# Bahia hay



## outofmire (Aug 21, 2003)

Can someone tell me about this hay. Characteristics...and will goats eat it?

Thanks


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## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

Hi Shea, welcome to the great hay hunt  First...there are many many varieties of bermuda hay....coastal, bahai, world feeder, jiggs...thats just 4 of the many, and what is found in my area. Now mixed in with all these comes the hay guy himself who takes care of the field. Coastal that his fertilized and taken care of makes really good hay for goats, as long as you understand where in their diet their calcium is coming from...but right now you can find coastal hay that has been cut in the woods, in fields that have never been cut, hay is going for $7 a bale for 40 to 50 pound bales and they aren't worth a nickle! Everyone is running scared and buying everything they can find. World Feeder is an excellent hay, very high in protein...Bahia here is cow hay, filler, cut in big huge round bails, and although it is fine for goats to have a big rumen full of bahia hay to keep warm during the night, it is not very nutritious.

I would be scared to be buying hay right now. The hay out there is freshly cut, I can't believe it was allowed to cure very well, which can burn your barn down or kill your goats from listerosis from mold. Make sure whatever you buy is from a reputable person, be very careful of buying from someone sitting along side the road unless you know horse folks also buying from them.

The best trick to getting excellent hay is to follow the horse folks, buy where they buy theirs. And of course alfalfa is the best. You like us probably have no keeping quality of alfalfa hay so you may want to boost the protein and calcium of your grass hay with alfalfa pellets. Vicki


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## outofmire (Aug 21, 2003)

So bahia is just another type of bermuda? My goats won't eat bermuda half the time. I'm asking about this hay because someone was advertising organic bahia....and as you may know from my previous posts, I'm looking for chemical free hay.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

No, bahia is not a bermuda. We have both Pensacola and Argentine Bahia. Cows and horses love it. Dunno about goats.


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