat much of it as opposed to wheaten or barley.

Conmaicne Mara

Base price wrote: »

Horse people used to use oaten in stables because the horses were less likely to eat much of it as opposed to wheaten or barley.

Is eating straw a problem for a horse? Or just a problem in terms of them leaving no bedding?

Base price

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

Is eating straw a problem for a horse? Or just a problem in terms of them leaving no bedding?

Too much can trigger colic especially with horses in work. Nowdays a lot of the fancy yards keep the horses on rubber mats in the stables.
I have seen lads feeding store horses round bales of barley straw along with silage so that the horses had a bit of roughage. Silage is not idea feed as it can also cause colic. Haylage is better - DM.

Farmer Pudsey

My understanding is that oaten is the best for feed value followed by barley and wheat. Lads using Diet feeders are nearly always advised to use wheaten as it has higher fibre. Would always try to buy straw on price as the real value between bales is only about a euro.

Best straw of the lot if you can get is is off crimped barley. As it is harvested early still with sap in it. I use it about 50/50 for bedding and feeding about 15-20 bales/year is my lot. As I used to feed it to bulls (put a bale between two pens) my preference was barley. Have access to it usually of a lad that crimps a bit of gran.

If it ever drops to below 15/bale again I will but 3 years supply

delaval

Barley straw for bedding preferably winter. Oat or wheat for feeding.

Oat or wheat can't touch barley for bedding