[Roxy]

Does anyone use this?  I have been after some for the goats, to bulk out their hay and haylage, and to make a change for them, during the long time they are inside - which may  be even longer looking at the wet muddy fields.

I was at a big show during the summer with the ponies, and went round the livestock tents.  Whilst looking at the goats, I noticed quite a few of them had pea  straw in their hay racks.

Unfortunately, we do not grow much feedstuff round here, except haylage, and the rare small baled hay .....straw has to be transported in from surrounding counties.

I suppose I could go to the local livestock market, and look among the hay and straw being sold. but don't really want a full wagon full!!!

[ballingall]

Its good stuff Roxy, but hard to get hold of. We are in the same position as you, and locally here it is more dairy farms than anything else, so all we get is silage made! There are enough people locally that make hay, but straw can be hard to come by. We had to go 40 miles yesterday to get 20 wee bales of straw.

I don't normally feed much in the way of pea straw, but if we can get good wheat or barley straw will throw that into the hayracks as well. Trouble is, we're so short of straw now, that they will get none to eat! I know a couple of people up here who use pea straw, but they generally buy in bulk in August/September and get say 200-300 bales brought up. I don't have room to store that amount- never mind the cost! They sometimes do the same with lucerne, but the same applies.

What I have been using is the Horsehage red bag, which is Alfafa/lucerne. They love it and its great, but its quite pricy. I don't use it all year round, but from about now, and take it to shows as a treat as well.

Beth

[Wizard]

Only a story Roxy.I cannot remember the last time I saw pea straw Here in Lincolnshire peas are nearly all grown for the Birds Eye and such company's for freezing.Peas are sown in strict rotation so as soon as the first sown are ready The viners come pull the vines pass them through the vining drum pass the peas to the holding bin and the haulms out the back.A few years back the haulms were saved and silaged I believe that it was very nutritious and farmers that didn't grow peas paid a good price for the haulms.My word Roxy pea haulms from the viner and onto the ground smell dreadfull a really sour stinking smell Meks THEM write to the council I can tell you.

[Wizard]

Another bit of useless information Field Bean Straw was sort after to put into the straw burner it was claimed that more heat per bale was generated I never noticed it myself though.Major James was a big believer in his Scanfield

[xnbacon]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is pea straw?  I'd assume it's the plant, dried after you remove the peas?
Sorry, am a bit of a newbie - not long discovered the difference between ordinary straw and hay!

[Wizard]

Hello xn bacon Lets pretend you are a reasonably large farm manager.Someone will approach you and offer you a price to grow X no of acres of peas which they will supply the seeds for You will prepare the field sow the seed spray with their supplied spray Later the field man will tell you to cut them.You usually do this with a finger mower, drum mowers are to violent.The trails are called wind rows and are left to dry in the sun and breeze The field man will keep his eye on the rows and say to you turn the peas will you XN. So You take your turner and turn the still green at the bottom rows onto the top to ground where the sun and wind will hopefull dry them.You may have to do this a couple of times (A) Then you can pick up the dried vines with the peas still on with your combine harvester which you have set up the drum and sieves to thrash peas The peas will go into the corn bin and the dried haulms now pea straw.(A) Some people still cut the peas with a finger mower then set up tripods they are about 7 feet tall and a rail is about a foot from the ground The green pea haulms and peas are heaped onto the tripods and the Sun and wind blows through and dries the peas Done this way You bring the combine in the field and move from tripod to tripod and you get nice piles of pea straw behind the combine.Bales can be made from both lots of straw They are considered by many to be very good for beast.Field tick beans are grown like this But modern methods and seed allow beans to be combined from the standing Have you seen fields of black stalks in October and November?These are likely to be beans and this is sort after to burn in your straw burner giving you useful heat.Hope this explains where it comes from.If you read some of my posts I explain Vining for such like as Birds eye for freezing.You can of course grow them free lance but it can be a dodgy market can be wonderfull if you have some and Bachelors failed They will pay well when they have a shortage.

[xnbacon]

Thanks Wizard, very useful info, much appreciated.