HAY there! Hay, it's not just for horses! It is for donkeys, mules, and hinnys too! But what TYPE?Yes, what TYPE - it is a common misconception that “hay” refers to a specific forage for hoofstock, when actually, as we discussed last week, hay is better described as a process. In fact, some of the most popular choices for equine hay in our area are typically not even the same class of plant: Alfalfa is a legume. Bermuda grass is, what else? A grass. And oat hay is from a cereal grain. When you say that you “feed only hay” you’re simply saying you feed a dried forage and no concentrates.
The definition of hay is: herbage, and especially grass, mowed and cured for fodder.
In order for a green crop to become hay it must undergo three steps:
1. cutting
2. drying (curing)
3. storing (baling, pellets, etc)
Those of you doing research into donkey diets will often see it mentioned that donkeys and donkey hybrids should be fed “low quality hay and forage.” Please note when this is stated the authors mean the hay and forage is a plant or plant part that is naturally low in nutrients, NOT that your long ears can or should be fed hay that’s dusty, moldy, or full of weeds. If you note your hay is dusty, moldy, weedy, or contains debris or plant matter whicht could injure your donkey (like goat heads, burrs, foxtail, excessive trash, or toxic or unidentified plants), discard the hay and do not feed it to your animals or use it for bedding.
Hay vs Straw
In order for a crop to become “hay” it has to go through the following steps: cutting, drying, and typically baling. However, the timing of these steps is important! For cereal grains such as wheat, barley, or oats, what is commonly referred to as wheat hay, barley hay, or oat hay would typically be the grasses cut and dried before the plant produces seeds (concentrates). This will cause the hay to retain a higher level of nutrients. If the crop is allowed to mature further, until the grains have had a chance to develop and ripen, the resulting forage (sans grains) is typically referred to as wheat, barley, or oat straw, is considered a byproduct of grain production, and will have a lower nutrient density than the wheat, barley, or oat hay, as most of the nutrition from the plant will have been stored in the grains.
In Arizona, there are two contenders for the most popular hay in the equine world: bermuda grass hay and alfalfa hay. However, there are many other types of hay such as: timothy grass, orchard grass, clover, teff grass, sudan grass, wheat, rye, oat, triticale, fescue, brome, and bluegrass. BUT! Not all of these are a suitable, or even safe, choice for donkeys. Next week we’ll talk more about specific types of hay and their nutrition.