[thenovice]

Hi all, just a quick one. I have run out of straw, so could i use hay instead as bedding for 2 lambing ewes in their little hut? Could there be problems with this? Thanks in advance 

[jaykay]

Not a problem. It can go mouldy a bit more than straw is my only experience, but that's more in the goose house where it gets wet.

The bedding in my goat byre is a base layer of straw and then hay on top as I empty out the hayracks and put new in, the old becomes bedding. So by the time I muck out, their bedding is more hay than anything else.

[Brucklay]

Just like Jaykay my goats get a base layer of straw after muck out and then it's all the waste hay that builds up till next muck out and we don't have a problem

[SallyintNorth]

The only thing I'd say about hay rather than straw is

• if a ewe does lots of turning round, getting away from a persistent lamb for instance, hay can get wrapped around the foot and stuck between the cloves, which can make the foot sore and can also end up with all the hay in the pen trailing around behind the ewe!  Seriously, I have twice had ewes who had wound hay so tightly around their foot that the circulation into the foot was compromised - penknife needed urgently!
• if they are on the hay for a long while, more than a few days, it can lead to foot problems (infections) far more so than does straw
• hay is not as absorbent as straw, and not as reusable - so taking all of the above into account, plan to muck out more frequently and more thoroughly than you'd need to on straw

[thenovice]

In an ideal world, im hoping they will only be in there for 24 hours. Thanks again for your sage advice