Posted 2013-04-01 10:13 PM (#151040 - in reply to #148918) Subject: RE: Horses won't eat poultry litter fertilized hay.
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 376 Location: Missouri
" sat out in the pasture untouched for a week"
Out in the pasture they were still getting other sources of forage, true, not enough to maintain them, but still getting it. And the forage they were getting was grass. Many horses will let hay, of any kind, go to waste if they have grass. Try placing them in a completely dry lot, for no more than 2 days. They'll be very unusual horses if they don't eat it, when that is all there is to eat.
Posted 2013-04-02 5:52 AM (#151045 - in reply to #148918) Subject: RE: Horses won't eat poultry litter fertilized hay.
Member
Posts: 12
Location: Cassatt, SC
I appreciate your comment. However, this hay situation is UNCOMMON behavior in regards to my horses eating hay. I foxhunt... and have since I was 12 years old. I understand plenty about the concerns of a pasture. If I am saying that the horses won't eat turkey/poultry litter fertilized hay, then why is it so hard to recognize that the procedure is NOT one that should be used by Hay Producers. If I were an inexperienced person that didn't know much about horses, comments such as yours would be valid. I took into account all those factors. I analyzed everything. The common denominator over the 5 years when my horses would NOT eat hay was that the hay had been produced using turkey/poultry litter as fertilizer for it. Now, I would like hay producers to be honest that there is something WRONG in producing Hay for Horses using turkey/poultry litter as fertilizer. It is hurting ME financially and possibly my horses. If I couldn't afford to find another solution, my horses surely would have been hurt physically due to not even trying to eat the stuff. I ask you, are there certain foods that you will refuse to eat no matter what anyone does to disguise it? I have a husband that is that way... and he would rather starve than eat the stuff. I see that same behavior with my horses in regards to the turkey/poultry litter fertilized hay.
Posted 2013-04-02 10:34 AM (#151052 - in reply to #148918) Subject: RE: Horses won't eat poultry litter fertilized hay.
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 376 Location: Missouri
Let's not forget, it was not that many years ago(before commercial fertilizers were available). Many, Many, very many, hay fields were fertilized with manures of all sorts. Never bothered any horses. It is not that they are not being honest, they are, there is nothing wrong with manure fertilized fields, we have spoiled our horses.
The first load of brome hay I purchased, went to waste when I put it out for them. They went for what grass was left. I put them in a dry lot and they cleaned it up within the first day. They still don't like it, but the eat it, so long as there is nothing else available. They prefer the timothy and alfalfa. Just like I prefer steak to cooked cabbage.
Posted 2013-04-03 12:52 PM (#151074 - in reply to #148918) Subject: RE: Horses won't eat poultry litter fertilized hay.
Member
Posts: 12
Location: Cassatt, SC
Do you really think that hay producers had access to loads of turkey/poultry litter for fertilizer BEFORE commercial fertilizer was introduced... for that matter, do you really think that hay producers had access to loads of ANY Manure to be used as fertilizer BEFORE commercial fertilizer was introduced? How would they had managed that? You see, the turkey/poultry litter situation is an extreme case. I am not sure that anyone is monitoring its affects. The commercial fertilizers have probably been tested over years to determine outcome. However, WHO is monitoring the turkey/poultry litter being used as fertilizer. PLEASE BE FAIR about this. This MAY be A REAL CONCERN. It has been my experience that Horses will NOT eat grass where they have manured on it... So, if they are particular about the turkey/poultry litter fertilized hay, I TAKE NOTICE.
Posted 2013-04-03 9:17 PM (#151085 - in reply to #148918) Subject: RE: Horses won't eat poultry litter fertilized hay.
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 376 Location: Missouri
"Do you really think that hay producers had access to loads of turkey/poultry litter for fertilizer BEFORE commercial fertilizer was introduced."
Heavens yes, and lots of it. My grandfather, raised chickens for egg production. He had 4 plus large barns that produced as much litter as any of the current day producers. And confine fed many, many hogs. All of the manure from these went to the fields, both for hay and for crops. They spread it all with horse drawn spreaders. They probably spread more tons per acre than any of the present day operations.
Posted 2013-04-14 11:59 AM (#151293 - in reply to #148918) Subject: RE: Horses won't eat poultry litter fertilized hay.
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 544 Location: Claxton, Ga.
I have used it before and my horses would eat it. The only issue is they would get the poops from time to time. I have since switched hay providers a long time ago. Lot's of folks in my area using it. One issue with using it constantly is it will cause an imbalance in nutrients. That's what will give them the poops. I have since steered clear of it. If your horses won't eat it, there must be something else wrong with it.
Posted 2013-04-14 12:17 PM (#151294 - in reply to #148918) Subject: RE: Horses won't eat poultry litter fertilized hay.
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 544 Location: Claxton, Ga.
Oh, almost forgot. Find you someone that is in the hay business that will take care of you. Not sell hay out from under you, uses fertilizer,etc. and stick with them. You may pay a little more for the hay but the lesser hassle will be worth it. I have found out that most hay farmers don't give a rats butt about you. The faster they can get it out of the barn and get paid, the happier they are. Those are the folks I don't mess with. I have hay 365 days a year. My hay provider only takes on new customers at the first of the hay season if he has an opening. When I first found him, I had to wait to find out if he could support my needs. Any funny business on your part and he is done with you. The price is not up for negotiations. It's kinda nice.
Posted 2013-04-14 2:34 PM (#151296 - in reply to #151294) Subject: RE: Horses won't eat poultry litter fertilized hay.
Member
Posts: 12
Location: Cassatt, SC
Thank you for your advice. Since my horses won't eat the turkey/poultry fertilized hay that I bought this past fall, I have plenty to use as bedding in their stalls for a long time.
Yes, I have arranged to get a hay producer that will only sell me hay that has NOT used Turkey/Poultry litter as fertilizer. I thought that I had accomplished that year before last, but the hay producer that I was buying from then, decided to start using the Turkey/Poultry litter in ALL his fields. That is when I happened into this situation I was faced with this winter... uneatable hay. I was hoping to find an actual solution that would allow my horses to eat the hay that I had bought. But winter is over and they never would touch that hay. I had to rely on other alternatives to get them through the winter without any health problems, which is very important when supporting ages equines. I guess you are right. I need to NEVER buy hay that has been fertilized with Turkey/Poultry litter again. I HAD tried to avoid that, but it didn't work out this winter. So, was looking for a solution, if there actually was one. Thank you for responding.
Horses won't eat poultry litter fertilized hay.
