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 The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1768
   
| Alfalfa is a BIG part of my horses diet. I feed alfalfa in chopped form and when I'm having a hard time getting it chopped I buy stand Lee compressed bales....it's KILLLING me feeding this way I can get tested 21% protein alfalfa hay for almost half of what I spend for the chopped/compressed of lesser quality.....the only problem is I live in the heart of blister beetle country... alfalfa is considered high risk were I live and we have deaths every year and countless that get sick from the little turds. Who else sacrifices there wallet for safe alfalfa? Has anyone found a way to insure safe hay? (I know kinda silly question)...just wanted to add someone I know who lives about a hour away bought bulk whole oats infested with blister beetles...I had no clue they got into oats. She said it was a 5,000 dollar loss.
Edited by Thistle2011 2016-02-22 9:16 AM
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9991
 
Location: Kansas | I've never had a problem with blister beetles when I buy alfalfa hay. |
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The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1768
| hoofs_in_motion - 2016-02-22 9:28 AM
I've never had a problem with blister beetles when I buy alfalfa hay.
Are you buying from a local source or different region? |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I ljust be in the Houston area and buy 3 string, 110 lbs, from Arizona for $25/bale. So far I have had no problems with blister bettles. No way would I feed or buy alfalfa from a region known to have them. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| My sister had a horse die from blister beetles. I will never buy alfalfa hay unless I know where it came from and that is hard to do in South Texas. The feed store people look at me blankly and say, "I don't know where our hay guy gets it, but it's safe." It costs a lot in freight to get good alfalfa down here, so, instead I feed Omni and Mustang Sally cubes. I am very happy with them. I feed Standlee compressed bales but the horses didn't really like them so I fed the Standlee cubes. I just got tired of going here for oats, and another place for the flaxseed and then TSC for cubes, so I found an Omni dealer and feeding is soo much easier. However, if I lose my dealer, I'll go back to the Standlee cubes, oats and flaxseed. Sorry for the long post.  |
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Expert
Posts: 1207
| I also feed the Omnis cubes and my horses are doing very well on them. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| Buy bales that are loose not tight heavy bales, usually if the alfalfa is baled loose the beetles crawl out and move on to living plants because they feed off the pollen, however, there may be some dead bugs that are stuck in it from the baler itself. We bring in alfalfa from western Colorado but I have had to buy some here in Oklahoma and when I feed I make sure a separate the hay, shaking it out in a trough and then look it over really well for any dead bugs that might be in it. Around here we have black ones and brown with stripes on their back. Haven't had any problems yet. Keep your hay covered with a tarp, even in a barn, tuck the bottom under that way if a swarm comes along they can't reach the hay and somewhere dark because they are also attracted to lights. I've sprayed the swarms with tempo and killed them within hours, but dead bugs are just as poisonous as live. |
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The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1768
| Welp it sounds like I'll spend the extra so I can sleep at night I'm the type of person that I'll be good for 100 bales then I'll get comfortable at 111 and it will be filled with beetles and it will be the one time I don't look. |
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 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | I feed Omnis, not cheap to truck them in all the way down here but well worth it. There is good alfalfa around here but it runs around $32 for a three string or $20 for a small two string. There are a lot of people that feed alfalfa grown in the Texas Panhandle because it is cheaper ($15-17 for a two string bale) but I just won't chance it. The Omnis have been by far the most cost effective way to feed alfalfa. I tried a different cube and even though it was very good quality, I had a few mares that lost weight on them. |
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Expert
Posts: 1857
| Barnmom - 2016-02-22 10:31 AM
I feed Omnis, not cheap to truck them in all the way down here but well worth it. There is good alfalfa around here but it runs around $32 for a three string or $20 for a small two string. There are a lot of people that feed alfalfa grown in the Texas Panhandle because it is cheaper ($15-17 for a two string bale) but I just won't chance it. The Omnis have been by far the most cost effective way to feed alfalfa. I tried a different cube and even though it was very good quality, I had a few mares that lost weight on them.
what's the weight of the two string bales? |
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Expert
Posts: 1694
Location: Willows, CA | Unless you know exactly where your alfalfa comes from you should not take the chance. I was visiting a training barn in Louisiana years ago when nine horses died from Blister Beetle that was from a Texas made feed pellet that had alfalfa meal as a component. When a rep from the well known feed company was asked about the source of the alfalfa meal they used they said it was from Texas but that the process eliminated the cantharidin which is the caustic agent produced by the beetle. This of course is not true. Be careful, not just where your hay comes from, but also your feed if it has alfalfa meal. This is one of the most horrific ways a horse can die. |
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 Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | We sell alfalfa and even though we live in north central Texas we would NEVER purchase from anywhere in Texas. We get ours from California or Colorado. We have not had any issues and I know our own horses love it. |
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Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | FlyingJT - 2016-02-22 10:34 AM Barnmom - 2016-02-22 10:31 AM I feed Omnis, not cheap to truck them in all the way down here but well worth it. There is good alfalfa around here but it runs around $32 for a three string or $20 for a small two string. There are a lot of people that feed alfalfa grown in the Texas Panhandle because it is cheaper ($15-17 for a two string bale) but I just won't chance it. The Omnis have been by far the most cost effective way to feed alfalfa. I tried a different cube and even though it was very good quality, I had a few mares that lost weight on them. what's the weight of the two string bales?
I think around 65 - 75 pounds, depends on who you buy from. Some are packed very loose and are light others are packed super tight and are heavier. |
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Expert
Posts: 1857
| Barnmom - 2016-02-22 12:29 PM
FlyingJT - 2016-02-22 10:34 AM Barnmom - 2016-02-22 10:31 AM I feed Omnis, not cheap to truck them in all the way down here but well worth it. There is good alfalfa around here but it runs around $32 for a three string or $20 for a small two string. There are a lot of people that feed alfalfa grown in the Texas Panhandle because it is cheaper ($15-17 for a two string bale) but I just won't chance it. The Omnis have been by far the most cost effective way to feed alfalfa. I tried a different cube and even though it was very good quality, I had a few mares that lost weight on them. what's the weight of the two string bales?
That seems really expensive for 75lb bales. Oklahoma is at about $13/bale for that weight. We just got back from Colorado with a load for $4 a bale, 75-85lb bales, even after fuel costs its cheaper... Crazy! |
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Expert
Posts: 1280
Location: Texas | I buy 3 string bales of alfalfa from a local hay broker. They average 105-110# each for $20-$22. They either come from California or Arizona (just depends on what is in stock, & i usually can pick either one, they have both) I would never feed TX alfalfa. That being said, blister beetles will swarm on other local plants/weeds and horses can pick them up when grazing. It is most prevalent during drought/heat of mid summer. It is important to watch for these and treat/manage as needed. That sometimes means that horses have to be stalled up for a period while spray is applied. I have not had to do it, but my friends and neighbors have. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 680
Location: Texas | Is alfalfa from KS usually safe? |
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The BHW Book Worm
Posts: 1768
| Lbarrelracer08 - 2016-02-22 1:01 PM
Is alfalfa from KS usually safe?
In my particular area I would say not with last year's track record. |
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"Heck's Coming With Me"
Posts: 10794
Location: Kansas | I live in Kansas and bought alfalfa locally (this was a long time ago) that made two horses very sick. We managed to save them both. I'm still feeding alfalfa to our two old-timers, taking the chance because of their age. They love it and are so hard to keep weight on.
It was mentioned above buying alfalfa in loose bales....they would crawl out. It's my understanding it's the crimper in the hay baler that kills them so I can't see where that would make any difference. |
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 Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
Location: Texas | Until you personally see what those little devils do to horses you probably won't think much of it. They killed 4 horses in the barn I boarded at and almost got several others including mine. I've finally gotten to the point after 3 years where I feel comfortable feeding alfalfa again, but in pellet form. I know the signs now though. We were at a complete loss with the vet bill, luckily the seller bought all the hay back, it wasn't a easy process though, the guy was a jerk and probably knew the hay was poisoned in the first place. In my experience "cheap" alfalfa is not worth it. Dish out the money for the safe stuff |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1150
Location: LaCygne, KS | We feed brome grass hay. Wouldn't consider alfalfa from this area. JT |
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Expert
Posts: 1857
| Frodo - 2016-02-22 1:23 PM
I live in Kansas and bought alfalfa locally (this was a long time ago) that made two horses very sick. We managed to save them both. I'm still feeding alfalfa to our two old-timers, taking the chance because of their age. They love it and are so hard to keep weight on.
It was mentioned above buying alfalfa in loose bales....they would crawl out. It's my understanding it's the crimper in the hay baler that kills them so I can't see where that would make any difference.
There's no crimper in a baler, that would be the swather and you are correct; a crimper, crusher, macerator, would kill the bugs. However, I can honestly say I have never purchased hay that was ran threw a roller and recently all the hay I've looked at hasn't either. I think it's because of the possibility of blister beetles that it's not a common practice here in Oklahoma. Every farmer knows the dangers of blister beetles. |
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"Heck's Coming With Me"
Posts: 10794
Location: Kansas | FlyingJT - 2016-02-22 3:07 PM Frodo - 2016-02-22 1:23 PM I live in Kansas and bought alfalfa locally (this was a long time ago) that made two horses very sick. We managed to save them both. I'm still feeding alfalfa to our two old-timers, taking the chance because of their age. They love it and are so hard to keep weight on.
It was mentioned above buying alfalfa in loose bales....they would crawl out. It's my understanding it's the crimper in the hay baler that kills them so I can't see where that would make any difference. There's no crimper in a baler, that would be the swather and you are correct; a crimper, crusher, macerator, would kill the bugs. However, I can honestly say I have never purchased hay that was ran threw a roller and recently all the hay I've looked at hasn't either. I think it's because of the possibility of blister beetles that it's not a common practice here in Oklahoma. Every farmer knows the dangers of blister beetles.
You're right. I remembered later that it's swather not baler. Everything in the way of hay around here is cut down with a swather. When they used mowers and rakes, blister beetles weren't a problem. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 303
| You can get safe alfalfa from Kansas if you know which cutting it came from. Generally the first and last cuttings will not have blister beetles. |
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Feeding alfalfa hay/blister beetles