Straw quality?

Connemara Farmer

I've never bought straw for eating before, and I'm unsure of the eating quality of what I got. Told it's barley straw. The bales are of excellent size, none of the straw is stuck together so I'm very happy with both of those. It could possibly smell better IMO but I'm only used to the smell of hay, just thinking I may be forced to buy some hay yet.

I know it's fierce hard to tell from photos, but what do ye reckon?

Username John

Hard to tell from photos Con.

I never got a smell of straw, I would say if it smells that's not good
Sometimes you'd get straw with a good bit of grass, but I'd prefer straw without it, as like you say sometimes it could be matted, an half mouldy...

Given the year we had - I'd say most barley this summer was good, so the straw would be good enough.

Green farmer

Looks ok con. Either way there ain't much feed value in straw. Just handy for the bedding and the bit of fibre when feeding. Once their getting meal as well they'll be fine.

Richie185

Pictures look good no sign of any mould, however the feeding quality of straw is poor, barley straw and Oaten straw are usually the types fed while wheaten is usually kept only for bedding. Poorer quality wheaten straw is be used in the making of mushroom compost. Here is a link to a teagasc website on straw feeding value. Even poor quality silage has a better feeding value than straw, however it used in the diet to provide roughage.I attached a URL of the web link but because I am a new user it wont let me post it so just type in straw feeding value and you should see teagasc website discussing straw feeding value.Hope that will be of some benefit.

Connemara Farmer

I've gotten professional advice (from more than one source) on the ration diet indoors, so the feed value of the straw isn't something I'm all too worried about, just that they'll eat it for roughage

Richie185

Thats good are u finishing cattle? I presume ur using some sort of diet feeder?

Connemara Farmer

Richie185 wrote: »

Thats good are u finishing cattle? I presume ur using some sort of diet feeder?

Nope, lambing ewes indoors, no machinery.

Cran

Well its barley straw anyway, and looks good enough. What you paying in the west for it, I got a load from a lad I know over the weekend for €9 a bale dropped in the shed. He was looking to empty the shed and we had loads of room to carry it until next year.

Connemara Farmer

€19 here, got an artic load between a few of us, €23 delivered from lads selling at marts locally.

rangler1

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

Nope, lambing ewes indoors, no machinery.

Are they eating the straw for you yet.
It's only the fibre you need, doesn't matter about the DMD,
I don't like much grass in it either because unless there's a heatwave, it won't be saved properly, your straw looks fine anyway.
Hope it goes well for you, everything on it her, even the weaned pedigree lambs

Connemara Farmer

rangler1 wrote: »

Are they eating the straw for you yet.
It's only the fibre you need, doesn't matter about the DMD,
I don't like much grass in it either because unless there's a heatwave, it won't be saved properly, your straw looks fine anyway.
Hope it goes well for you, everything on it her, even the weaned pedigree lambs

Haven't them in yet, I've to sort out that ration issue first. Most lambing very end of this month anyway so I aim to have them in this week. Next year will be the proper test of it!

Green farmer

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

€19 here, got an artic load between a few of us, €23 delivered from lads selling at marts locally.

That's demographics for you. Some parts of the country you can buy straw cheap but the sheep are expensive. Other parts it's the opposite way around.

Cran

Green farmer wrote: »

That's demographics for you. Some parts of the country you can buy straw cheap but the sheep are expensive. Other parts it's the opposite way around.

Sounds crazy money to me, but then I'm surrounded by tillage and are the crazy one with sheep . I got top quality hay delivered cheaper this year than above quote for straw delivered....

sea12

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

€19 here, got an artic load between a few of us, €23 delivered from lads selling at marts locally.

Did the man finally deliver or did you get a different lad after con ?

4512

rangler1 wrote: »

Are they eating the straw for you yet.
It's only the fibre you need, doesn't matter about the DMD,
I don't like much grass in it either because unless there's a heatwave, it won't be saved properly, your straw looks fine anyway.
Hope it goes well for you, everything on it her, even the weaned pedigree lambs

What sort of meal/molasses/concentrates do ye use with straw and does it pay well compared to hay/silage?

rangler1

4512 wrote: »

What sort of meal/molasses/concentrates do ye use with straw and does it pay well compared to hay/silage?

It's more expensive than hay/silage but more convenient, cleaner, and less foot problems than in on silage. They don't seem to use more straw than if they were on silage and they have to get 1lb meal /day to replace silage.
I use an ordinary 18% ewe ration , but it looks to have a good percentage of oats in it, there's good fibre in oats and I believe it's good for ewes.
So if the ewes are in 110 days they'll need an extra 50kg meal or €15 this year.....I reckon the convenience of meal feeding is costing €5/ ewe extra over silage

Green farmer

Silage ain't exceptionally cheap either. Cost me €15 a bale to make last year.

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

Silage ain't exceptionally cheap either. Cost me €15 a bale to make last year.

Yea but they wouldn't eat a bale each in 110 days, I was guessing half a bale at 20/bale, but I wouldn't have clue about it

orm0nd

rangler1 wrote: »

Yea but they wouldn't eat a bale each in 110 days, I was guessing half a bale at 20/bale, but I wouldn't have clue about it

giving 180 ewes a bale per day , so you're not far off,

bales differ of course

Bullocks

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

I've gotten professional advice (from more than one source) on the ration diet indoors, so the feed value of the straw isn't something I'm all too worried about, just that they'll eat it for roughage

Be interesting to see will they pick at it Con . I dont think mine ate any they were bedded on and they were kept hungry before lambing but they were getting a fork of silage / hay aswell so probably didn't need any extra roughage .

rangler1

Bullocks wrote: »

Be interesting to see will they pick at it Con . I dont think mine ate any they were bedded on and they were kept hungry before lambing but they were getting a fork of silage / hay aswell so probably didn't need any extra roughage .

Over 600 eating straw here including 50 weaned 12week old lambs

Bullocks

rangler1 wrote: »

Over 600 eating straw here including 50 weaned 12week old lambs

Is it all from the bedding they pick out of ? Do you spread the dung yourself or do a deal with it for straw off a tillage farmer ?
Mine are mad for silage if they get it rather than hay or straw

Username John

Bullocks wrote: »

Be interesting to see will they pick at it Con . I dont think mine ate any they were bedded on and they were kept hungry before lambing but they were getting a fork of silage / hay aswell so probably didn't need any extra roughage .

rangler1 wrote: »

Over 600 eating straw here including 50 weaned 12week old lambs

I put my few into the shed at the weekend. They are eating away at the straw.

I rolled out about half the round bale, and what's left, I stand on end, and they kinda burrow into it, eating it. I scatter around then what they have pulled out.

Green farmer

I had store lambs in and gave them fresh bedding each day. Even though they had ad lib decent silage and some meal they still managed to eat the a good percentage of the barley straw bedding. I can see the merits of ranglers straw and meal diet. You'd know consistently going in to them and labour saving, as opposed to variable fodder quality. Only downside is keeping meal costs under control.

rangler1

Bullocks wrote: »

Is it all from the bedding they pick out of ? Do you spread the dung yourself or do a deal with it for straw off a tillage farmer ?
Mine are mad for silage if they get it rather than hay or straw

I've one shed where the pens aren't deep that I put it in the walkthrough trough and they pull it out under them and bed themselves, the others I just throw it into the middle of the pen, they don't be long getting clever and do most of their eating when the straw is freshly thrown in.
I spread the dung myself, A local tillage farmer supplies the straw, very well packed bales, €12 this year. Haven't enough straw accomadation, so have to get a load mid winter and haven't yet got bales as well packed as the local ones

Connemara Farmer

I have to say I thought the bales I got were well packed.

rangler1

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

I have to say I thought the bales I got were well packed.

It takes a lot of straw to pack a bale, definitely bought loads here where it took 3 bales to do the same as 2 that I bought local, but I take 250 bales from this guy so he values the custom and knows that I'm short of shed space.
With your transport costs it's imperative that every bale is worth drawing

Connemara Farmer

rangler1 wrote: »

It takes a lot of straw to pack a bale, definitely bought loads here where it took 3 bales to do the same as 2 that I bought local, but I take 250 bales from this guy so he values the custom and knows that I'm short of shed space.
With your transport costs it's imperative that every bale is worth drawing

These were, to be fair. In fact I had a lad that shared part of the load come down to me yesterday looking to buy a few of mine.

rangler1

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

These were, to be fair. In fact I had a lad that shared part of the load come down to me yesterday looking to buy a few of mine.

I'd keep that suppliers no. if I were you, hard to get them packed, It's a pity that they don't sell by weight like across the water

Connemara Farmer

rangler1 wrote: »

I'd keep that suppliers no. if I were you, hard to get them packed, It's a pity that they don't sell by weight like across the water

I don't know how many times I have pushed that idea at meetings and elsewhere. There is a lot of, messing, going on in fodder and bedding supply.

Green farmer

I got a load from my local contractor/ tillage farmer. They have several balers going at the same time. I'd say the load was baled by 3 different balers because all had different netting. Some bales were easily near 50% heavier then others depending on netting colour. Don't know if it was the guys working balers had different settings or if some balers just squeeze more in the others. Same crowd make thousands of bales for regular customers each year so I don't think they'd deliberately be mean with the straw, nor are they ever over priced with the different jobs they do for me.

Username John

rangler1 wrote: »

Over 600 eating straw here including 50 weaned 12week old lambs

What's your feeding regime again Rangler? How much ration do you give to singles / doubles each day?

I know you posted it before, but I cant find the post

I dunno if I have enough hay, so might up the ration as they have access to straw.

Connemara Farmer

Green farmer wrote: »

I got a load from my local contractor/ tillage farmer. They have several balers going at the same time. I'd say the load was baled by 3 different balers because all had different netting. Some bales were easily near 50% heavier then others depending on netting colour. Don't know if it was the guys working balers had different settings or if some balers just squeeze more in the others. Same crowd make thousands of bales for regular customers each year so I don't think they'd deliberately be mean with the straw, nor are they ever over priced with the different jobs they do for me.

Can't speak for individuals, I too have dealt with honest sellers that bring great bales, but I can tell you for absolute certain there are people out there who intentionally "bale to sell". That is they make piss poor packed bales and sell them at the same price another seller will sell a properly packed bale. Lads also buy rounds of hay or straw and rebale them into small squares, which is fine if the bales are good.

They bad types of small squares are where you have the strings coming away up off the bale when you pick it up, break up rather easily when handled, and are generally light in weight.

Maam Cross is an awful spot for that craic with small bales. Never bought round bales before this year so can't say on that score.

Green farmer

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

, but I can tell you for absolute certain there are people out there who intentionally "bale to sell". That is they make piss poor packed bales and sell them at the same price.

They bad types of small squares are where you have the strings coming away up off the bale when you pick it up, break up rather easily when handled, and are generally light





I was just saying some baling machines might squeeze more in then others, but I wouldn't disagree with you in the slightest. I've come across a few of those fellows myself. Being pure mean with the hay only ensures people won't darken your door again.

rangler1

Username John wrote: »

What's your feeding regime again Rangler? How much ration do you give to singles / doubles each day?

I know you posted it before, but I cant find the post

I dunno if I have enough hay, so might up the ration as they have access to straw.

When you change to straw only, you give a pound/day extra to compensate, also you're not supposed to give more than one pound in a single feed so you're into three times a day feeding, which mightn't suit you working, you could give them a late night feed I suppose. Also increase the rates gradually, any way these are my rates.
6 - 4 weeks before lambing ....twins/triplets get one and a half rising to two pounds, singles get one and a half pounds/day. 4 - 2 weeks before lambing.....twins/triplets get two to two and a half pounds, singles get two pounds/day. 2 weeks to lambing....twins and triplets get two and a half to three pounds, single get two pounds/day.
Best of luck

Sheep breeder

the density of bale depends on several factors, the type of baler, the straw, the combine, field conditions,
the baler has a huge bearing on the size of a bale, we buy from four different guys, one guy the six bales sit on the floor with ease and another guys you have to bull in the sixth bale between the other five and could do with another foot and half on the floor,
the straw has a bearing if it is fit or not, if it is baled behind the combine they let back the baler and how clean the stubble is comined and a good flow to the baler,
we like to get burnt off straw for the ewes as they go mad for the dry grass in it, we use chopped bales in the big shed when the ewes have lambec great for lambs to move in.

orm0nd

Sheep breeder wrote: »

the density of bale depends on several factors, the type of baler, the straw, the combine, field conditions,
the baler has a huge bearing on the size of a bale, we buy from four different guys, one guy the six bales sit on the floor with ease and another guys you have to bull in the sixth bale between the other five and could do with another foot and half on the floor,
the straw has a bearing if it is fit or not, if it is baled behind the combine they let back the baler and how clean the stubble is comined and a good flow to the baler,
we like to get burnt off straw for the ewes as they go mad for the dry grass in it, we use chopped bales in the big shed when the ewes have lambec great for lambs to move in.

chopped bales are a mighty job for bedding , especially for lambing pens,

need to open the bale close to where you want it though

AntrimGlens

Sheep breeder wrote: »

we like to get burnt off straw for the ewes as they go mad for the dry grass in it, we use chopped bales in the big shed when the ewes have lambec great for lambs to move in.

Do you find that straw that has been burnt off would have less ability to soak up than straw that hadn't been burnt off? I remember getting a load of straw a good few years back and the barley had been sprayed off before combining and the straw had a glaze on it and it never seemed to soak as well and seem harder than unsprayed stuff.

Green farmer

Lads the sheep are driving me mad. I Top up the barley straw bedding twice a day. Problem is they love it and are eating it as quick as I'm putting it out. They have sweet ab lib decent silage, meal, They even have mineral lick buckets as well. They are very picky with the silage and eat a lot of it but also leave a good bit behind. The only thing I can think of is the straw is a novelty to their diet or they can smell the barley from it.