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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 1/21/2010 5:57:54 PM
Posts: 4,
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We own alpacas and after several years of paying big $$$ for hay we have started making our own Orchard grass hay (we have 40 acres). The problem is they will not eat some of our cuttings. They will eat the 1st cutting but not the second cutting or 3rd but will eat the 4th and if we are lucky the 5th. It is not moldy, we are very careful not to let it get rained on. Our moisture tester says that we have about a 18% (on average) but it does not have have a hay smell. Are we missing something. Can hay turn bad a have a sour/bitter taste.
Diane
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Advanced Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Today @ 12:56:22 PM
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| We don't have alpacas but cattle, chicken, keets and a few roos. Sorry I can't help you, but can you help me? What is orchard hay? I was told to change our rabbit from timothy to orchard hay? I'm clueless here on that subject and where we live I can't buy orchard hay.
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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 1/21/2010 5:57:54 PM
Posts: 4,
Visits: 11
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Orchard grass (aka hay) is a hay that is what I would discribe as down the middle of the road when it comes to protein and does not have the problems like fescue grass (fescue has endofites that causes a lose of milk production and/or premature births in horse and alpacas). Timothy hay is similar to orchard as far as protein levels but has a large seed head. Alfalfa is very high in protein. There are some very good books on the different grasses but nothing that tells ya why it taste different or funny.
Diane
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