# Thoughts on using hay instead of straw for bedding?



## Jellybelly (Jun 12, 2019)

I'm just wondering what your thoughts are for using hay for bedding instead of straw. Straw sometimes to cause issues with lice and mites. I had to use hay in a pinch yesterday for bedding. I'm just not sure if they will eat it after getting soiled and getting sick


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

The cost for me is 2xs as expensive.My goats wont eat hay after it has been soiled. I have to keep them out of my round bales so all of it will be eaten. Otherwise 1/ 2 of it goes to waste.


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## NDinKY (Aug 3, 2019)

Straw is better at insulating. We deep bed with it over the winter. However, my wasteful goats integrate their hay that they’ve pulled out of the feeders into their bedding. It was a bad year for straw this year, paid more for it than some of my hay. Mine won’t touch anything soiled.


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## lada823 (Apr 2, 2018)

Hay is much cheaper here but I think it gets wetter and is harder to remove than straw. I do sometimes use it if I have a bale that gets wet or soiled in storage.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I used oat hay for many years because we were getting it for 1/2 the price of straw. Last year the feed store ran out of straw so I used grass hay. They munched on it the same as the straw but didn’t touch it after the first night with everyone sleeping on it. I do have to say straw does better then grass and alfalfa. The grass and alfalfa got kinda slimy and gross really fast. But defiantly better then nothing!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:nod::up:


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## friesian49 (Jul 2, 2018)

I recycle the "old" hay in the winter to the floor, as others have said, they won't eat it after they went through it once. Unless it's on the compost pile, lately they are eating it like it's the next best thing. I take some down on daily walks and they just stand there and eat the stuff versus going in woods and nibbling on leaves or jaggers. Makes me a bit mad, but mostly I roll my eyes, and chase them out of it. 

Since they normally sleep outside if no rain or snow, I only use straw in really cold weather to try and give them something warm to sleep on, which they tend to not use and the chickens get in and spread all over the place and then I have to clean it up.


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## cristina-sorina (May 4, 2018)

We get our grass hay field baled by our neighbor, he takes most of the hay for his horses but leaves us about 200+ bales for our own use (so it's free bedding for us) I've used our grass hay as bedding since we've had goats. 

Cost savings is our #1 reason for using hay, I'd also if be paying $10 a bale for straw if I bought it. I did have an issue with lice two summers ago using our hay, but otherwise I havent any issues. We do deep bedding in the winter and frequent clean outs in the summer. It's hard to find the perfect bedding, there are drawbacks to every type of bedding available, it's just a matter of what drawbacks you can live with.


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## Jubillee (Dec 22, 2017)

I don't like either. Mostly because it packs down and it's hard to remove for me. I have to shovel/pitchfork it out of our shelter, it's so much work. But in the past I have picked up wasted hay and used it as bedding. Currently, I used shavings (on a wood floor) and it's working SO much better.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I put 2 bales in each big pen, then as they waste hay (I peel round bales and feed the grass hay) it serves as bedding. Since I use a tractor with a big manure fork, it's not too difficult to clean out. I let it build up in the winter, then big clean out in the Spring. (It is never wet, you can kneel and not get wet knees)

The pens are 15'x30', 4 of them with big gates in between. I still manually clean corners, and hay is way harder to remove than straw, but since there is so much hay waste, only the initial straw is needed to start the pack process.

The buck pen is all pitchfork. It doesn't matter what bedding is used, they pack it into concrete. Shavings are the worst( for me, and the most expensive). Oat straw the best but since it's a deep pack in the winter, it's all work! :nod:


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## cristina-sorina (May 4, 2018)

Goats Rock said:


> Oat straw the best but since it's a deep pack in the winter, it's all work! :nod:


I agree Goats Rock, it's ALL WORK! Of everything associated with the keeping of goats I'd have to say that mucking out stalls is my least favorite task, especially in spring when it's time to take out deep bedding. I need to pop the ibuprofen for several days after we finish that chore!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

(thumbup)


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

We use grass hay and have for years only because we can get round bales relatively inexpensive, and we don't have storage for anything else. Plus.. I hear more issues locally with people getting lice/mites from straw. Shavings are not an option for us - again storage and budget. 
Hay can be a pain to clean up for sure. This time of year, we let it pile up so the yuck is on the bottom but the top is dry for them to sleep on, especially when they have to stay in more than go out on rainy days. We have to use a wheel barrow to move it, so yep, it's a pain. 
But... it works!


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Goats Rock said:


> I put 2 bales in each big pen, then as they waste hay (I peel round bales and feed the grass hay) it serves as bedding. Since I use a tractor with a big manure fork, it's not too difficult to clean out. I let it build up in the winter, then big clean out in the Spring. (It is never wet, you can kneel and not get wet knees)
> 
> The pens are 15'x30', 4 of them with big gates in between. I still manually clean corners, and hay is way harder to remove than straw, but since there is so much hay waste, only the initial straw is needed to start the pack process.
> 
> The buck pen is all pitchfork. It doesn't matter what bedding is used, they pack it into concrete. Shavings are the worst( for me, and the most expensive). Oat straw the best but since it's a deep pack in the winter, it's all work! :nod:


You must have insanely good drainage in your pens to not get wet knees! I hate when my barn gets soggy like that.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I hear a lot about livestock getting mites and lice from bedding. Is this really really true? 

I thought that these external parasites could not live very long (like hours) off of a host without a blood meal. So I'm very confused about how they would make it through harvesting and storage before the product is used. 

I understand if your goats already have a few external parasites on them, and then they lay in bedding and the parasites crawl around to other animals in the barn, so you want to clean out that bedding. But I don't get how they can be "imported" in.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

Some of this decision is - how many goats are you keeping in what size area? Do you have space to deal with the muck ( straw and hay take more space when removing than shavings).... are you penning moms for kids, pets, etc. What kind of floor are they on? Lots of things to consider with bedding.


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## CBPitts (Jan 29, 2020)

@SalteyLove deep bedding done right is dry on the top. It takes a good pack to get to this point but the moisture drains the lower levels. Deep bedding is continuously topped so here we over-bed every 10 days or so. You can sit on the bedding in my barn and stay dry. We clean quarterly.

I designed my current barn around being able to clean it with the tractor  The buck is still done by hand but I hope to tear it down and build a new one that can be cleaned by tractor as well in the next couple years. Until then I have my (human) kids to help with the back breaking labor!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

CBPitts, that is exactly how I do it for my herd. 120 Does in one big barn. Bucks are all hand shoveled. Yearlings are at another barn, really deep bedding and all tractor work.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

I’ve heard that hay gets moldy faster when used as bedding.

I use shavings and then a bit of straw on top. Shavings to collect the moisture and straw for warmth.


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