Questions about Oat Hay

[Shorthorns4us]

Looking to my Steerplanet amigos to help me with my questions about oat hay.

We have not put any up for years, so my memory is a little rusty. 
this year we are re-establishing a pasture and did the usual thing around here by seeding the grass seed, a little red clover and then using the cover crop of oats.  Well now we are to the stage that the oats are putting on seed heads and we want to get it baled before they are too mature and mother nature is not helping by giving us a stretch of dry days to mow and bale-- so I am looking at they are getting more mature each rainy day that passes.  My concern is that with bales full of mature or nearly mature oats, I stand the chance of the cows getting way too many oats when we feed these bales in the winter.  I am concerned about foundering and/or bloating them this winter when I have to feed those bales.  We don't have a processor or grinder to mix these.  We are set up to feed whole bales.  Are my concerns legit or am I being paranoid?  I can't remember how many oats these cows can tolerate before they make themselves sick.
thanks!  EF

 

[FriedgesCharolais]

I have done this before and we baled them relatively wet and wrapped them for balage and the oats were headed out pretty good and we never had a problem with them bloating.

 

[RyanChandler]

I've fed lots of oat bales and even more wheat bales. Never had any problem.

 

[HelenH]

Oats are higher in roughage than any other grain.  When my vet gets the call, 'the cows got into the granary', he always hopes it is the oat bin.  Also, rolled Oats and good hay are easier on the sensitive tummy for calf starter than sweet retail mix.

 

[RyanChandler]

Regarding the amount if roughage, that will be dependent on the stage you cut it in.  If its already heading I would cut it tomorrow.  I've fed whole oats out of creep feeders and had excellent results.

 

[CAB]

Wait until the oats are in the heavy dough stage. Too much ahead of that and you'll have a harder time getting the oats dry enough to bale without the bales molding and too far behind that and you'll lose allot of the oats through the process. Earlier = more protein / later = more energy. I think that protein has become cheaper and easier to buy than energy.

 

[aj]

I've had some oats swathed down since Friday. How lond does it take to dry? Isn't the straw hollow kinda like a wheat stem? Mine was heading out......maybe soft dough stage.....?

 

[RyanChandler]

If its been hot there like here, a cpl days maybe.

 

[Shorthorns4us]

  You guys are all very helpful!  It sounds like if the bales are full of oats this winter, the old girls can't do too much harm to themselves-- like founder or bloat.  Now we just need the good weather to get it down and dry...!! Our other problem is how wet the ground is underneath-- we want to avoid getting stuck and causing huge ruts when we mow!  What a spring/summer! 

My FSA officer today said that this year is a lot like '95 so far-- wet, wet and wet and then by July-- it turned off hot and dry and the roots in the corn and beans weren't good enough to dig down for the moisture.

Thanks EF