Can I Touch Hay ?

[pricklypear1971]

I do not think you need to stop your Fall festivities.

Hay is mowed grass, alfalfa, clover and sometimes herbs and legumes. Yes, sometimes wheat or oat may be included in fodder for cattle.

The difference between hay bales and straw bales derives from what they are made of. Hay bales are comprised primarily of grasses. These grasses still have grain or seeds attached.

Straw bales are comprised of only the stalks of plants, such as grain plants; as a rule the stalks do not have seeds or grains attached, although some seeds or grains may remain due to the inability of machinery to remove them all.

Go on your hayride, but don't eat the hay.... no grazing!

If I am wrong, come back in October and yell at me.

Of course, if you are ALLERGIC to any of these plants or grasses, that is a different story.

I am going to quote from a previous thread:

"Neither timothy nor alfalfa are sources of gluten. They are grasses, not grains. Contamination is a possibility. It is also entirely possible to be allergic to either of these plants"

Treat wheat straw the same way you'd treat a decorative piece of wheat from a craft store.

I've hauled too much hay, handled too much straw, fed too much alfalfa in my life...and I can tell you the process of harvesting and baling is less than exact.

There will be wheat grain and dust in wheat straw, some more than others. Wheat straw is the "leftovers". It can contain anything (even rats and snakes - all baled stuff can contain rats and snakes ).

[Jestgar]

Just curious how many of you have actually gone on a hay ride?

I use straw in my chicken pen all the time. There's some seeds, and a lot of dust. I'm also allergic to wheat so I would have a bad reaction.....if I had a reaction, which I don't.

I have sat in straw bales, or had to handle it excessively with my hands, and in an enclosed area I do have an allergic reaction (can't breathe, welts on skin where it touched me), but in the open air I'm fine. I would chose not to go on a "hay" ride because of the constant contact with my skin, but unless it were excessively dusty, I wouldn't worry about any other reaction.

I also wouldn't worry about a decorative piece of wheat from a store. If you would, then yes, by all means, avoid the straw.