[purplebat]

when I acquired my last 2 hens, I was given nearly a whole bale of hay with them; I have always used straw, is there any reason not to use hay (I'd hate to waste it) I know that with rabbits you can't use it as bedding because the dust can cause eye infections, does this apply to chickens too or not?

[mercury]

As long as it is'nt mouldy, i can't see any reason why not purplebat  

[slowef]

Be careful untreated hay can have a lot of mites and ticks in it, I was told this by the local expert at my chicken club.

[Aunt Sally]

...NOOO  

Straw is for bedding hay is for eating - and your hens may well eat it.  Hens don't have teeth (you may have noticed) and cannot chew hay.  Unlike straw hay is VERY tough and fibrous.  It can knot up into a ball in their crop and cause crop impaction which if you read my sticky (forgot which one) is not easy to treat and can even need surgical removal.

Chopped straw is fine. It is quite soft and although of little nutritional value will not cause crop impaction.

[purplebat]

thanks for that, glad I asked    I wonder how many chooks lives have been saved by this forum, next question, what the heck do I do with a bale of hay? :?  

[Aunt Sally]

Get some rabbits  :roll:

[shaun]

and its full of unwanted weed seeds

[chicksforkicks]

what is the diffrence between  hay  and  straw?

[slowef]

Thatch your chicken house

[calli]

Hay is cut and dried grass
Used for fodder
Straw is the stalks from wheat/oat crops
Used for bedding

[purplebat]

Thatch your chicken house

thamks for that slowef      

[mercury]

Be careful untreated hay can have a lot of mites and ticks in it, I was told this by the local expert at my chicken club.

Sorry if i sound bolshy, but if hay contained ticks, i doubt whether horse people would use it, and dos'nt anybody let their birds run on grass    

[Aunt Sally]

and dos'nt anybody let their birds run on grass    

Long course grass can be dangerous for chooks too and cause crop impaction. Also when chooks graze they usually pick grass off in short pieces, and fresh grass is not so hard and tangly as hay.

I do actually know two people who have discovered the error of giving hens hay with a dead bird and another who had a large vets bill for surgery to remove the blockage !