Hay And Straw
About Hay and Straw
Quite a lot of people seem to think that hay and straw are the same things. But that is okay. Even people from rural areas tend to confuse between the two. But this article is surely going to help you clear up the confusion.
We all know how much we love our pets. For many, pets are like another member of the family. So, it is not surprising that we spend time and money, making sure that they are healthy and comfortable. And one of the things that are necessary to keep them happy and kicking is to provide a clean and comfortable nesting place. While pets do sleep on cold hard surfaces if they have no other options, they will love sleeping on warm bedding. One of the common types of bedding/feed that people buy for their pets is straw bedding. Read this article to find out more about them.
A beginner’s guide to hay and straw
You will find many different types of bedding for pets. There are many synthetic bedding materials out there. Despite all of them, natural materials like straw and hay do remain the most popular, and probably, the best option for bedding. In order to be able to make the right choice for your pets, you should have a good idea about these materials. Having a better idea about them will help you make the right purchase decisions. Below in this guide, you will understand more about it. Also, towards the end, there are some tips that will help you choose the best. So, go ahead and read now!
Straw
Basically, straw is the byproduct of grain harvests like oats, wheat, and barley. Humans do not use a straw for consumption. It is, however, raw straw is very nutritious to animals. Therefore, this is very affordable and effective as a fodder for animals like cows, horses, and goats. Besides that, straw is also useful for making bedding for the animals. Farmers buy truckloads of straw to serve as both fodder and bedding for little to no money. One less common use of straw is as the garden manure. Placing a layer of straw around the plants will help you maintain the moisture level in the soil.
Hay
Hay is just another word for grass. Often hay is grown as a crop specifically for feeding the animals. So, one question that you might have is, why would anyone spend money and energy growing hay for animals when everyone can simply use a straw? Well, it is because hay is more nutritious than straw. Feeding animals only straw can be very detrimental to their health. So, unless you are also giving supplements to the animals along with straw, it is essential to include hay in the animals’ diet.
Hay or straw for rabbits
Rabbits need both straw bedding but for different reasons. Straw does not contain much of the nutrients that a rabbit need. Therefore, straw is not proper food for rabbits. But straw does make a really good bedding material for them. On the other hand, rabbits can grow to become fairly healthy even if you are just feeding them hay and water. Having said that, experts do recommend including veggies and commercial pellets in their diet. Alfalfa hay works as a staple diet for rabbits. Some rabbit farmers mix regular grass with alfalfa hay to keep the cost down.
Benefits of straw bedding
Straw has a handful of qualities that make them the ideal bedding material for animals. The most obvious thing is that it is soft and fluffy, at least from the point of view of animals. Being cheap, you can buy them in large quantities and animals can also work as an alternative ration for the animal beyond the main feed. Moreover, straw works as an insulator. So, during winter months, straw bedding will keep the animals warm and comfortable. Although not as important, the ability of straw to absorb humidity and wetness is also a positive quality.
Tips on how to buy Hay and Straw
Buying hay and straw for your animals might not feel like a demanding task for the first time pet owners. However, it might be a bit harder than you might think. Just like humans, animals also have nutritional requirements and things that they are allergic to. Therefore, there are a few things that you have to be careful about while buying hay and straw for your pets. Here are a few things that you should keep in mind while shopping.
- Consider your pet – The diet should be adapted according to the animal to keep it healthy. The nutritional requirement of a hamster is different from that of a rabbit. Moreover, the amount of food they consume in a day will also be different. If needed, get the opinion from a veterinarian before you formulate the diet for your pet.
- Colour – The ideal choice is to buy both straw bedding when they are still green. However, this is not possible for most people out there. Both of these tend to dry out and turn yellowish or golden in a few weeks after harvest. Therefore, the next best thing to do is to look for the freshest options. The fresher the hay is, the softer and more nutritional it will be.
- Pesticides – Even though animals are generally more resistant to chemical toxins than humans, it is still harmful to them. Furthermore, animal feed is not usually washed with water which helps in removing chemicals. So, the best thing to do is to make sure that you are buying the feed that has undergone much pesticide treatment.
- Supplements – For your pet to be healthy, you should be giving it a well-balanced diet. That means, instead of solely relying on hay or straw for feed, try to diversify using supplements or using other naturally available food.
If you are a pet owner, then you already know how hard it is to make sure that the pet stays happy and healthy. To ensure that you have to provide them with the right kind of pet supplies at the right times. These include pet food, soil cover, blankets, and medication. You can find any of these easily using our shopping search engine . It will let you compare the prices and features of different products and pick the best one among them. So, don’t forget to check out all the other amazing products from the Pet Supplies category.
Question & Answer
Are hay and straw the same thing?
No, except for the fact that both of them look identical in some ways, hay and straw are completely different from each other. Straw is a byproduct after separating the grain from the plant. As the majority of the nutrition is in the grain, straw doesn’t have any significant amount of nutrition in it. Hay, however, is proper animal food. In most places, hay is separately grown for feeding the animals. Hay includes things like grass, herbaceous plants, and legumes. Because he is more expensive than straw, people don’t usually use it to make bedding.
Is straw good bedding for rabbits?
Straw is not only good bedding for rabbits, but, in fact, it is the most common type of bedding that people use for bunnies. There are several reasons for this. Most important of all is that straw is inexpensive. You can get a large bag full of it for ten dirhams. Second, it has the ability to absorb water and humidity. This helps you keep the rabbit hutch clean. It is common for people to use wood shavings along with the straw to make it even more absorbent. Furthermore, it is very easy to arrange and shape straw in a way that is comfortable for the rabbits.
Where to buy hay and straw in the UAE?
Hay and straw are two of the very versatile supplies any pet owner will find useful. So, if you own any pet, you will need them sometime. Fortunately, there are plenty of places where you can find them in the UAE. One of the best places to look for them, however, is Shops.ae. It is incredibly easy to find good quality straw bedding using our retail search engine. Moreover, you will be able to buy them for some of the most affordable prices on the market as well.
If you are looking to buy hay bedding online in the UAE, you are in the right place. There are more than 500 shops and brands offering them here on Shops.ae. These shops offer products from popular brands like Kaytee, Oxbow, Zupreem, Pawise, Timothy Hay, Vitapol, and Bunny Nature.