The composition and digestibility of Northern Irish hays: I. Unthreshed and threshed ryegrass and crested dogstail hays as saved for seed.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
1. The compositions of unthreshed and threshed Northern Irish ryegrass hay as saved for seed are given and compared with published values for firstyear seeds hay low in clover and average first-year seeds hay.2. The results of digestibility trials with samples of unthreshed and threshed ryegrass and crested dogstail hays as saved for seed are reported. It is suggested that perennial ryegrass hay as saved for seed (unthreshed) may have a starch equivalent in the neighbourhood of 23% less than that of average first-year seeds hay low in clover, and that threshed hay may have a starch equivalent of the order of 15% less than that of the unthreshed hay. There are good grounds, therefore, for the poor reputation of threshed hay among stock feeders.